Kick ash basket best practice

[Chuck in Charlotte]

So I'm loving the Kick Ash basket in my large BGE, but I hope one of the great minds here can help with a nuisance issue. Before a cook, I shake the basket to get the ash and small pieces of lump to fall through the bottom of the basket. In so doing, the lump stratifies itself, in the wrong direction. While shaking, the smallest pieces find their way to the bottom of the basket and the largest pieces work their way to the top - exactly opposite of how you should construct a fire. To add insult to injury, when you add big fresh pieces of lump they end up on top of it all. Does anyone have a good technique to prevent or flip the lump sort order without emptying the basket and starting over?

[RonB]

I don't have a KAB, but maybe get a grate to put on top of the KAB, flip it upside down and then shake?

[mountainsmoker]

Nope that's the way the basket crumbles. Seriously the larger pieces are always going to float to the top.

[Keiferr]

I have the same set up. Don't over shake it. A couple of shakes gets enough ash out to not interfere with the fire you're starting.

[Skip]

I too have a KA Basket in my BGE. I've never thought of the small pieces that end up in the bottom after shaking affect the fire next time. There is lots of space around the KAB for air flow. I suppose you could shake the KAB, dump the leftover charcoal in a pail, add fresh charcoal, dump the charcoal from the pail on top and light. 5 Stars go to my KAB!

[bak01]

I use Skip's technique for my BGE. Because of the improved circulation I've noticed that my lump burns about 18% faster as compared to previous cooks using the same temps/charcoal. I will say that I did not weigh the amount for comparison. Because of what I perceive to be a faster burn, I now "overfill" the lump. Has anybody else had that experience?

[Spinaker]

I really do not worry about it. I take the basket out and use a 5-gallon bucket to catch the ash and small chunks. I give it a few little shakes, then blow the remaining ash off the lump and I am good to go. I have yet to have a flame out since I got the KAB so I must be doing something right, I guess. I mostly use FOGO and B&B so most of the chunks I have in the basket are pretty large to start with.

[bak01]

I use Skip's technique for my BGE. Because of the improved circulation with the Kick Ash, I've noticed that my lump burns about 18% faster as compared to previous cooks with the charcoal grate using the same temps/charcoal. I will add that I didn't weight the charcoal amount for comparison. Because of what I perceive to be a faster burn I now "overfill" the lump. Has anybody else had that experience (faster burning charcoal)?