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New WSCG Owner- Lighting Instruction Help

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    New WSCG Owner- Lighting Instruction Help

    Hi -

    New WSCG owner here...curious on best practice advice for trying to light coals when trying to use fuel grate at top level. Instructions that come with grill, show using the charcoal basket running parallel to ignitor tube, but when I try this it seems charcoal is too far away from ignitor tube to catch fire.

    Thanks in advance for question above, plus any other newbie advice you might have!

    #2
    Nothing fancy for me. Use either a small or large chimney starter and a torch to get it going. Then just dump it in.

    Comment


      #3
      Same as xaugievike
      I just grab one of my Weber chimneys...works a treat and faster than the gas assist at that level.

      Comment


        #4
        Same here for that sityouashun, however fzxdoc has THE kamado mode lighting method, give a her shout out.

        Comment


          #5
          Thanks all for feedback. Figured this was the way to go, but was confused my instructions from the grill where it shows you can still use the gas assist to light fuel in top position.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by CaptainMike View Post
            Same here for that sityouashun, however fzxdoc has THE kamado mode lighting method, give a her shout out.
            I also use a chimney to light charcoal when using the WSCGC in kettle mode, but that's because I pretty much always use the SnS when in kettle mode. I've never tried just lighting free range charcoal in kettle mode.

            FWIW, here's some info about kamado mode lighting that works great for me:

            My WSCGC Kamado Method for Smoking

            Note: 1 scoop full = 40 coals or ½ chimney

            1. Foil the Ash Bucket and the Diffuser Plate. Wipe the (previously cleaned) grate down with a disinfectant wipe and then wipe down again with water. Set out two disposable aluminum pans for drip pans to be set on the diffuser plate.

            2. Use 2.5 scoops for short cooks like ribs or chicken and 4 scoops for long cooks like pork butt, chuck or brisket. Four scoops will give you about 10-12 hours of decent temps (250° or more). Spread them pretty evenly on the charcoal grate. Top with 5-6 chunks of wood (4 to 6 oz each). Don't put a wood chunk directly over the igniter. 5 to 6 chunks will give you about 5 hours of beautiful blue smoke. For short cooks, use 1 chunk of wood. (Reminder: 1 Weber scoop holds about 40 coals, about half a chimney.)

            3. Start the SnapJet ignition going. Let it run for exactly 5 minutes with the lid open and bottom vent fully open.

            4. After the 5 minute ignition, turn off the SnapJet igniter. Add the diffuser plate, two aluminum drip pans and the food grate. Attach the ambient probes to the grate. Close the lid, flip down the top vent but leave the holes fully open (bottom vent still fully open) and watch the temperature climb.

            5. When you're about 70 degrees from your goal temperature, close the bottom vent to the smoke setting (or just below if your WSCGC runs hot) and close the top vent to 1/2 or less, again, depending on your Weber. I like to have the lower vent just above the smoker setting and the top vent at 1/3 to ride out the cook.

            6. Before adding meat, oil the grate with a soaked paper towel to give it some lubrication.


            More Notes:

            If using KBB, there's a ton of white smoke until the Weber gets around 225-250, then it settles out to white wispy/blue smoke for several hours. If the smoke is pure white (no grey), I'll put the cold meat on at 180°F grate level temp so it can get a jump on the smoke flavor. I feel (but don't know for sure) that adding that cold mass helps to keep the temperatures from running away. I've done it both ways--adding the meat early at 180°F and adding it at 225°F, and honestly, if I keep an eye on the temp, I've yet to have a runaway smoker.

            With B&B Briquettes, there's no billowing white smoke. Just nice smoke pretty much right after shutting off the SnapJet. I use 3 scoops of B&B and one scoop of KBB, because the KBB lights more quickly. I place the KBB briquettes closer to the SnapJet side and spread the B&B briquettes around it. Ditto with Weber Briquettes.

            Smoking in the 250-270 range: A 4-scoop-load of coals (Kingsford Original) lasts about 8-9 hours at that setting. I set the lower vent to just above (to the right of) the smoker setting and the upper vent to 1/3 open.

            For cooking at or below 250, I close the lower vent to just below the smoker setting (to the left of it) and set the upper vent to 1/4 open. At 250 or less, I can get about 10-12 hours of smoke out of a single 4-scoop-load of Kingsford Original coals.


            Kathryn
            Last edited by fzxdoc; February 28, 2020, 12:38 AM.

            Comment


            • xaugievike
              xaugievike commented
              Editing a comment
              100% correct on the billowing white smoke early. when possible I try to let the beast roll for at least an hour to get to a stable temp and to get it all warmed up and to get the smoke down to a nice thin consistency.

            #7
            Wow thanks for the detailed help here! Very much appreciated!

            Comment


              #8
              I have used all different methods for lighting the grill. The snap jet can light the charcoal in the high position it just takes time. Generally I will use the snap jet and my torch to help get it going. Takes about 20 minutes to get it fully lit. Using a chimney is faster.

              Comment


                #9
                All of these methods are great. Sometimes I fill up a chimney and light it with the snap jet (grate in the lower/kamado position) and once it's lit I take it out, let the charcoal grate cool for a couple minutes, and move it into the upper/kettle position.

                I've also found that the wax starter cubes are a good way to get a fire going with the grate in the top position as well.

                Have fun getting to know your smoker! You'll be great friends in no time at all.

                Comment


                • fzxdoc
                  fzxdoc commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Ditto using the SnapJet to light the chimney. Easy peasy way of getting it going.

                  Kathryn

                #10
                Originally posted by maltnpepper View Post
                I've also found that the wax starter cubes are a good way to get a fire going with the grate in the top position as well.
                I've done this several times too, stack a few coals over a couple starter cubes and run the assist for a minute or so until the starters catch. Though I did just pick up the smaller Weber chimney thinking it will help get things ready faster on the WSCG.

                Comment


                • surfdog
                  surfdog commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Yeah, the Weber chimney is kinda hard to beat.

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