Extra long cook with Weber charcoal in SNS

[jfmorris]

I just wanted to report that I continue to have REALLY good performance from Weber brand charcoal briquettes when used in my Weber Performer 22" + SNS + DNG. I lit 12 briquettes in a chimney Thursday night at 11PM, dumped them in the SNS at 11:30PM, raked up into the corner, and filled the rest with a heaping helping of Weber briquettes, topped with 5 hickory chunks.

At 11:50PM kettle was around 225F, and I put two butts on. The kettle was at 230F at 8AM the next morning, and finally around noon I lifted the lid just slightly to peak and had about 1/4 of the charcoal left. I decided to refuel around 1PM, and raked it all to one end, filled with cheaper Royal Oak briquettes, and closed back up.

I think I would have gotten 14 hours on the single load of Weber running around 225F. Outside temp was around 45F give or take, pretty windy, and raining (the Performer was under cover however and stayed mostly dry).

All in all, the Weber charcoal costs a good bit more ($18 a bag right now at Home Depot), but I think I will keep buying it for any long unattended cooks. I only get 8 hours with KBB or 6 hours with a load of Royal Oak in the SNS.

I have a PartyQ on the way for Christmas, and cannot wait to see how the Weber+SNS+DNG+Easyspin works with that added to the setup. Might help assuage my lust for a Grilla for a while, as I can handle 12+ hours of hands off smoking.

[jfmorris]

You can see the times I opened up here where it dips on the probe 1 graph, but it went mostly undisturbed for 12 hours, just gradually climbing from about 215 to 235 or so in 12 hours. When I refueled things shot up a bit, and I then wrapped and pumped the heat up to finish the cook before a 6:30pm dinner towards the end.

The first dip was at 12PM when I peeked, second at 1 or 1:30 when I refueled, and then at 4:30 when I wrapped in foil to speed up reaching 200 and probe tender. I moved the probe from one butt to the other the last bit of the cook, pulling the first as it was done sooner.

[JeffJ]

I like Weber briquettes quite a bit. They are great for low/slow because they definitely burn for a long time plus they burn cleaner than KBB. I am down to my last half bag, unfortunately.

[Buck Flicks]

I'm having trouble finding Weber briqs ... every once in a while, I'll make a round to the Home Depots and Lowes in my immediate area to clean them out, and I never leave with more than 2 bags from any store. Usually I leave empty handed.

[HouseHomey]

Wow. That's a nice range.

[jfmorris]

The interesting thing is the the cook was fairly stable, with a gradual climb over 11-12 hours with the Weber charcoal. After I peeked, the temp shot up and was steady around 250 for about an hour, due to the influx of oxygen I imagine. When I refueled and use the cheap Royal Oak that I have in the shed, it was all over the place for several hours, until I did the wrap and opened up the dampers to push it over 300.

[RonB]

Hmmmm - I may have to pick up a bag or three for long cooks. When I do an overnight cook I normally check at about six hours when using KBB.

[FishTalesNC]

Totally agree jfmorris I’ve had the same awesome experience with them in my 26” w/ SNS. When Lowe’s ($12) stopped stocking them last year I was able to find them at Ace Hardware for $15. They went up to $18 late Fall (whatever, there is no offseason!) but I’m holding out hope they drop them back down when it warms up. I even tried TWICE talking to Weber’s support on Facebook, telling them they had a superior product that was now really difficult to find, but they didn’t seem to get it and I got the generic "we’ll look into it". 😒

[JeffJ]

I went to town when Lowe's had them for $12. When Lowe's stopped stocking it last summer the best price I could find was $15 at Walmart. I should have bought a bag or 2 at the time, but I didn't. Oh well. I put a bag on my Christmas wish-list. I wasn't happy with how it performed the 1 time I used it in my PBC but in either kettle w/ SnS or the 14.5 WSM it performs really well.

[FishTalesNC]

Yeah I bought out our Lowe's at the end of the $12 run too JeffJ. That's good to know re: the PBC, since it seems Santa left one in the garage! I've read every stickied post here, and watched all the videos on the PBC site and clearly lighting properly is key. Looks like I'll be grabbing bags of KBB for that cooker, and just use Weber briquettes in my SNS.

[jfmorris]

FishTalesNC i bought 10 bags of Weber when it went on clearance for $10 at Lowe’s at the end of summer, and they no longer carry it. I’m rationing it out only for overnight cooks or if I have to leave for more than 6-8 hours during a daytime cook. My Home Depot still carries if for $18 and when I deplete my stock, I’ll pick up a bag or two at a time for the long cooks, and use KBB and Royal Oak for everything else.

[McEDaddy]

Tried Amazon?

[SmokeyGator]

You will enjoy that PartyQ. I have the CyberQ Cloud, but I think both use the same probes. I don’t know if the partyQ has a fan damper, but I use the fan damper on my pit viper fan for low and slow. At least I did until the sliding plate bent because it got stuck, so now I just close off the top vent more. The first use I overshot the target temp because the top vent was too open or the fan damper wasn’t closed enough (or both) so air was pulled through the fan even when it was off. Enough to overshoot by almost 50 degrees. I learned to close vents off and let the fan force air in. I have learned to set my cooker at whatever temp I want to hold it at, but for long cooks the controller shines. I think it will also conserve charcoal, by only allowing in enough air to keep the temperature stable but not more than it needs.

[jfmorris]

Thanks for the feedback. I look forward to having a little more control of the temperature, even though I've learned over the years its not critical, I think it will help make the cook times and refueling times more predictable if nothing else.

[Rod]

Thanks for the report. jfmorris