Attention: Kingsford users


 
Dave,

I had a similar experience as you only I was using a no-name hardwood briquete as the fuel. Put on my pork butt around 10:30p, by midnight temp was solid at 240. Woke up at 6am and the cooker was at 140. The ash had completely smothered the fire.

What I realized (after the fact) is that I still had the extra charcoal grate in the WSM since I had been using regular lump for a while. I did that trick where you add another charcoal grate and set it in perpendicular to the regular grate to prevent the smaller pieces of lump from falling through. I don't think there was enough space for the ash to fall through with the two grates in there.

I'm eager to try again without the extra grate. I bet it will be fine.
 
I don't even have a guess whats causing the problem as I use ONLY K and have had ZERO problem ! Longest cook was avout 14 or 15 hrs I did have to stir ir a bit after about 10 hrs well I did stir it my log says I didn't need to . And O also use water .

Your not using 2 charcoal racks are you like many use for lump are you ? Maybe you need to open your vents a touch more at some point in the cook could be air starved not the K ?
 
Dave,I have the extra charcoal grate mod,use K and don't have any problems. And trust me,here in Charlotte,it stays plenty humid and muggy. One thing you might try is to tap gently on the leg after 6 hours or so. This will knock off any ash that might chike your fire. Remember,gently. Too hard might send ash up onto your food. HTH
 
Originally posted by Pete Z:
Dave - my last overnight was on over memorial Day weekend and I remember it being plenty muggy here in the Chattanooga area. I used the newest Kingsford "Starts even faster" charcoal (regular blue and white bag). Seems like I put the butts on around 10:30 PM. I checked the temp at midnight before going to bed and it was around 250. At around 8 AM when I next checked, it was still at 250. Mid-morning the temp started going down so I gently knocked the ash of of the charcoal. I then was able to easily keep it as 250 until 3Pm or so when I took off the butts. A big factor in the steady temps and slow fuel burn was that there was absolutely no wind.

I use the pointed grilling implement that came in my Weber grill tool set to knock the ash down. It has become a must-have tool for my overnight smokes.

By the way, I use water in my bowl.
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Hi, Pete.

A 12 hour or thereabouts burn with no fire tending is nothing to complain about. Do you just try to lay a single layer of chimney-lit briquettes on top of your unlit one?

My other queastion is what do you call that "must have" Weber grilling tool, and how do you use it to knock down the ash? I couldn't figure that one out. I usually just kick the legs, and if that doesn't work I stir the coals. Of course, with the super-sized water pan that came with mine, you have to remove the cooking section since there's little space between the pan and the coals. Regardless, I've yet gone as long as you described without having to tend the coals.

Thanks for the input. I think it's just bad luck thus far, and actually I haven't used the K for long cooks but just a couple of times so far. You tried the Stubbs?

Thanks for your help. Dave
 
Christopher, Phil, and Guy, thanks a bunch for ya'lls input.

Probably not much can be learned from just the couple of long cooks I've done with K. However, as I see that ash is THE problem, I will definately err on the side of vents being a little more open than I need with the water pan being my forgiveness. I guess that's what it's for, anyway.

I'll also tap the smoker legs a bit before I go to bed. However, I'll probably just use the Stubbs hardwood briquettes. I guess I'm just curious if other folks have had much of the experience I've had with the K and what can be done to alleviate the problem. Theoretically, I'd think that the coffee can method might work better to keep air to the coals.
 
Dave.
I'm a lump head myself, so besides the great advice that the K guys gave you, I could only come up with one question.
Was the charcoal the newer style K, and was it at the bottom of the pallet?
Things like charcoal or concrete tend to suck up moisture when they are placed close to grade.
Otherwise I got nothin else for ya bud.
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Tim
 
Originally posted by timothy:
Dave.
I'm a lump head myself, so besides the great advice that the K guys gave you, I could only come up with one question.
Was the charcoal the newer style K, and was it at the bottom of the pallet?
Things like charcoal or concrete tend to suck up moisture when they are placed close to grade.
Otherwise I got nothin else for ya bud.
icon_smile.gif


Tim
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That sounds like a good tip. Actually, I think it came out of the two bag packs that are wrapped in plastic and sold at Home Depot. I wonder if that holds moisture in significantly more.
 
Dave & Pete Z -
WSM'ERS OF TENNESSEE - UNITE!!!
My longest cook with Kingsford is a brisket that went almost 20 hrs.
In 6 years with an 18.5, I've had the complete gamut of problems with Kingsford. Too much ash, too much heat, wet charcoal, you name it, I've had it.
Still a fan of Kingsford.

Dave, my best advice to you is...
Don't sweat it, it's gonna happen. Long as you know how to deal with it, it'll be alright.
 
Originally posted by Charles Howse:
Dave & Pete Z -
WSM'ERS OF TENNESSEE - UNITE!!!
My longest cook with Kingsford is a brisket that went almost 20 hrs.
In 6 years with an 18.5, I've had the complete gamut of problems with Kingsford. Too much ash, too much heat, wet charcoal, you name it, I've had it.
Still a fan of Kingsford.

Dave, my best advice to you is...
Don't sweat it, it's gonna happen. Long as you know how to deal with it, it'll be alright.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Charles.....so how do YOU deal with it? How do you minimize the ash suffocation and such, and you ever tried the Stubbs or any other available hardwood briquettes?

