Noah says on the website to light the PBC chimney, dump it in 12 minutes later and immediately cook. The first time I did that and it worked perfectly with ribs. Ever since that first cook, however, I find that my PBC shoots up over 300 and I have to stuff foil in the rebar holes to keep it down. The lid isn't leaking or cracked - it's pretty well seasoned now. I'm 3 blocks from the ocean, so I think it's safe to say I'm at sea-level. Here's a pic of my vent - Have I got it right? If so, why such wild variation?
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Additional info: I'm using Kingsford Blue Bag. 40 coals in the chimney. Very quick to hang the food and get the lid on after dumping the coals. turning the bottom vent away from prevailing winds. Both rebar in place. Right now I have foil in 3 of the rebar holes and am at 257. -
Actually it is pretty normal for the PBC temperature to rise for awhile. After about 30-40 minutes it starts to settle down. It takes that long for the moisture to start dripping from the meats which start cooling down the coals. If it stay high for an hour or more there are only a couple of things it can be. Air leaks can be very subtle around the lid. Put a heavy weight on the lid to see if it helps. I would get the Lavarock kit and seal the lid. It is very inexpensive and makes a huge difference. If you are sure there is no air leak then try using the Kingsford Blue Bag charcoal. This really is the friendliest burning charcoal for the PBC. Make sure you aren't using more than 40 briquets in the chimney. Adjusting the damper at the bottom has not really made that much of a difference to me.Comment
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I find the vent on the bottom to not do much for temps unless I have a direct wind blowing into it. The "vacuum" created by a leak or leaks up top are the main cause of high temps. But as mentioned above, a rise in temps shortly after hanging meat is nothing to worry about.Comment
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Thanks for replying jecucolo and Jerod Broussard . So you would be ok with a spike to say 325 F with ribs and just trust that it will settle down without plugging the rebar holes?
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Yep that’s pretty normal. fzxdoc actually likes her first temps to be high at first knowing it will settle in the 265-275 range in a short time. You can’t be too ocd with the pbc. If after an hour it’s not getting under 300 then maybe foil a hole.Comment
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I created a calculator to compute the correct PBC vent setting for any altitude. It's based on Noah's data and according to Noah and to my calc, your vent opening looks pretty much spot on for your altitude:
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Arsenlael The cover never fully closes the vent, as its point of attachment is a bit higher on the barrel than the vent hole itself. So the most you can do is cover 7/8 of the vent hole. -
DurhamBuckeye - Thanks for responding (correctly!). I had lost this thread and wasn't able to answer.
Arsenlael - If you look closely at the PBC, you'll see that the vent cover is the same diameter as the vent hole. Because it is attached to the barrel a short distance above the vent hole it can never fully cover it and therefore it's impossible to close it 100%. Like DurhamBuckeye said, 7/8 closed (or 1/8 open) is about the best you can do.
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I think you are overthinking things. The beauty of the PBC is *NOT* worrying with temps. Let it do its thing, learn when that means the meat will be done, and enjoy the fact that you can crank out a brisket or butt in 8 hours versus the 12-16 it takes me at low and slow temps....
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hoovarmin The faster cook times I see on the PBC website are one of the reasons I would not mind getting one. I've also experimented, accidentally having an overnight cook of a butt on my kettle reach 340F, and you know what? The butt was perfectly fine! Just done 5-6 hours sooner than expected!
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At what temps would you guys start foiling holes for a low and slow cook? I'm at 261 now. In my Kettle I'd be trying to get that down, but my understanding is that with the PBC is that temp is acceptable for low and slow - is that correct?Comment
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I am very happy with temps from 260-270. I've had my PBC for three years now, and sometimes it drops to 225. Am not used to cooking at that temp. My temps always start high (360+) and drop, usually within an hour to around 260-290. I've just started cooking briskets and have done three. Am very happy with the results. I do monitor temps for long cooks (6-10 hours) and either crack the lid or plug holes, when needed. But ,maybe I over think.
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I would study some more of fzxdoc extended writeups on cooks in the PBC, but my understanding is the PBC can ride along in the upper 200's to lower 300's throughout the cook, and do just fine, due to the more moist environment. And as others have pointed out, as the meat starts dripping, the juices will douse the coals somewhat. I guess it could also be a factor of what you are cooking. Is it a large butt, a brisket, a single slab of ribs or one chicken? The lighter the load, the hotter it will run, just like in a kettle. My kettle will drop 100 degrees when I load it up with 4 split 5 pound birds. If I put a single rack of ribs in there, I doubt it would drop at all.
I would not try to control this like I would your kettle with the SNS. Follow the directions for the first few cooks, and mostly focus on monitoring meat doneness, and not pit temperature.Comment
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What's "normal" in the PBC is roughly 275-295. Some run hotter but few (if properly lit) can run cooler without temp stability issues. If you chase temps in the PBC with foil, you'll just frustrate yourself without improving on the cooked results at all.Comment
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260-275 is where the pbc lives. It is not meant to be any lower. Sometimes it does but I actually get a little nervous when it starts going in the 250 range.Comment
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Ok, thanks guys. Feeling more confident now.Comment
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Agree with everyone else. Best thing you can do is ignore temps in the PBC. Especially when dealing with something like ribs. I’m still coming to grips with it . I still monitor the temps but don’t chase a particular temp.Comment
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In my experience, you've got to shelve the notion that your cooks should be at 225° for the PBC, hoovarmin . The PBC is just not very happy at that temperature, although you can certainly cook that low if you want. However, you could end up starving the fire of oxygen and the resulting smoke is bitter. I smoked a brisket at 225° early on in my PBC career, and it was no better and in some ways worse than smoking one at the PBC's favorite (higher) temperature.
The PBC is a happy little cooker that cruises around 250-300°. I've had two PBCs and each liked/likes to settle in at slightly different temps.
If your initial temps stay at 300°+ for a long while, about an hour or so, and continue to climb throughout that time, then you've most likely got a small leak. Leaks are pesky to find--there's not usually a big billow of smoke coming out from under the lid. My lid leak was right at the place where there is a seam between two rebar holes, so the smoke from the lid at that point was mixing with that from the rebar holes and I couldn't see it until I put a piece of cardboard horizontal above the rebar holes. Then I could see the small leak. I have since sealed my PBC lid with the LavaLoc gasket that someone mentioned earlier. Works like a charm.
A leak will play havoc with initial temps but does not make much difference as you get into a long cook, say at the 2 or 3 hour mark, at least in my experience.
And finally, the ambient temp in the PBC can vary by as much as 40° or so from one side of the barrel (say, the vent side) to the other, and this rather large variation can switch about during a cook. I always use 2 ambient probes for my PBC cooks. I go with the average. The advantage of using 2 ambient probes is that I'm more comfortable with keeping my mitts off the PBC during a cook and letting it do its thing.
So how did the cook turn out?
KathrynLast edited by fzxdoc; February 11, 2019, 10:12 AM.Comment
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