1st Firedial Smoke -- Mixed Results

[Stone]

I put two racks of ribs on the lower grate and a third rack along with a brisket flat on the upper.
It took longer than usual to get the bullet up to temp, but that could be because I was using charcoal that had been stored in my basement for a year.
Overall, the cook went well. The temp was pretty steady for about five - six hours. (I only put in half a basket of coals.)
I think I had a big temp variant in the bullet. One of the racks on the lower grate was charred pretty black, although the other was ok. I managed to over cook the brisket a bit -- it has one thick area that took quite a bit longer to tenderize, and much of the rest of the flat ended up a tad dry. Not too bad though, I've certainly done worse.
I think the Firedial did add to the flavor. I used my standard rubs, and everything tasted better than usual.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

That‘s interesting, glad you liked the result, the increased ”preheat” time might be attributed to the heating of the fire dial itself possibly? I don’t have one so I’m not really sure about that.
There is one thing that constantly intrigues me, if your bullet is “tight” and will shut down properly why would not bother to only half charge the charcoal? If the thing shuts down as it should let it use the full load until it’s done and shut it down, coals for the kettle are less “critical” than for the WSM as far as length of burn.
I’m not trying to pull anyone’s chain or anything I just don’t understand the feeling of frugality in it being offset by the possibility of the thing running out of fuel before the product is finished. Does any of that make sense!?