Charcoal won't stay lit!


 
You are a brave man S.Six! Thanks for sharing. Today I went to the Piggly Wiggly store, bought some chicken and a new bag of Kingsford regular. I'M GOIN' FOR IT AGAIN TOMORROW armed with knowledge from you guys. Stand by.......

Ed
 
Also, remember you're dealing with a smoker. To do a high heat cook, sometimes you need more airflow. An easy way to get a higher temp is to move the lid just a little bit off the rim it normally sits on (just kind of crack the lid a little bit). You can also open the access door, but that takes a little bit of work to prop that open and I'm an easy way is the best way kind of guy and cracking the lid a little bit has worked well for me the few times I've needed it. Good luck with your next attempt and no matter what happens, don't give up. There are really only two variables - fuel and air. You'll get there for sure.
 
OK...looks like you guys know what you're talking about. I needed more charcoal burning. I was looking at a procedure on the cooking section of this site entitled "Perfect Skin Chicken". The author was able to get the SWM up to 300 degrees with one chimney of coals. This didn't work for me. This time I started with one chimney. The temp got up to 285, but after 15 min started to fall. So I added another 3/4 chimney of lit coals. The temp went up to about 305 and stayed there. Here's the kicker...after 45 minutes, the above mentioned procedure called for basting the chicken with barbecue sauce. I removed the lid and did so. When I replaced the lid the temp went up to 335 degrees! Looks like Jerry N. above nailed it...more air low (move the lid off the rim) ... results in higher temps. I removed my brined and barbecue sauced chicken at 165 degrees internal and it was great. I'm happy, wife happy, what more do you need? Now...on to pork butts, briskets, and who knows...maybe a fatty. Thanks for all your advice...but don't be surprised when you see me here again with another issue.

Ed
 
Great news on your chicken success! Keep in mind that you'll want to use the minion method rather than the standard for longer cooks. Minion method is filling the ring full with unlit and then adding 15-20 lit on top along with your smoke wood.
 
Jeff R said:
Don't mean to question you but I have never had a full chimney light in 20 min. And when I rush it before the top is fully going thinking that when I dump that the unlit will be on the bottom and catch, always results in lower temps and all coals going grey instead of red hot coals
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I am glad I'm not the only one having this issue once in a while. I also tend to get excited and dump out the chimney after about 30mins even though the top is not completely ashed over or burning hot. I have heard different opinions on this and maybe someone can clear it up for me.

1) Filling a chimney full of coals and waiting ~30mins => I have noticed that the coals on top are not fully lit or ashed over after this amount of time. If i dump them out then I have ~10-15 coals not lit which then doesn't give me the hot temps I am looking for.

2) Filling a full chimney of coals and letting them burn ~45mins - 60mins does create a full burning chimney, ashed over on top (all coals) but i have heard that if you leave them this long, the coals near the bottom of the chimney will slowly burn out since they have been in the chimney for around 45-60mins which leaves you with theoretically half a chimney of usable coals.

Can anyone share other methods with a full chimney? Some say 20mins is enough time some say 30, but I find I need a min of 45mins to get the complete chimney burning, but then have the negative of burnt out or almost burnt out coals at the bottom.

Sorry, I am also still new to the Weber family and all this BBQ/Grill experiences. So far I am enjoying ready the advice on here and also learning by doing.

Thanks for your help!
 
Andrew,
I think you'll get better responses if you post a new question. My opinion is that the entire chimney doesn't need to be lit. I like to see a good glowing core in the chimney and the flames coming over the top and I'm good to go. Usually that means the top coals are just starting to ash over on the edges.
 
Jerry N. said:
Andrew,
I think you'll get better responses if you post a new question. My opinion is that the entire chimney doesn't need to be lit. I like to see a good glowing core in the chimney and the flames coming over the top and I'm good to go. Usually that means the top coals are just starting to ash over on the edges.
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Same here. That's pretty much identical to what I look for.
 
Sounds like your charcoal may have gotten moisture at one time or other, only thing it could be, I agree with Geir, purchase from another location next time!! If you have a moisture meter check it, mine is dry and is 10.3%.
 
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