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New to PK360- Controlling Temperatures- Direct and High Indirect.

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    New to PK360- Controlling Temperatures- Direct and High Indirect.

    Hi Everyone,

    At a competition cooker buddy's reccomendation I recently purchased a PK360. What a machine! For indirect low and slow, this thing just goes and goes. Have done brisket, ribs, pork butts with outstanding results. This thing will hold 225 for 6 hours+ without being touched. However, I was wondering if I might get some advice on best results for two other types of cooking.

    1. Direct cooking: Those coals are hot hot hot! I have trouble not burning fajitas and burgers and other items cooking direct with the lid open. Would it be safe to say that you just can't cook direct over charcoal on this grill with the lid open due to the short distance from the coal basket to the grill? It's only a few inches so just a single layer of briquets is only maybe 2.5 inches from the top of the coals to bottom of the grill grate. Closing the lid tamps the coals down and I'm guessing that's how you do it. Does it just take practice to maintain a good direct grilling temp?

    2. Indirect High temp roasting for items like Chicken/Turkey: I really struggle to hold above 280 degrees. Even using a chimney fully lit and then letting another half chimney light on top on the right side and leaving all vents open the grill will usually spike up to 325, but within 20 or 30 minutes will stabilize between 250 and 280. Closing the right top vent about 1/2 way (direct side) and leaving everything else full open seems to yield the best results. Leaving everything wide open seems to drop temps about 20 degrees. I've tried lump mesquite and Weber and Kingsford Briquettes. I've cleaned out the ash and tried both with and without a basket, but nothing seems to make much a difference. I would love to be able to get it really hot for a pizza or other high temp roasting, but it seems like maybe this just wasn't designed for that kind of oxygen flow.


    Anyhow. Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated!

    #2
    I suggest this reading this thread. There is another, just can't find it yet.

    https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...pk360-tutorial

    Here's the other:

    Last edited by ComfortablyNumb; September 9, 2019, 10:12 PM.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by ComfortablyNumb View Post
      I suggest this reading this thread. There is another, just can't find it yet.

      https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...pk360-tutorial

      Here's the other:

      https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...g-longer-pk360
      Thanks so much! I had read both those threads. I have a fire board, but no 110v electric nearby to I’m afraid a fan is not an option for me.

      Comment


      • au4stree
        au4stree commented
        Editing a comment
        I use the bbq guru party q, runs off batteries. I haven’t gotten as involved in my pk360 setup as most, mainly cause I haven’t located the oatey pipe plug. I just stuff the back end of air intake with foil. When putting my Party Q into the front of air intake, I use my Weber mount, fits perfectly for me. I have found better success with briqs rather than lump on long cooks.

      #4
      I have a PK360, My .02 on #1: I want it hot. I do burgers, chicken, steak, salmon, Korean short ribs directly. If I'm getting flare ups, I just move the meat around, put it on the cool side or take it off for a minute. Try a single layer of coals. For me, something like fajitas, veggies, cubed meat I do in a perforated skillet and toss like a normal saute pan.

      Comment


        #5
        This one will probably answer your questions, from Polarbear777 and his PK360 setup.....

        Comment


          #6
          Even when I cook directly over the charcoal to sear I start by cooking indirectly. Once the burgers or chicken is "done" (or nearly done) I put it directly over the charcoal to give it a nice sear. Usually they are over the charcoal for such a short time that flare ups are not an issue.

          Comment


            #7
            Originally posted by TripleB View Post
            I have a PK360, My .02 on #1: I want it hot. I do burgers, chicken, steak, salmon, Korean short ribs directly. If I'm getting flare ups, I just move the meat around, put it on the cool side or take it off for a minute. Try a single layer of coals. For me, something like fajitas, veggies, cubed meat I do in a perforated skillet and toss like a normal saute pan.
            Excellent, thank you. I will try that single layer of coals and invest in a slotted skillet. My brother does fajitas on his gas grill on a cast iron skillet with great results. This makes sense. Also, looking into Grill Grates. Thanks so much!

