This has been hashed out before, but regardless, I don't see the need to try and extinguish the coals. Maybe you can work with less than a full basket for shorter cooks, but I would not fool with moving the charcoal to a closed can to put it out. It won't hurt anything to let it burn out in the PBC after the cook. I can extinguish the fire pretty completely on my Weber Performer, but unless some of the charcoal is untouched by the fire, its just not worth trying to reuse it for a future cook, unless its just a hot and fast cook. Reuse of partially burned charcoal in my SNS and kettle leads to unpredictable cooks.
I completely agree. I much prefer (erring on the side of caution, of course) using just enough fuel for the cook without trying to preserve unspent fuel. I always just let it burn out. I try to be efficient when burning carbon but I'm not a fan of trying to preserve mostly spent coals to be used for a future cook.
I probably don’t save much money corking the pbc but my tiny little mind like to experiment. I think it is why I enjoy live fire cooking. Freedom to fool around and see the results. The latest experiment I’ll be trying is making a little gasket I can put around the rebar to avoid wasting foil. I have some left over firerated caulk that I plan to use. More fun.
I just go with fewer coals in the basket for shorter cooks (always starting off with the the 40 briquettes in the starter though). I wouldn't try to extinguish briquettes.
That being said, I picked up a WSCGC and use it for my longer cooks. Temperature control (and range) is much better than the PBC, and it's much more fuel efficient.
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