Second PBC cook

[COS_Chris]

As the title says, I'm doing my second PBC cook today, got a 6lb butt on. Still having trouble keeping my temps down, hovering around 305F-310F. I can't wait until enough "gunk" builds up to get a better seal around the lid. I know butts are very forgiving, but I would really like to cook at 225F-250F. I've tried all of the suggestions I've seen around here, including fzxdoc 's suggestion to put some foil around my leaky spots on the lid, but it just wants to run hot. Oh well, I'm sure it will still be delicious

P.S. Hit the stall at 154F... 2 hours into the cook, lol

[MBMorgan]

Chris, I forget who did it, but one inventive AR soul recently used foil-wrapped bricks (the foil is soft and won't scratch the PBC finish) to weight down a new leaky PBC lid with good (albeit clunky) results ...

[grezs]

If you can't get the temp down by plugging around one or more of the rod holders, then something is terribly wrong. Remember it does take a bit of time for the temp to drop.

[AdamJG]

You'll likely never run 225-250 on a pbc without using magets or something creative to cover the rebar holes. Mine always seems to settle nicely in between 260 and 280, seems this is where it's happiest. If you want a good seal on the lid you can order a roll of lava-lock gasket (BGE replacement) and put it inside the lip of the lid. It's about 10 bucks, I did this and it made keeping the temp manageable much easier. Enjoy today's cook!

[Joedvasquez]

Before I put a gasket on the lid, I used pavers. I wasn't the smart one to wrap them in goin though. However, I did find a sweet spot where my lid would sit flu has with the barrel.

I put put the lid on and lightly pushed down on the outside edges of the lid and heard/saw that the lid would go down and up very slightly rocking, which seemed almost as if either the barrel or lid were warped. I slowly turned the lid and repeated until the rocking went away. And believe it or not, it actually held the temp. I spoke with Noah and Amber about the issue and they eventually sent me the gasket. Good luck and if it's bad I'd call them. They are super friendly folks and want to make sure you are happy.

[SoCalTim]

I hear the owner of PBC is very involved with questions from customers, have you tried reaching out to him? I'm sure he would have an answer for you.

[COS_Chris]

325F... I'm trying, lol.

[COS_Chris]

Picture of the vent

Not a great picture, but the gap is about .5 inch at the widest point, so a bit less than 1/4 open

[COS_Chris]

Well, the good news I guess, is that I was planning on crutching for the first time tonight, but at these temps I guess I won't have to!

[Spinaker]

I had this problem when I first got my PBC. Some things that helped me fix this problem was, not leaving the lid off once I dump the coals in. (I also dump the briquettes in the basket outside of the PBC and place it in the PBC after I dump the coals in the basket) Once I have the basket back in the PBC, I close the lid right away. I don't allow it to breathe for the recommend time period with the lid off.

One other thing is, I don't light the whole basket at once. I just think its to much heat to start out. I use my own OCD donut method. It's kind of a modified Minion method. I stack all the coals around rim the outside of the basket, two rows deep, stacked, and leave them unlit. Then I dump about 30 red hot-lit coals in to the middle of the donut. Then I place the basket in the PBC. These two things help me more than anything.


Make sure that your bottom damper is adjusted correctly. Regardless of what they say at PBC for your damper setting with regards to elevation, if your running hot, you need to damp it down. Close the bottom damper more, sometimes mine has been almost totally closed. The damper on mine doesn't fit the hole perfectly. So it leaks even when "All the way shut". Sometimes it takes a very little gap in the damper to get the proper air flow.

To get that "gunk" under the lid....spray the lid with Pam or some other cooking oil. Mostly in the rim of the cooker. It will speed up the process. But the more you cook, the better it will get. I feel like briskets do it the quickest.

[Obi-Dan]

That is without a doubt the prettiest charcoal basket I have ever seen. I mean that in the best way possible.

[Spinaker]

Thanks!! Hahaha, Crazy is another adjective I have heard.

[COS_Chris]

Thanks Spinaker , I will try your method next time. Believe it or not, my vent is a closed as it will go... that above picture is the "full closed" position, which as I mentioned, leaves just over .5 inch at the widest point.

[Spinaker]

Then I would try this method. It should help. Your damper looks the same as yours.

[fzxdoc]

I think Spinaker is on to something. If the lid's not leaking (foil crimped really hard) then you should try starting with fewer coals or changing the distribution like his awesome minion photos show. Sounds as though your PBC and his might have been twins separated at birth.

Don't give up--you'll be fine. Plus there's nothing wrong with cooking at 300 or so...I'd be curious what two Maverick probes show when hanging in your barrel on opposite sides. Who knows, you could be running at 240 on the side opposite your PBC probe giving a nice 270 average.

Kathryn

[COS_Chris]

I would be interested to know that too Kathryn, unfortunately, I can only afford the one I do love this thermometer though... nothing beats being able to monitor the grill from inside my nice air conditioned house!

[fzxdoc]

But, COS_Chris , you could hang the meat probe in the PBC on the side opposite from the PBC probe. You don't really need the meat probe for a long cook until after 4 or 5 hours or more (for judging when to wrap). So monitor the temps at 2 spots in the PBC for the first part of the cook. Plus, you don't need the meat probe in the meat at all when doing ribs. That's a great time to use it for a second PBC temp point.

K.

[COS_Chris]

So about 5 hours into my cook, the temp plummeted, and I ended up having to take off all of the foil from the lid and rebar holes to keep it around 230F, and ended up needing to wrap after all. It turned out great! I knew it would, I just wish I knew what was going on with my temps. Oh well, if the food turns out, I guess it doesn't matter too much
​​​​

[Spinaker]

That looks great!!

[Joedvasquez]

That looks delicious!!!

[MBMorgan]

Congrats, Chris ... those temps will sort themselves out after a few cooks.