First dry run

[phoccer]

PBC arrived Friday morning and I took it for a test, dry run yesterday. The temps in my PBC seemed to run a little on the high side from what I was expecting and never really leveled out. Wondering what I might want to try to get more consistency. Here is the graph with temps and below are the details.

1. I followed the lighting instructions that come with the PBC. Filled up the holder, removed 40, lit, waited 15 minutes, scattered the lit across the top of the unlit. Put the lid on. The charcoal all burned out.
2. Vent was set to 1/4
3. I lifted the lid twice to see where the condition of the remaining charcoal. You can see one slight blip up around 12:00(and a comment in the notes) and a slight level toward the end where I cracked the lid 1/2" to see what would happen.
4. Other than the two peeks, the lid was left on and I just let it run.
5. I use Kingsford Professional. I know they recommend Original but I prefer the smells from the all natural briquets so I'm going to run with them if I can.

So I'm curious what I can try to get more consistency in the temps. I know you aren't supposed to fuss with temps with the PBC so maybe I'm thinking and analyzing this too much but here are my thoughts.

1. Follow the same lighting instructions but start with fewer lit coals at the start, maybe 30. My thought is that would result in slightly lower running temps.
2. While starting with 30, let the PBC sit with the lid off for 10 minutes at the start to let everything get rolling before I put the lid on(and eventually meat in ) so I don't get the temps continuing to march higher the first hour.

Lots of great info in this sub-forum and I've read through a bunch of it. Just wondering if I'm on the right track with my ideas about temperature maintenance. From my reading, I want to get it running in it's sweet spot of 275-300.

[Butchman]

After several PBC cooks I was surprised at how much I needed to open the lower vent and I'm pretty much at sea level. The first 2 cooks I didn't even open the vent! I have about a half inch space at its widest. I have found that using lighter fluid works very well for lighting my PBC. I just drench the coals and immediately fire it up. I like to wait about 20 mins to place the meat in the cooker. It's a great cooker and like any grill it takes a little while to get to know it.

[LarryO47]

I'm at about 1200' above sea level. To stay in the 275-310 range I need mine almost half way open. It should be only about 1/4 of the way, per PBC but found the 1/2 is the sweet spot for me. I think you just need to play with the lower vent til you find yours.

[phoccer]

Huh. I'm around 1000'. I would have thought the vent closed down more would drop the temps, I was wrong on that. I'll try opening up the vent to 1/2 and see how it goes. Thank you!

[RobertC]

1. Rebar in, or out?
2. Doesn't KPB run a little hotter, faster, than KBB?
3. Did you observe any leakage around the lid?
4. Nice experiment and data.

[phoccer]

Thanks. Rebar was in. Yep, KPB is supposed to run hotter from my understanding but I figured I could control airflow a bit to keep it in the range I want, maybe not. I wouldn't mind it running in the 300-325 range even but this seemed a little too high to me. Didn't notice any leakage.

[LarryO47]

Yours will have to be closed more. I would say start at 1/8 and see what it does. Also if the charcoal you are using is hotter, I might also start with less in the chimney.

[phoccer]

That's the two things I was thinking, close off the vent and start with 30 vs 40. Same ideas that apply to running my kettle.

[LarryO47]

Better to go low and work up than go high and try to bring it back down. Your on the right track, phoccer

[RobertC]

I wonder whether the shiny interior of a brand new cooker accentuates temperature swings. I didn't have a temperature probe when I first got my barrel cooker (disclaimer: it's not a PBC -- please don't ban me from this sub-forum for my transgression) so I can't be 100% sure but I think it ran hot the first couple of cooks. Since the temperatures seemed high, I cooked a couple of split chickens to take advantage of that to season the barrel and lid and gasket.

I think I'm also learning that packing the charcoal tightly or loosely in the basket may have an effect on burn rate (and thus, temperature profile).

[HawkerXP]

Fist, lid leaks when the PBC is new are common. You'll need to build up a nice layer of black goo. Also don't dally, get that lid on asap.
Second, no meat. You didn't have a cold slab of meat during your test run. This will lower your temps depending on the size / amount of the meat.
Third, chill. The PBC is not like other cookers. Let her run.

[phoccer]

Yeah, I'm thinking my "dry runs" this week will be run with ribs in them.

[EdF]

Is there really such a thing as too many rib cooks?

[hogdog6]

EdF Too many rib cooks??? I do not know this thing you speak

[phoccer]

Thanks for the input. I also emailed PBC and they responded with a tip as well. So I have some things to try.

1. Set the vent at 1/8. Definitely better to start out small and work my way up.
2. Try lighting 30 coals vs 40 to start the cook.
3. I followed the PBC lighting directions and let the coals sit for 15 minutes before putting them on. They suggested only heating them for 12 minutes. I was in the mode thinking things needed to be ashed over before throwing them on but it's more of a timing thing.
4. Relax and just cook.

