PolarBear that's a sweet charcoal holder! I don't have the skills to make something like that, you should sell them. In regards to the water pan I like the humidity it provides, since I got the PK all I've been cooking is chickens until I get a feel for things. I notice the meat is juicier & less tough when using a water pan. Skin is crispier on dry runs but I'll accept that trade-off.
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Last edited by Larry Grover; February 4, 2018, 12:25 AM. -
I just noticed you said "briquets" - are you referring to lump or something like Weber Wood charcoal?Originally posted by Jerod Broussard View Post
To make things more confusing Kingsford has a product called "Lump Briquets".
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I'm just referring to the Hardwood Briquets -
Ok thanks. No B&B in my area - we don't have a stinking Walmart unfortunately. I'll try the Weber since it's at Home Depot. -
Larry Grover Walmart here does not carry the briquets only lump. A sorta small grocery store chain carries the small bags here in town, and Academy is where I get the bigger bag of briquets.
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The PK is really good at shutting down and saving fuel. Started with 100 briquets (2332g) and the image shows what was left after the cook - the equivalent of 42 briq's or (979g).
Was reading up on the Weber charcoal last night and am going to give it a go. The briq's are almost twice as big as KB so you only have to use half as much. Should be easier to dig out, dust off and re-use and they burn longer.Attached FilesComment
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Only problems I have with the pk360 are it’s a bit of a pain to clean out ash compared to something like a Weber kettle. And I wish it was a pk720.Comment
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That’s interesting because there’s a website that did a burn test with the Weber coal and found it emits the same amount of ash as KB. However, during the cook Weber dumped less ash. Both started with one chimney full, and after 100 minutes the Weber chimney was still 1/2 full while the KB was 1/4 full. Two other brands tested were basically spent while some of the Weber briq’s were still full size.
Would be be great though if it were like lump, because you are right ash cleanup is easier in a Weber kettle.Comment
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Lowest ash I’ve found is with stubs natural hardwood. Maybe 20% less than kbb.Comment
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I'm in a different corner of the room when it comes to ash cleanup, I like the PK. It's been years since I used a Weber and perhaps they've improved, but mine had a little dish under it that rested on some clips. The wind would blow it around and it was easy to tip the dish when trying to remove it to empty. With the PK I hang a bucket on the back, pull the plug, and use a paintbrush to sweep it to the hole. I don't get it spotless, don't even try, a quick sweep the covers and around the intake tubes. Replace the plug and go dump the bucket when it gets full, which is numerous cooks.Comment
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Polar did say it's a "bit" of a pain and I feel the same. I don't have a Weber kettle but a buddy of mine has the Gold version with the attached ash can underneath. He just rotates the intake blades a few times then gives the bottom of the kettle a shake and it's done.Originally posted by ComfortablyNumb View Post
The PK has those nooks & crannies around the intake tubes that you have to brush out but it's better than other options out there. It's a refreshing change from ash cleaning the Pit Barrel. I wouldn't tell anyone not to buy it because cleaning is too difficult, because every piece of this rig is high quality.
And here's the link to the burn test I mentioned earlier, couldn't get the link to work on my cell phone...
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I’m hoping they make a pk720 ;-) with the nooks and crannies minimized on the inside.
The pk360 might be the only thing I’d use if I could just cram more in it at once. A big square 720 would be neat though they’d have to make a multiple leg stand for it.
Maybe then they couldn’t call it "portable" kitchen.
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Yea I guess the "portable" name would have to be removed if they release a 720. They should bring back the 1200 series Presidential model. Not sure what the grill size was but it was their biggest.
I found a vintage PK cookbook online and it said (with the standard size model) to use 25-30 briquets for indirect and 50-60 for direct cooking. Set one bottom vent closed and the other wide open. Then close one on top and leave the other 1/3 open and temps will maintain 325 degrees for 2 hours. The 1200 series called for 35-40 briquets and 60-70 (direct) so it must've been somewhere close to a Weber 22" or PK360.