            Comment


              #8
              Originally posted by Troutman View Post
              This one will probably answer your questions, from Polarbear777 and his PK360 setup.....

              https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...g-longer-pk360
              Thank so much! Yes I had read that string before. My take away from that is that to maintain 325 on the PK360 for extended periods you really need a fan. That's going to take a lot of extension cords for me. I was just hoping that it was capable of getting above 280, perhaps much hotter like a Big Green Egg. However, that just may not be what it's designed for. It's great for direct grilling and low. I was just hoping there was a way get it to 300-400 degrees and keep it there for 1.5-2.5 hours.

              Comment


                #9
                I use my Fireboard with a fan all the time. A power bank gets the job done. No power cords needed.

                Comment


                  #10
                  Originally posted by Henrik View Post
                  I use my Fireboard with a fan all the time. A power bank gets the job done. No power cords needed.
                  Ahh dang. What I am gathering is I need to invest in a fan to get anything over 300 degree temps out of a PK360. Can you please send a link to what you are referring to? Thank you very much!
                  Last edited by Winchester44; September 10, 2019, 06:32 PM.

                  Comment


                    #11
                    I use my PK 360 mostly for 2-zone grilling for burgers, hot dogs, brats, and steaks. I find this is the real strength of this grill. I'll also occasionally use for low and slow cooks as it holds at 250 like magic. I find higher roasting temps 350-375 tricky, so I use my BGE or Traeger for those cooks.

                    Comment


                      #12
                      I haven’t tried in quite a while but it seems like I’ve gone over 350 indirect without the fan in the past. I do use my homemade charcoal basket that allows me to get at least a lit chimney and a half in there. Also it’s important to block the airflow (foil on the grate) so all the air goes to the coals side and not rise up on the food side.

                      I admit the fan has made me lazy. I can do anything from 180-400F with very little effort. I’ll have to try without it again sometime soon.

                      Comment


                        #13
                        Not to gripe too much, ( I really do love it!) I would just love to find out how PK is getting these temps they are showing on their videos on how to use the PK360.
                        Maybe I just need to get my hands on some thermite......Click image for larger version  Name:	image_98810.jpg Views:	1 Size:	142.9 KB ID:	742044Click image for larger version  Name:	image_98809.jpg Views:	1 Size:	88.1 KB ID:	742043
                        Last edited by Winchester44; September 10, 2019, 07:49 PM.

                        Comment


                        • mountainsmoker
                          mountainsmoker commented
                          Editing a comment
                          I wouldn't believe every thing you see there. The low and slow is over 400 degrees. They are just bases for starting a video. Also if you have not get yourself a Maverick 732 or 733 or a Thremopro Smoke so you can accurately read the temp of the grill and meat. It will help you immensely. A dial thermometer can be very inaccurate.

                        • Polarbear777
                          Polarbear777 commented
                          Editing a comment
                          Dial thermometer on the pk360 is in the right place and matches my electric probes within 20 degrees. However the wire probes are only happy below 500F.

                          I’ll do some testing on my pk to determine the practical max. I doubt it is above 500 indirect. Direct is only limited by how much lit charcoal you can cram in there at once.

                        #14
                        I am using a fireboard and it matches up with the factory thermometer +/- 5 degrees.

                        Thanks for the reminder on the temp limit on the probes. Would really love to be able to get it to 500 like in the video, but have barely been able to hold just over half that. Can get over 300 for maybe 30 minutes, but with everything open it seems to drop and hold at 250-280. Closing anything even a little registers an instant drop in temperature that I can see on the fireboard. If open that vent I started to close, temp goes back up. Not sure what would happen if I waited.

                        I'm wondering what would happen if I completely removed one or both of the cylinders to allow unobstructed airflow into the intakes similar to the original PK. Might be worth an experiment.

                        Comment


                          #15
                          Winchester44 something I have found for doing lower temperatures on my kettle is that if I close down the upper vent, it helps keep more heat in, and while I might see an initial drop, it comes back up. I only do that for cooks below 300 though. For everthing else, I have a full basket of lit charcoal, and open all vents wide open. I would think the same type vent operation would work on the PK. The only thing I cook wide open is chicken, or direct grilled stuff like burgers.

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