PBC Winter Weather

[Wolverine4400]

Can any of you tell me how the PBC works in winter weather say like in Michigan in December?
thanks. can't wait to hear what everyone has to say?
thanks in advance

[HawkerXP]

I am in northern Virginia and my PBC works great in winter. You may expect cooks to take a little longer but no problems here.

I have seen in the PBC area that someone made a insulated shield for his.

[Hoovie]

I am in southern WI. It works well in the winter. It is a little harder to get higher temps like you want for chicken. Also, it goes through charcoal at a faster rate. I did 3- 8 pound pork butts on superbowl morning. Took about 7 hours. Had to reload charcoal at roughly 5 hours. Was running close to 300 degrees the whole cook. I think it was about ten degrees in the morning when i started and quite windy.

[MBMorgan]

No problem with Colorado winter temps. The wind is the biggest problem. I try to make sure the bottom vent is facing away from the wind ... not sure it helps, but I feel that I have to try something.

[Spinaker]

I live in Minnesota. I have smoked briskets when it was -15 F, no problems. The PBC is a tank. Temps never seem to effect mine.

[hogdog6]

All winter long here in northern Utah.

[AdamJG]

Only thing I've noticed on cold windy days in upstate NY is it uses more charcoal, but it's never been enough of an issue to deter me from using it.

[Meatyorology]

I have used mine for two winters in Vermont and have never had a problem cooking with it.

[Mr. Bones]

Great pic, Welcome to th' Pit!!!

[Wolverine4400]

Great, just what i was hoping for. thanks to all for the input.

[JeffHillyard]

I live in Newfoundland, Canada (I'll give you a second to look at a map... done? Okay, good). In other words, I live on an island off the coast of mainland North America surrounded by the frigid North Atlantic.

Our winters pretty much try to kill us.

That said, I have not noticed any major difference when cooking on the PBC in winter vs. cooking in the summer. Might go through a little more charcoal.

Also, another plus. Mine has sat outdoors, uncovered for almost 5 years. The PBC has stood the test of time and is not really any worse for wear.

[rototiller78]

You mean Vinland, right? <wink, wink>

[JeffHillyard]

rototiller78 well yeah, but I'm not a Viking... lol

[Wando52]

I live in Louisiana, no problems cooking in the dead of winter here, might see freezing temps, but not often. 😁

[Doozy]

I live in Louisiana, no problems cooking in the dead of winter here, might see freezing temps, but not often. 😁

+1 In fact, I prefer cooking in February as opposed to August. At least you aren't exposed to 100% humidity and those dang mosquitos the size a chicken.

[abandonedbrain]

Wolverine4400 I'm in the Grand Rapids area, and I got my PBC as a Christmas present from my wife. I cooked with it all winter, somewhat sheltered on the east side of the house from wind. We had a pretty mild winter the last half (almost no winter at all!), but I did find that one of the biggest issues I battled from the get-go was humidity. The PBC really didn't mind wind much, maybe a bit, but it didn't like humidity at all.

I cooked some split chickens and a couple of pork tenderloins (one after the other so I could eat and cook at the same time) for Mother's Day, and noticed my "settling" temperature was WAY higher than it was over the winter, by about 30F at a minimum. It was a relatively dry day, a bit of wind, and an outdoor temp of about 65F. After a couple of hours, the temps dropped (but that's another story; I have a few threads here where I'm having some control issues) way down.

Suffice to say, everyone has a different way of using the PBC, and every PBC has its quirks, it seems. The best advice I can give is to just try it. No matter what, you'll be able to cook in the winter with the PBC. Whether that's quick chicken dinners or a brisket is up to you and the cooker; you'll just have to try it out. A bunch.

[PappyBBQ]

I concur with your observation that relative humidity seems to have a large impact on the PBC. It creates a humid cooking environment to begin with, and when you add high relative humidity to the mix the pit temps go down. I live in Los Angeles, and early morning cooks during the "June Gloom" season here where relative humidity runs at 90+ percent (temps in 60's so not terribly uncomfortable) cause me to have more frequent "interactions" with the PBC to keep the temps up. During "normal" weather conditions my pit will run between 261 and 269 with zero interference from me. I just light it, throw on the meat, and go about my day and the thing runs rock solid. Throw in high relative humidity and my process changes big time. You get used to it, but it's no longer a "set if and forget it" thing.

[Wolverine4400]

thank you all