Question for PBC Owners About Burn Times

[Gilmore]

Hi, this might be an odd question, but I can't seem to find a consistent answer in all the searching I've done across the internet. I was wondering how long the charcoal typically burns for all of you with a full basket, 8-10+ hours? I'm between getting a PBC and a WSM right now and it might be irrational, but I don't want to deal with worrying about the coals continuing to burn for 6-8+ hours after I'm done with a 2-3 hour cook. I know on a WSM, it's pretty easy to close up all the vents, and stop the burn. It sounds like it might not be so easy on a PBC.

So my questions for you all that own a PBC -

1. Is it pretty easy and fast to snuff out the fire by covering the holes with magnets or foil? Or would placing the basket in one of those galvanized trash cans with a lid work?
2. Can you do shorter cooks with less charcoal? Like a 1/4 basket, single chimney? What works or doesn't work in your experience

[Jerod Broussard]

It's pretty hard to put about a quarter basket in. I would say most the time I will run about 1/2 or a little more if I'm doing ribs.

I have snuffed out the fire a couple times but most of the time I have used just about everything in the basket and I don't really bother, in fact I will crack the lid or remove it and try to burn out what's left in order to clean out any grease residue.

[PappyBBQ]

Yup. Me too...

[HawkerXP]

I see 8 hours on a full but not Spinnaker full basket. I use the rake to put basket into my kettle to snuff out. I use less then full but never really counted on smaller cooks. Since I snuff and reuse I'm not overly concerned, I rather have to much then not enough.

[SoCalTim]

Here's my two cents, charcoal is cheap ... I just fill the basket the same way .. every-single-time. Also, when I am done for the day, I pull the rebar and put HDAF in the holes and close the bottom air inlet. I've let it go and the coals can stay lite til the next day, I just want to shut it down and not worry about it.

[JeffJ]

The problem with snuffing the fire is the bottom vent isn't designed to be adjusted. Set it and forget it. Also, the charcoal door on the WSM tends to leak (unless it's replaced with a Cajun Bandit door) which makes snuffing the fire in a WSM tricky as well.

[Gilmore]

Okay, thanks for the replies everyone, what I've got so far is:

• WSM has the same "problem" since it has quite a few air leaks, so no improvement there.
• PBC can run fine with approx. a half basket of charcoal to shorten the run time.
• PBC can easily be snuffed with HDAF in the holes. (Don't forget to mark where the bottom vent needs to go back to if you move it)

[JeffJ]

Gilmore are you "Happy"? :-)

[Gilmore]

of course! and I'm thinking a new PBC to compliment my gasser would certainly add to it

[JeffJ]

A new PBC adds to just about anyone's happiness, Mr. Gilmore. IMO it's more gratifying that repeatedly ripping 400-yard drives on the golf course.

Gilmore

[phoccer]

I believe it's mentioned in one of the sticky threads at the top but a way to snuff out the extra charcoal for reuse is to use heat resistant gloves to lift the basket with the remaining coals and put them in a 10 gallon galvanize steel trash can with a lid.

I use Kingsford Pro charcoal so I dump all my extra ash into the can and then spread it across my yard so the can serves a double purpose for me.

[Pirate Scott]

Holy Walleye! phoccer

[phoccer]

From my annual early Nov walleye trip to MN. That was from last Nov. All catch and release where we fish. Only get photos if it's 25"+. Getting ready for this years trip! I'm ready!

[Brewmaster]

This was posted in an earlier topic
Charcoal Amount


More than 6 hours--120 in basket, 40 in chimney
Between 4 & 6--80 in basket, 40 in chimney
Between 1 & 4--40 in basket , 40 in chimney
Less than 1 hour--10 in basket, 40 in chimney

I also made a divider for my basket so it only cooks on one side

[abandonedbrain]

I was just thinking about how to divide the basket... maybe using a large coffee can cut half-height with the bottom cut out? Almost like putting a chimney starter in the bottom instead of the basket...

[JimLinebarger]

Putting out the coals:
I have a BBQ Guru PartyQ so that I can adjust temps down to 250 for some smokes and bring it up to over 350 for others (could just crack the lid for those though). Because the adapter has a heat resistant plug when not in use, I leave the rebar in and plug the adapter. It goes out in about 1/2 hr.
I use both briquettes and lump charcoal (briquettes work better and longer). For shorter smokes I fill the basket about 1/2-3/4 full. Since I can choke air flow with my setup I don't go through charcoal very fast. It is not the norm though. With the original setup I have seen some put nuts and bolts in the hole where the rebar goes for different reasons but also for saving charcoal. The lower hole is the issue. Could put some foil in it but just remember to remove it for the next smoke.

[Steve R.]

Do you have directions for installing the adapter on the PBC?

[JimLinebarger]

They have the PBC as one of their choices and they have changed over to the same adapter as the Weber. They don't have the Universal adapter that I have now. So I guess install it at the same level as the PBC inlet and drill a hole between 7/8”-1-1/4” like you would installing it on a Weber.

[jecucolo]

I use to use small corks. I would take the bars out and push in the corks. Worked great. I just keep losing the corks so now I just let it burn.

[abandonedbrain]

Gilmore I used to think about how to save those briquettes when I first started using my PBC; seemed an awful waste! But then I decided to just change the way I think about it instead. Now when I fire up the PBC, I have a plan to do multiple cooks at one time. If I'm doing ribs for dinner, I'll take them off and drop in three halved chickens while we eat the ribs. Then I shred the chix and vac-seal it all up. I use the flip-hinged grate to do a pork tenderloin for dinner, and a pork butt for shredding/vac-sealing/freezing (I'm just too afraid of losing a 9# butt to the hook method), and still have a bit of room for some potatoes around the edge. If I do pork tenderloins for a group, I'll drop in some chickens after I remove the pork.

My freezer is my friend; I always have shredded pork and chicken, and often I'll have cooked ribs and brisket hunks handy for "What the heck will we cook for dinner tonight?!" nights. Drop 'em in a pot of hot water to warm up, and they taste just as good as the day they came off the cooker. Chili always comes out better with these shredded smoked meats added.

The beauty of the PBC is its versatility and long burn times. You can cook anything and vacuum seal it and freeze for later... With a bit of planning, you'll stop worrying about the large load of briqs you'll burn. Anything which needs to be cooked by itself and in a shorter time goes on my Weber kettle with no hard feelings.

[Gilmore]

I like that, I'm used to a gas grill with easy on/off and not comfortable with letting the idea of letting the PBC run completely unattended (though that may be irrational with the way it's designed...) Reserving it for times when I can cook tons multiple things to save for later is a great idea.