New member of Pitmaster Club. New to smoking, Just purchased a Masterbuilt 1150 smoker. Live in Sacramento CA. Looking for recommendations for purchasing fuel.
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If I were you, with the gravity feed smoker, I would start using briquettes, and stay away from lump charcoal due to the size variance that may not feed as well in the hopper on your Masterbuilt.
Personally, my preference after many years and many brands of charcoal is for B&B briquettes, as they burn longer and produce much less ash than other brands I have used, but B&B may not be available in your area. You can always try Kingsford, as that is nearly universally available.
The biggest variance you will see is that different brands of briquettes have different burn times, and produce different amounts of ash. Some have more or less smoke at startup. Some brands in my opinion can have an "off-putting" or chemical type aroma when first lit, but that usually dissipates before you are ready to start cooking. -
Howdy from Houston and welcome to The Pit! Assuming you’re looking for briquettes, there’s 3 brands that a whole bunch of use and really like….. B & B Charcoal briquettes for low and slow cooking. These burn very well and last a long time. Cowboy Briquettes is another one a lot of us like. It’s a good all round charcoal sold at Walmart and just as good, if not better, than Kingsford……at a much better price too! If you’re a Costco member, their Kirkland brand charcoal is another winner and is also cheaper than the name brands.Comment
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Welcome to The Pit.
Kingsford is the go to for a lot of people. I used it for two reasons. First, it's easily available, and, second, I was, (am), familiar with it. I have switched to Costco brand as it seems to burn longer with less ash.Comment
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Welcome from Western Massachusetts. For me, as Panhead John mentioned. B&B for long cooks of 6+ hours and Cowboy for general cooks. I never have and never will use lump. A personal opinion. When you get that cooker smokin', don't forget pictures. We love pictures.Comment
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Agree with above.
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Welcome! I’m glad to see you’ve signed up!
I like B&B, but Kingsford is fine, too. I haven’t tried Cowboy.Comment
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Hello from NW Oregon.
The birth state of the pellet grill.
I use charcoal mostly to start campfires.
I like Kingsford's Match LightComment
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I find the B&B Briquettes are slower to light, so rather than test my patience (I have lots of other things that do that already
), I add about half a chimney of lit Kingsford briquettes (42 briquettes, actually, because it's the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything) to get them started in my PBC
I also put a few Kingsford briquettes near the SnapJet igniter when using B&B briquettes in my WSCGC in kamado mode.
In the SnS with the Weber 22"kettle, I'll put a couple of Kingsford briquettes, lit with with a firestarter nestled between them to get the adjacent B&B briquettes in the SnS going.
KathrynComment
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I use the Kingsford in my chimney and will put Royal Oak on top of it. I just bought three bags of Large Royal Oak briquettes as I am going to try to have my burn last a bit longer with them this summer. We will see how that goes.Comment
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Hey hey from Da LBC! Kingsford and/or B&B for me.
if you feel like putting out a more proper intro…. Head on over here:
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Welcome to The Pit from Texas. I like B&B briquets mixed with B&B Char Logs for low and slow. Cowboy briquets or Kirkland briquettes for everything else. I have never used lump.
BTW, pitmaster Cooper Abercrombie of Bar A BBQ in Montgomery, Texas uses Kingsford Match Light to start all of his pits. We met him during a Meat Up gathering last year. As always YMMV.Last edited by Purc; April 27, 2026, 05:35 PM.Comment
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Greetings and welcome aboard from North Carolina.
I have the MB Gravity 1050- me and a colleague use ours extensively. Smoking, grilling, baking, dutch oven cooking..you name it you can cook it on the Gravity. I think you will be pleased with some of the enhancements with the 1150.
If you haven't done so, buy a cover for it or store inside when not in use.
Serious Note: you Must keep the cooking chamber clean! They will pop a grease fire in a second.
Anything fatty (butts, some briskets) i cook over a water bath pan. I use the nortic wear 1 1/2" baking pan. I rather clean it than fight a grease fire. Not trying to bring worry, just keep this in mind. If yours has the Y manifold this may not be as big a concern as the straight manifold. I also wrap mine in heavy duty foil for easier cleaning. Re-wrap every few months or so. Don't forget to cut out the holes.
Before I touch on fuel, if you want to talk about the MBG, PM me and we can swap numbers.
My colleague only uses lump; primarily jealous devil, fogo and lastly, B&B. I started with the lump however, I primarily use briquettes now. Kingsford regularly was my standard but I switched to B&B in the orange bag and have been pleased with the results. I intermix wood chunks or intermix about 2lbs of pellets in the hopper (just kirkland brand). Want better smoke? Use more chunks. I have tried Kingsford regular, B&B and Royal Oak with good results. If I use lump, I only use B&B (oak or hickory, whatever is available). Do not use B&B char-logs. I would be wary to use Kingsford Pro. Haven't tried it but worry it will burn too fast and hot. I am going to try cowboy briquettes one day soon-just haven't gotten around to picking up a bag for testing. Also plan to try the kirkland pro: it seems to burn much better than the Kingsford Pro.
Be mindful too, the Gravity burns more fuel than say a kettle grill. It just does-keep a spare bag around.
I don't Think you would go wrong with cowboy lump in the Gravity given the fuel chamber design but, it is crap lump. Just look at other posts and folks disdain for it. I hate that stuff too. Have not/won't try it for testing.
All in all, you have a grilling machine and i think you will come to love it. My plans are to upgrade to the XT within the next 2 years. It corrects some of the deficiency with the older models.
This is just a few things that came to mind. Happy grilling and again, care to talk shop let me know.
Mcook2201Comment
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I’m another one that has the Masterbuilt 1050. Love it. It is my go-to for short and medium cooks. (Long cooks, overnight cooks, happen in a Primo XL).
I’ve used all the different charcoal types. Kingsford lights easiest, burns quickest, makes the most ash. Lump burns longer and cleaner and is harder to light. I will occasion mix in a B&B char log for its long burning properties, but not too many. If they settle to the bottom layer they are even harder to light than lump.
I’m currently using B&B briquettes. They seem to balance the all the variables the best. I’m going to try Cowboy briquettes based on recommendations from Th Pit if I ever remember to shop for it.
Honestly, with these gravity series smokers, once you have it lit it’ll burn any type of charcoal. My occasional frustrations come with the lighting.
oh, and the grease fires. Yes. Those too. I’ve heard they fixed that issue with design tweaks. With my first generation 1050, grease fires are not unusual.Comment
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Welcome!
I use Kingsford briquettes.
I would also be leery of lump in the gravity fed.Comment
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