PBC temp too low

[carolinastyle]

I've used my PBC a couple of times so far, with mixed success. I broke it in on a chuck roast that didn't end up being tender enough to pull (but tasted wonderful), a brisket that came out perfect, a pork butt that was a complete failure (utterly dry), and I'm doing my first turkey as I type.

One consistent thing I am noticing is that my PBC likes it cool. Left on its own, it hovers around 200 degrees, way too low for most of the things I'm cooking. It sounds like most people are experiencing higher cook temps around 300. In order to get that, I have to crack and close the lid every 20-30 minutes or so, which is highly disruptive. I live in an elevation of about 4,500 ft, and I leave the air intake open all the way. I leave a rebar out when I can, and that gets it closer to 250, but I often need both rebars in for hanging.

I'm using Cowboy natural wood charcoal, if that's relevant. Any tips or ideas?

[SoCalTim]

KBB is what is recommended, IMO (humble opinion might I add) that is where your problem lays. My recommendation is to try another cook with it and see how your PBC responds.

For optimum perforance, lump is NOT recommended. Weekend is here, love to see you try again and get back to us. Tim

[FireMan]

Yup!

[Steve R.]

I live in an elevation of about 4,500 ft, and I leave the air intake open all the way.

I think this is a big part of the problem with your low temps. According to the PBC instructions, your air vent should be about 1/2 open. Even though opening it more is a way to increase temperature, overdoing it can have the opposite effect. And definitely use KBB.

[JeffJ]

As simple as it looks, the PBC was meticulously engineered to perform based upon a controlled set of variables - bottom vent set to sea level, KBB as the fuel, both rebars in, 40 lit coals on top of a bed of unlit coals, etc. When any of the variables deviate from the standard recipe, its performance becomes somewhat unpredictable and inconsistent.

[Nate]

Check the lighting instruction on the PBC sub forum. One thing that can get you is if you aren't letting a good bed of coals establish and really burn before putting the lid on and it meat in the Cooker.

[fzxdoc]

I agree with Steve R. 's comment that the major contributor may be that wide open vent. Read this section of Max Good 's review of the PBC which shows what happens when the vent is set wider open than optimal for the elevation:

Our elevation is about 800 feet so we adjusted the vent 1/4 open. Later, we tried setting it at 1/2. The PBC got real hot for a couple hours then, even with plenty of coal remaining, the temperature dropped like a rock and almost died out. When we returned the damper to 1/4 way open, the fire came back and temperature began to rise.

Does your temperature drop from an initial high and settle in for a while (a few hours) and then start slowly dropping to the 200s? Or does it continue to drop from the get go?

If it drops continually from the get-go, then looking at your lighting method might be something to consider. Here's a topic that might help: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...ures#post12614 .

One thing I've learned with my PBC is to change one thing at a time for a cook if I'm in "tweaking mode". Otherwise you never know which change had what effect. So if I were in your place, I'd close the lower vent down to its recommended setting and see what happens.

FWIW, I'm at 3500 feet and have my lower vent set slightly above the recommended opening. From trials, I determined that for my PBC at this altitude, that worked best.

Kathryn

[GrillSergeantTim]

Everyone who has replied here has excellent advice. As everyone else has said your charcoal choice and vent adjustment are most likely your problem. The one other thing to consider here is the wind. Most people claim that the pbc really isn't affected by wind but that has not been my experience. Every time the wind kicks up at my house my cook times get extended 30 minutes to an hour and I usually end up cracking the lid several times. I have tried turning the barrel vent into the wind and away from it. The first time I turned the vent towards the wind my fire nearly went out. After that I turned it away and blocked one side with a large block of wood. This seems to be the best method to keep it running but I still have to crack the lid and baby sit it.

Again this doesn't sound like your problem but it's just one thing to consider and keep in the back of your mind. I'm willing to bet if you fallow the advice from everyone else you'll be fine.