Also, last night I cooked a chicken with the Weber charcoal. Lit 40 briq's (2/3 chimney) according to the instructions on the bag which called for 3 weber cubes and the top was ashing over in less than 15 minutes. It maintained 310 degrees but I wanted to bump it up so I sprinkled 1/4 chimney of lump over the top and it throttled up to 350 until it was done cooking @ 1.5 hrs.Comment
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Running with the fireboard drive and a pit viper fan. Got about 5-6 hours at 350 in the pk360.Attached FilesComment
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I don't know why I keep coming here, it just makes me want to buy more stuff. Did you have to make any permanent modifications to your PK when you installed the Pit Viper? And did you have to mess with the rubber piece at all from the front of the intake tube?
I wish there was a dedicated PK forum where we can post guides and stuff.Last edited by Larry Grover; February 9, 2018, 12:17 PM.Comment
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Additions so I can run no problem in rain or snow. Rain shields for top vents and to keep water off the fan (left intake).Comment
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Well I guess problem is solved. After reading Polar's reports (and others recommendations) I went out and bought a Fireboard with BBQ Guru fan. I have an extra turkey in the freezer I want to cook so I did a dry run with a target temp of 325 for as long as possible. I put a full chimney of KB (100 bricks) in the PK then lit a lighter cube in the corner and closed the lid. I ran it for almost 20 minutes before realizing I had both intakes closed, but no problem the fan kicked in at 100% and brought it back to life.
It ran a solid 325 for 5 hours before crapping out - totally untouched, no lid lifting or shaking of ashes. The Fireboard came with 3 probes, so I placed one on the far left of the cooking area, one middle and one far right near the border of the charcoal. I also put 1-2 inches of water in a pan since that's usually how I roll.
It appears there's a difference of 50 degrees from far left to far right probes so I suppose that I should move meat around accordingly.
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A few questions:
- How do you set the exhaust when running fans? I started with one exhaust 1/2 open but then noticed Fireboard recommends 1/3. After I changed it I noticed a slight drop in temp in the left probe and spike in the right probe but really don't understand why.
- Did I light the charcoal right? It seems too easy not having to use a chimney.
- Do you run probes through the exhaust or are you ok with running them under the lid? It's such I tight seal it feels like I'm going to damage the wires.
Also, just a kudos to Fireboard. There was an alarm going off that I didn't know how to turn off so I called them at 6:30 PM their time. Some dude immediately answered the phone and was really nice and walked me through everything. After talking to him everything made sense and it's all so simple and easy.Comment
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Fireboard is super responsive. I bugged them about their fan algorithms and in a week they posted a max fan setting which worked, and a couple weeks after that their app now has 3 new algorithms to choose from. I’m bugging them now about the colors and graphs zooming and curve selection. :-) -
I was running the probes through the exhaust because the lid fits so tight I didn’t want to do that.
I did eventually just drill a probe port and run them through there so I can open the lid without anything moving. I ran the wires to the electronics inside a deck box so now the whole set up is rain proof.
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I’ve used both the cyberq and the fireboard. They both work great.
I’m lazy so when I’m running 225 I just use a starter cube. When doing 350 I use a couple cubes to get it up and running faster.
When running 225F I set the left top exhaust to about 1/3. When running 325-350 I set it to 1/2. If it’s too open, the fire doesn’t settle down quickly and if it’s too closed you get a smoky/ ashy burn.
The fan takes care of everything else. I do completely cover the charcoal grate with foil up to my coal basket to force every bit of fan air to the right into the firebox. I think that keeps temps more even across the grate as well. I usually don’t use any pan anymore unless the recipe requires capturing anything. Definitely no water required to maintain any temp I use on this rig.
Im doing similar experiments with a PBC now for when I need more room.Last edited by Polarbear777; February 16, 2018, 07:53 PM.Comment
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