I'd really appreciate it if you get a chance to give me some tips! Dave
 
You betcha, Dave!
Sometimes I take a piece of smoke wood and tap the screws that hold the legs pretty hard about 10 times, all the way around. I tell myself that I'm knocking ash off and settling it.

Other times I'll remove the door and stir the coals to get the same effect.

Never tried *any* pure briquettes. I *have* tried RO Lump, and was *very* pleased with the tiny amount of ash, but was *not* pleased with the time it takes to pack the pieces in the ring before lighting.
Could not taste any difference between food cooked with Kingsford and RO, but...by the time the food's done, I'm usually "done" too!
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That’s really odd, Dave. I have the 2009 18.5 and use both the water pan and Kingsford in every cook. I have not had any of your problems with K – I have had to tap the bowl after 8 – 10 hours, but as long as I clean the bowl out before every use, it’s run fine.

What’s the airflow like in your cooking area?
 
...

Your not using 2 charcoal racks are you like many use for lump are you ? Maybe you need to open your vents a touch more at some point in the cook could be air starved not the K ?
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As far as the double charcoal grates, it doesn't seem to be creating a problem for me. My second grate is wired to the charcoal ring, but if it was a problem with K, I would just orient the grates to be parallel and lined up over each other rather than at 90*.

I haven't had a problem with the fire smothering, but I have had problems with ash falling out of the ring and blocking the intake vents. I'm going to try the coffee can trick to manage that better.

Dave, you haven't gotten an answer yet, but I suspect the "pointy tool" is the fork -- I agree, stirring charcoal is the only use I've found for it other than using it BEHIND (not IN) a piece of meat to insert an instant read thermometer. If the temptation is just too great for you to "poke" the meat, you can just grind off the points -- it's just as useful that way.
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i've never had the problem you describe, and i only use kingsford. i use a full holder of kingsford and then pile 20 lit briqs in the center for the top-down minion (leastways as i understand it). i get anywhere from 9 to 14 hours of burn at 260-ish with a foiled water pan and the vents barely open. sure, there's a ton of ash when all is said and done, though. sorry i can't help you!
 
Originally posted by Charles Howse:
You betcha, Dave!
Sometimes I take a piece of smoke wood and tap the screws that hold the legs pretty hard about 10 times, all the way around. I tell myself that I'm knocking ash off and settling it.

Other times I'll remove the door and stir the coals to get the same effect.

Never tried *any* pure briquettes. I *have* tried RO Lump, and was *very* pleased with the tiny amount of ash, but was *not* pleased with the time it takes to pack the pieces in the ring before lighting.
Could not taste any difference between food cooked with Kingsford and RO, but...by the time the food's done, I'm usually "done" too!
icon_eek.gif
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Thanks, Charles. Nope, I'm not into packing lump, either. With my UDS, I'd just dump it in, but you really gotta puzzle it together and hope you don't have too much small stuff with the little wsm. Thanks for the leg tapping tip.
 
I guess the concensus is to tap early and often enough to get the ash to fall through, or you might have to stir the coals later.

Thanks, guys, for all the help and input.
Dave
 
Never had this problem in SC. I would use more charcoal. I have cooked overnight on many occasions with no issues.
 
Originally posted by k straker:
Never had this problem in SC. I would use more charcoal. I have cooked overnight on many occasions with no issues.
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The only way I can use more charcoal is to ditch the OE (Smokey Joe bowl) water pan, and that's what I've decided to do. I've had a Brinkman pan for a while that I use as a heat deflector in my upright drum smoker, and that's what I'll be using from now on so I can heap the pile some.

That said, ninety something percent humidity, the possibility of charcoal that somehow got damp, all the potential ash.....who knows, but more charcoal wouldn't have helped with fire suffocation.
 
I still say its starving for air not the K . Iam kina new to WSM but NOT to smoking and never ever had a problem with K . I would just open the air up a bit more . It always seems to get my cookers going in the right direction when they start falling off in temp just adding MORE air ! But as always YMMV sure not gona hurt nuten to tap on them legs or stir the coals a little besides its fun .
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All the above is assuming you started with a full load and are not 20 hrs into a cook on 1 full load
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I take a large coffee can (bottom removed) put in center of coal grate. Load rest of bag and wood chunks around it. Put chimney full of coals in can and then remove can with tongs, and if I use kingsford competition bricks (13.9) lbs. It is set it and forget it 225 degrees for 12 hours+. I also inject my butts and rub them and I never touch them again til they get to 195. I love the bark.
 
Originally posted by Guy Wallace:
I still say its starving for air not the K . Iam kina new to WSM but NOT to smoking and never ever had a problem with K . I would just open the air up a bit more . It always seems to get my cookers going in the right direction when they start falling off in temp just adding MORE air ! But as always YMMV sure not gona hurt nuten to tap on them legs or stir the coals a little besides its fun .
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All the above is assuming you started with a full load and are not 20 hrs into a cook on 1 full load
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Thanks for the reminder. I might've posted earlier that next time, I was gonna open the vents up a little more before I hit the sack and let the water pan do it's job. At least I was thinking that.

Not twenty, more like 8-10.
 
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