PBC won't maintain temperature

[hubmacfan]

I'm having a lot of trouble getting my PBC to get out of the low 200s. From what I've read, it looks like it's normal for it to hover somewhere between 250 and 275. I've followed all the steps in the Start my Fire sticky.

Here's what's really weird. In three hours, I burned through an entire basket of charcoal.

I had an initial spike up to 390, and then the temp settled down around 225 according to the ET-733. I would crack the lid, it wouldn't help. I live less than 200 ft above sea level, so I had the damper set at 1/4. I tried opening it up to 1/2, temperature still wouldn't go above 250.

I've had to add more coals because the entire basket has burned. But my pork butt temp is still only 125 (by ET-733 and confirmed by thermopop).

[jecucolo]

What type of charcoal are you using?

[hubmacfan]

Kingsford original

[Spinaker]

Having your pit in the low 200's is not the end of the world. It can run at 225 F and still be fine. It is not the end of the world.

How much charcoal did you have lit from the onset?

I usually fill the basket plumb full with charcoal, then I will hollow out the middle of the basket by taking briquettes out of the basket and adding them to the chimney. If I had to guess, I would say maybe it is about 30 briquettes or so.

I light the chimney and let it burn until those briquettes are screaming hot. Then I give the chimney a good shake to get all the ash off the coals. Then I dump the red hot coals into the basket. Once the basket is back in the PBC, I let it burn for about 5 mins, to make sure the charcoal takes. Then I place the lid on top.

You should get at least 6 hours out of a basket. I usually get at least 8 hours or so. It is strange that you only got a few hours out of a basket.


Open the bottom damper to half way and let it breathe. Crack the lid as well. Keep an eye on it though because it will flare up with too much oxygen. I usually have to crack the lid at some point when I am running the PBC.

Not that you did this, but I don't reuse charcoal. I have never had good luck with doing that with briquettes. Make sure they are dry and fresh.

[mnavarre]

Where do you have the pit probe placed? If it's too close the meat or the side of the barrel you can get inaccurate readings.

[hubmacfan]

There's a good chance that's what happened. I was hanging three pork butts, two skewers of vegetables, the sausage hanger, and the corn hanger all in the pit at the same time.

[RobertC]

hubmacfan I'm thinking you've probably followed the starting advice and that you've got a loaded barrel.

[waldo711]

Does anyone have advice on how/where to position the temp probe so that it’s not too close to the meat or side of the PBC?

[jecucolo]

Seem like you are doing everything right and you are using a good charcoal. I have not had this problem. Have you tried using the fzxdoc 10-10-10 method of lighting. Put 40 briquettes in the chimney starter at let burn for 10 minutes, put the on a full basket of charcoal less the 40, let that burn 10 minutes, put the the lid on with out the rebar and let that burn 10 minutes. See how that runs. On a full basket you should get 8 hours easy. If I have 2 briskets in the pbc I will have to crack the lid. I just pick up a twig in the yard and prop one side open.

[hubmacfan]

I followed the 10-10-10 method exactly.

[fzxdoc]

Low PBC temps in my PBC usually means that I did not get a good initial light to the coals--that is, that they simply were not hot enough before I added the meat.

What lighting procedure did you use, hubmacfan ?

I have also seen low PBC temps when the charcoal was not dry: when it was stored in humid conditions, perhaps. Could that be a possibility?

Kathryn

[hubmacfan]

I followed your procedure from the sticky post exactly.

As far as the charcoal being stored in humid conditions, I live in south Mississippi. It's always humid. But, it was also raining very hard today as I opened a brand-new bag of charcoal and loaded the coal basket.

[fzxdoc]

For in some instances, hubmacfan , I let the coals in the chimney go 15 or even 20 min in the first step of that lighting procedure. It depends on how long it takes for the topmost coals to get some ash on them. This depends sometimes on the chimney, the charcoal brand, and how humid the charcoal may be. Dry Kingsford Professional in a standard Weber Chimney takes 20 min to get to that point for me, for example.

Kathryn

[fzxdoc]

hubmacfan , a brand new bag does not ensure that the charcoal has not absorbed moisture, which it can. I picked up some KBB bags at the Dollar Store a few years back; sure, they were sitting outside the main doors, but for $2 a bag I figured what the hey.

I went home that night and tried to light part of one bag in my PBC. Very erratic cook, tempwise (lower than normal PBC temp). That taught me to buy charcoal and store it in big Rubbermaid containers in my garage, using the oldest first, which is also the dryist (is that a word? )

Kathryn

[Mosca]

Driest.

[FireMan]

Or dryest. 🕶

[fzxdoc]

Gosh, and I was so good in spelling back in grade school.

Thanks guys. I knew it didn't look right but was too lazy to think about it.

K

[JeffJ]

Go to the PBC sticky thread.

The lighting instructions that Kathryn put together are a bible for me.

The PBC needs 40 fully lit coals on top of the basket of unlit coals.

If you are stingy with the lit coals the PBC will struggle. It's designed to run hot and it works really well.

fzxdoc

[RustyHaines]

Diddo fzxdoc advice on making sure you get a good hot start on the coals before putting the meat on. Seems odd you burned through a whole basket so quickly but did not record higher temps so I too suspect a faulty probe temperature placement, etc. Also, it sounds like you had one full PBC.

And I second Spinaker 's point on having to add air/draft at some point during a cook on a PBC. Most crack the lid for a bit. I added a lid damper (Weber 3 hole disk) to my PBC for just this reason and have never regretted doing so. I can run my PBC at 250 for 6-8 hours when I want low and slow or I can rev it up to 375-450 for chicken. As fzxdoc and other PBC experts on this forum remind us, it is a process (that takes time) to learn your cooker. But trust me, when you do learn your PBC it will become a vital piece in your cooker arsenal. Hang in there and keep cooking.

[jecucolo]

I recently added a permanent cork and chain to close the PBC off after cooking. I know as Harry Su says it is another "3 hour discussion" on whether to save charcoal but it is a saving in convenience for me to conserve charcoal. Just thought I’d share it.

[JeffJ]

That's clever.

I don't try to save charcoal but I do seek out great deals on it and load up when I find it, so I understand this line of thought....

[JimLinebarger]

Brilliant! That is just too cool! Issue is we just don't through that much wine since we only use it for cooking. Now I must remember to save them!

[New2Cue]

hubmacfan I have the exact same issue you do. I'm not sure if it's from storing the charcoal in my garage or not, but I'm also using Kingsford Original and temps for the last few years keep crashing on my PBC. Very frustrating to have to go every 20 minutes to crack the lid and then back out to close it before temps skyrocket.

[Duanessmokedmeats]

I am thinking of putting my charcoal in a storage bin with a Golden Rod (dehumidifier used in gun safe's to keep the moisture out).