I'll keep tinkering and taking notes. Again, thanks for the ideas and pointers.

[FireMan]

IMHO, I am definetly not the authority on this matter. But the thing that attracted me to the PBC was the simplicity of things. I almost think you are over thinking and over analyzing the little bugger. Throw some meat in it, then try figuring it out. Have fun & eat good. It is very forgiving.

[lonnie mac]

Kudos for trying to learn your pit brother! Graphs make me scared thinking of actual work. I BBQ to get away from work. Learning your pit will take some real cooks and a lot of time but you are on the right track. Personally I have never counted a single coal in my life. Fire is a product of air intake, and exhaust. A thousand coals barely lit will give you the same heat as 100 blazing coals, give or take 500... That's the part that you have to master.

[Butchman]

Ditto, I ain't counting coals....ever!

[FireMan]

You guys got me wonderin, how many coals in a bag. Nah, who cares, it's enough.

[EdF]

Q-ing exercises different parts of your brain and soul than most work does. lonnie mac has it right!

[lemayp]

The pbc became fun for me when I stopped worrying what temp is was at and just left it alone. Figure out where your vent should be and get out of the way. Oh and cut long racks in half... not the type of burnt ends you want when they touch the coals!

[Butchman]

Cutting in half works and I've even set the hook 3 bones down which works too.

[jecucolo]

One thing you have to remember the dripping from the meats will cool the coals. It is a system that works with the meats. Without the moisture and humidity you won't get a true feel for the temperature. Stick with the Kingsford blue and tap the lid close. Those lids have a way of fooling you into thinking they are closed. Without a doubt if your temps stay above 300 and you are using KB you probably have a lid problem.
just my experience...

[phoccer]

Very good point about the meat and temps. I need to just do a run with meat and see how it goes before I make any changes. I may go back to the Kingsford Original if I have too many issues but I just prefer the smells of the Professional briquets so I'll see if I can make it work.

[Butchman]

I think the PBC spikes in the beginning of the cook then drops constantly until the second hour or so. Then I like to open the lid to peek and see how hot it feels inside. I wil usually the leave the lid open a crack for a couple minutes to heat the coals back up. When I close the lid I will twist it a bit to make sure it sets tight. I also will rotate the hook placement so that the drippings will fall on hot coals since after awhile the coals get soaked if you leave them in one spot.

[phoccer]

Ah, nice tip about rotating the hook placement. Thanks.

[fzxdoc]

Most folks report that when using Kingsford Professional the temp peaks high at first and then burns out sooner than Kingsford Original. I've never used Professional for long cooks, only relatively short poultry cooks where it really shines in the PBC, IMO. I like the idea that it burns hot and fast, which is what I want for poultry cooks.

In general, I agree with most folks who say that the PBC is a "set and forget" type of smoker. Surely it's a pretty forgiving design. But (you knew this was coming, right?) when it doesn't work well (as in a lid leak, or a poor initial lighting, crappy damp charcoal for instance), it can lead to an epic fail. For that reason, I still recommend monitoring the PBC temps but not getting obsessive about it. I put 2 pit probes in for every cook, just because I can. The temperatures can differ by as much as 40°F or more from the vent side to the opposite side throughout the cook, although the longer the cook progresses, the more in agreement the temps become. I take the average and don't mess with the temp much, by and large.

Plus, different chimneys heat the coals at different rates due to their design. Take a look at this topic for one example: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...act#post215808

I also think that monitoring the PBC temp is a good idea when cooking poultry if you want crispy skin and a juicy interior at the same time.

So really, phoccer , it's your call as to how to run that new PBC of yours. I always recommend following Noah's recommendations unless the results for your particular cooker at your particular altitude do not yield the results that he gets. That's when it's time to look more closely at tweaking various options to get that perfect result.

Have fun with your new PBC!

Kathryn

[phoccer]

fzxdoc Thanks for the feedback. I realize I'm trying to run this in a little bit different manner than suggested but I'm willing to tinker and prefer the all natural wood smells. For now I'm going to leave everything the same except I'm going to only let the lit coals sit for 12 minutes vs 15(suggested by PBC) and see how it goes. Change one variable at a time! From there I'll try adjusting the vent slightly. With all the feedback I'm realizing the adjustments are similar to how I'd adjust my Weber Kettle and by getting meat in the cooker I may not be as far off as my dry run shows. I'll find out this weekend when I throw a brisket in.

[kmhfive]

Good luck!

[fzxdoc]

That's exactly how I got to where I am with my own PBC, phoccer, changing one parameter at a time until I had the cooks set up as reproducible as possible. It's always embarrassing to me when I invite people for dinner and overshoot the ETA of the meat. That's why I moved to a reproducible fire starting method, monitoring the PBC temps throughout the cook, and documenting what happens with each cook. It's never perfect, but it's a lot more perfect than it was when I first started!

Kathryn