Hello from Canadian Lakes, MI

[BourBonQ]

Welcome from the Lowcountry of South Carolina

[Spinaker]

Welcome to The Pit! We are happy to have you.

[BBQ_Steve-O]

Welcome to the Pit from NW Washington State!

Controlling airflow in your kettle is key to temp control. As Mr. Bones mentioned, using clamps or something to squeeze the lid down helps a lot. I use Bulldog-clips for the same effect, just my own preference.

If you want to hang out with BBQ folks, you came to the right place brother!

[DaveS121]

On my kettle grill for a 2-3 hour cook I use about 3/4 full charcoal chimney of fully engaged Kingford briquettes.

[Mr. Bones]

Nice to hear from ya, after 2 years, brother!
Howdy from Kansas Territory, Welcome to Th Pit!

I'd also be interested in what brand charcoal are ya usin, how many, an lit, vs unlit, at startup...

Alla this will help home in on some good answers fer ya...

Lookin forward to learnin along with ya, Keep th Smoke Rollin!

[Mr. Bones]

JGo37 ya might consider lookin in th Electrical section of yer local hardware superstore, fer some beam clamps; mebbe that'd give ya someplace to start...or at least give ya some ideas...

[Keiferr]

Welcome from southeast Michigan!

[Nate]

Welcome from Indiana

[HawkerXP]

Then I heard about the "snake method" which worked good also. But once I got my SnS I was more consistent in my cooking. Do so reading here and at the abcbarbecue.com

[HawkerXP]

Before I came here I used the Weber charcoal baskets and I found that 14 hot coals would give me 225 to 240. I had to keep adding about 6 unlit bricketts every half hour. Great if you have nothing else to do.

[DaveS121]

My email address is correct and I receive emails from AmazingRibs.com. A small world. Working on homes in CL did you know Jim Diehm a local, retired, general contractor? We retired to CL from Chicago in 2016. We vacationed at St. Ives in 2011. What drew us to the area were the bicycle trails. We met Jim Diehm through a local bicycle group, Silver Spokes of Mecosta County. We love it here.

[FireMan]

RonB mentioned the SnS. You really need to get it. Your whole kettle experience will change. Welcome after 2 years! Eat good & have fun!

[Huskee]

Welcome to The Pit DaveS121! We appreciate your support and I'm glad you popped in to say hello.

I live just under an hour NE of you. I used to be very familiar with Canadian Lakes. In fact, in the late 90s to mid/late 2000s I worked on countless homes in CL doing insulation & drywall, sunrooms, etc. Even one of the hotels there, I wanna say St Ives.

Since you’re new here, please check out our homework assignment post for new members, it contains a few how-tos and please-dos. This will help you learn your way around so you can get the best experience from our forum.

Also, it's very important that you:

1. Give us an email address you actually use. You can check the email we have on file for you by clicking your name in the upper-right, then User Settings, then the Account tab. You currently cannot change your email on file with us yourself since it’s tied to your Pitmaster Club account as well as our payment processor, Stripe, if you’re a paying member. Don’t worry though, we’d be happy to change it for you, just click here to fill out an email change request.
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Hope to hear & see more from you!

[RonB]

Welcome to The Pit Dave. Do you have a Slow N Sear for the kettle/ That will help with holding temps.

[PWB0108]

Welcome to The Pit from Maryland!