Am I too high-for my 22.5" 7000?


 
J

Jim Finch

New member
Had this beauty since early 80's. Fell in love with weber indirect charcoal grilling and never looked back. This baby would cook a 1" steak rare in five minutes at 4500 feet above sea level. That was then. Now I live at 5700 feet and me thinks my beloved Weber is starving for air. Indirect now takes 20 minutes. I dropped a 6" temp probe through a top vent hole last nite after grilling in "direct mode" and got 285 degrees.
I have never taken my grills temp before but this seems low.
I will try direct again just to see what temp that is.

So am I forced to use direct mode or heaven forbid, do I need more air holes?
 
Maybe something was funky with the fuel? Damp maybe? I've cooked over camp fires at 10,000 ft with good results. I say re-do with some new charcoal or lump and see what happens. 20 minutes on an inch thick steak is no way to live.
 
Tony, I should have mentioned this has been going on for 1.5 years and 5 bags of charcoal. I will get indirect temps this afternoon and post them.
 
Have you tried putting the lid on the grill with a gap on the indirect side to allow greater air flow? If that doesn't work, maybe you can try some kind of blower like a BBQ Guru or maybe just a fan.

Bill
 
Dumb question, but do you get more heat with more coals? I think that would tell you how starved it is for air.
 
Frankly I'm suprised, I just got 370 Degrees in indirect with same probes and position as I got 280 last night in direct. I did not plan well and only had frozen preformed burgers to cook and they took 20 minutes. I gotta get more meat and try this again tomorrow.

Bill, Good idea. I will try that before I drill holes.

John- Another good idea. I will try that also. I am not happy with my lack of ingenuity and should have tried these tips sooner.

Looks Like steak for the next few days.

Has anybody taken their charcoal grills temp in either mode?
 
Russel- Lived in Bountiful, UT which is 300 miles east of here and pushin 3000' lower. Weather was similair but its always 10 degrees cooler here. There is more wind here and I thought it was a contributing factor but I get no improvement on dead calm days.

I found steaks in the freezer, gonna try more air and more charcoal and watch temps.
 
Jim I can't get my Performer to get hot either. It takes me literally 30 minutes to get it up to any kind of temp, and that is with the charcoal spending 15 minutes in the chimney. It's like my charcoal doesn't wanna light. It takes literally forever for it to get red hot, and when it does I have maybe 5 minutes of good heat. I really wish I had someone close to me that could come over and show me how to do this right. I really want to be able to use charcoal over my gasser. Rough stuff.
 
There may be something wrong with your charcoal. I've had my Performer this hot:
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Don't know how hot this is but the thermometer is pegged (past the 550). Maybe you're leaving your charcoal in the chimney too long. If you wait for the top coals in your chimney to get "red hot", most of the bottom coals will be spent. I empty my chimney when I see flames over the top coals but before they turn white. Check http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/chimney.html for advice on using a chimney starter.

As for how long it will last, a hot fire (550 or so) should last about 45 minutes in a kettle like the Performer if you have the lid on.
 
Well I tried more charcoal and more air. I use kingsford briquettes, manual says 25/side so I tried 30-grill got to 400 degrees But Made no difference in cook time. Tried with lid cracked and temps nose dived. It seems to me it must be air starved, and the air HAS to come from the bottom. After 30+ years it might be time to plant flowers in it and try the PERFORMER. The PERFORMER looks like it would be less likely to allow burning coals to escape than the open ash pan like this one.
 
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