[RobertC]

I agree with Steve R. 's comment that the major contributor may be that wide open vent. Read this section of Max Good 's review of the PBC which shows what happens when the vent is set wider open than optimal for the elevation:

Our elevation is about 800 feet so we adjusted the vent 1/4 open. Later, we tried setting it at 1/2. The PBC got real hot for a couple hours then, even with plenty of coal remaining, the temperature dropped like a rock and almost died out. When we returned the damper to 1/4 way open, the fire came back and temperature began to rise.

I've always been puzzled by Good's statement. If that were so, I'd think that temperature controllers wouldn't work with a PBC -- but they appear to.

[fzxdoc]

Well, he saw what he saw, RobertC . I think some of it has to do with the draw of air across the coals, perhaps?

Kathryn

[RobertC]

Oh, I don't at all doubt that he saw what he saw. I'm wondering about the reason he gave for what he saw. I occasionally work with aerodynamic flow and drag and that can be pretty complex and subtle -- enough that even if I don't doubt his observation I wonder about the generalized lesson to be learned.

[carolinastyle]

Thank you all for the great feedback, what a helpful bunch of folks! I'm heading out of town and won't be cooking for the next week or so, but will give it a try when I get back and report back. The turkey came out perfect, BTW. Had two separate people tell me it was "the best turkey I've ever eaten".

[abandonedbrain]

carolinastyle Enjoy your holiday! When you get a chance, take a look at this post I added to a thread earlier this year: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...588#post344588

I had a lot of issues controlling my temps, and found for a while that my PBC liked hanging out below 235F. A HUGE issue turned out to be getting that starter bed of coals lit CORRECTLY. I was only using a couple of pieces of newspaper under my chimney, and it just didn't keep lit long enough to allow the briquettes to get a good start. Once I switched to using the Weber starter cubes (2 if windy, 1 if calm), my chimney gets ashed over much quicker, which really affects the rest of the session. Just as Nate mentioned above, the bed of coals is probably the most important aspect of controllable temps in the PBC.

I now have a PBC with a sweet spot of around 280F if I light up 40 briqs, 265-270F if I start 34. The number of briqs I start is now the ONLY thing I change between sessions, and that's dependent on what I'm cooking and for how long, and what the weather is like for the day. As others stated, only use Kingsford blue bag standard briqs; save your good stuff for your regular grill!

[JeffJ]

I douse my newspaper with some rubbing alcohol. It really helps speed things up.

[jecucolo]

I'm a renegade. I use 4 ounces of lighter fluid and let it burns for 15 minutes.

[Mahi]

I use an electric starter...it works great. Also if you have an older PBC you need to scrape the bottom real good before a new cook. I got tired of the screw holding the vent and went to magnetic cup holder...works great. Happy Turkey Day.

[carolinastyle]

Thanks for the tips everyone. Finally got the PBC out again today and did a chuck roast. Used Kingsford blue and let it burn for awhile before putting the meat on. The temp started out above 400, and gradually over about 1.5 hours came down to the 270-290 sweet spot. I did have to leave a rebar out to keep it from dropping further, but I was able to maintain a high temp for most of the cook, so I think I've got that down.

Unfortunately, the chuck didn't get tender enough to pull for some reason, and a lot of the fat didn't render, even though I took it to 205 over about 6.5 hours. So I now have a new problem to solve. But it sure did taste good!

[Steve R.]

Take that IT on up to about 210 and keep it there for an hour. That's key, in my experience. Getting up to that temp is just a matter of time and you can't overshoot it by much, due to the boiling point of the water contained in the meat. Also, wrap after the stall gets your bark the way you want it. That and a 2+ hr hold in a warm oven will have it melting in your mouth.

[kmhfive]

Chuckie for pulling is a different beast than pork butt. Take it to probe tender, but that can be above 203… maybe as high as 210F. Then, due to the abundance of tough collagens, try to hold it at the finish temp for an hour before a Cambro hold. The higher temperature hold can be done pretty well in an oven.