Favorite way to refuel during a long cook


 
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Tom Raveret

TVWBB Pro
When doing an 15-30 lbs of pork butts on the WSM after 12 hours of lettng the Minion method run your course, Youve tapped the coals gently to get the heat out of them the WSM. Assuming you have between 3-7 hours left on a cook is it better to keep adding charcoal or to dump the ash and start with fresh ring of charcoal? What are your best practices to keep the fire burning on those long cooks?
 
As with all things related to the WSM, I avoid anything that would keep me away from my beer. With that, I would simply add more unlit coals to the charcoal pan, assuming that your running temperature has not died. If your fire has started to die, then you need to add hot coals. But you should have been able to get more than 12 hours using the Minion method and a full load of charcoals.
 
start at midnight.......turn the meat - baste and stir the coals at 6a or 7 if youneed a couple of extra minutes of beauty rest... then start watching every hour after to see the coals as you start to reach your plateaus...
remember... when we cook we always think there is enough there to carry us through... and then when we see a temp drop we rush to get coals lit to bring temps up.... just a few coals at the 6 hour mark wont hurt at all... and will make for a more relaxing day!!!


minion at 12

10-12coals at 9 to 10a

and keep watching as the day goes on!!!!!!!!!
 
what got me thinking about this was last nights 15 lbs of Butt. I usually did it like you said Matt except the Minion method is so pain free and temprature stable and after 12 hours. I find when adding coals I have to do the three vent shuffle to manage tempratures much more.
Since I knew I will probably be smoking for a while (I was just into my plateau) and sure love the trouble free temp stability of the Minion method I thought I'd try refiring the bullet with minion method again
I fired up 1/2 chimney and then when it was hot I dumped my existing coals (now at just less than 200 F) VERY CAREFULLY into a metal garbage can. Reassembled the bottom (using fireproof gloves) and filled the ring about 1/3 opend the vents dumped the hot coals and reassembled. Took me 3 minutes or so and then I only had to adjust the vents when it was around 210F once and was back on trak for the next 5 hours trouble free.
It worked well.
 
Most of my cooks finish in under 12 hours, so I've only had to add coals a couple of times.

Right when it starts to creep down in temp, I start up about 10 coals in the chimney.

When they're ready, I add about 20~30 unlit and then add the lit coals using tongs. A bit slow and the temp spikes about 10*F for a bit but then settles down.
 
When I need to go a few more hours and I see that I'm running out of coals in the WSM, I actually take the whole top 3/4 of the smoker off and set it aside. I then am left with the charcoal holding bottom section, dump the hot coals in and put it back together. It can be a little heavy depending on how much meat i've got in, but it's doable. I always make sure to have good hotpads as well!
 
Just some thoughts on the need to refuel after only 12 hours:

1. Are you putting enough unlit briquettes in the ring at the start?

I have done many 16-18 hours Minion method long cooks (using either sand or water) and I have never had to add more fuel. I fill the charcoal ring up to where Kingsford briquettes would risk rolling off if I added any more. I pick off my 20-30 briquettes for lighting from the top. Light them, re-add the lit coals and adjust the vents to reach and maintain my usual 240-260 lid temps. Those temps will last 18+ hours on that single load of coals with stirring.

2. Are you stirring the coals more than once?

I typically start to experience a temp drop that cannot be corrected thru vents alone at about the 10-12 hour mark. Stirring the coals gets me right back up on temp. About 2-4 hours later, the temp drop begins again, and I stir again, sometimes stirring 2 or 3 more times until the meat is done. My butts always average 18 hours to reach 195 internal and I always complete the cook with one full load of briquettes thru occasional stirring only. Even when it looks like there aren't many coals left there is still plenty of energy to finish the cook because there are coals buried in the ash beneath the charcoal grate, so stick your tongs or poker thru the charcoal grate if need be to uncover them.

Just my $.02 and experience. I'm no expert with the WSM, but I've used mine a fair amount now and if I can do it, any one can. I haven't cooked in extreme outside temps so I can't answer for those situations. I think 38 degrees is my coldest and mid 90s my hottest. I also use a windbreak if its breezy. I take my patio table umbrella and lay it on its side next to and unwind from the WSM. If it rains, I cook under an awning.
 
I've done everything just like Dave Lewis says, but I can't get that much time out of my coals. However, I think I may have figured out the problem. I start my overnight cook at 5 or 6 p.m. I have everything stable and make sure my large water pan is full at about 9 p.m. when I usually go to bed (don't laugh). I check in the a.m. about 7. Usually the temp is way down and I can't see or stir any coals. I think the 13 hrs is too long to wait to stir. The coals have probably buried themselves in the ashes and can't come back with a stir. A solution would be to start later at night, say, 9 p.m. and there would be only 10 hours till time to check and stir. Of course, I'd have to stay up later. Maybe I'll just add lit coals in the a.m. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Maybe this will help someone else who has a similiar problem.

I would not, however, remove the center section to start or add new fuel. That can be very dangerous.

Paul
 
I appreciate the cautions and do take great care when removing the center section to refuel. While i havent had a problem doing this (I am NOT suggesting anyone do this) I would like to learn from others mistakes and find different way of refueling. Afterall the reason I didnt become a pilot was because I can be very easily distracted and that can be a very dangerous situation,
Dave thanks for the insights. A fair amount of my coooks are in the 30 degrees and down tempratures and may be affecting my charcoals longevity. I dont have as much of a wind break as I'd like as easterly winds and sometimes NE winds can affect my WSM. Great suggestion on the stirring I will have to try that.

Thanks
 
Late in a cook/re-fueling I find it handy to use lump. Just throw a few handfulls in. Lights quicker and hotter then standard coals. Just another way...
 
Paul mentioned his big water pan - when I used the bigger pan for the water, my fire didn't last as long. I figured it was taking more fuel to heat up and keep all the water heated.
 
Doug,

I too have tipped my water pan, and narrowly escaped the steam burns.

Another fellow smoker had posted a similar story, but his pan tipping only caused ash to contaminate the meat. Painful too I suppose.

This tipping pan situation is a major safety hazzard. I'm surprised that a modification has not been suggested.

I use the brinkman charcoal pan as a water pan in my WSM - which helps because the brinkman pan is a larger diameter.

Think I'll explore a modification for the tipping water-pan.

-Albert
 
I did an overnight cook of 2 butts last Saturday night. It was my first time using the Brinkmann water pan. I had a really tough time keeping the temps up. I don't know if it was the larger water pan, the 19* outdoor temps, or a combination of both. It wasn't fun having to add coals in the cold during the middle of the night.

Jeff
 
You can't believe how much fuel i went through during my inaugural (and only, thus far) cook--an 8 1/2 lb brisket, joined later on by 4 racks of ribs. Of course the temps were below freezing in DC that night, with lots of snow and ice on the ground, and it was fairly windy. I went through an entire bag of Kingsford (the 20 lb bag? not the wee little one). Heck, maybe that's normal. I'm sure it's covered here on the site in numerous places, I'll have to look around a bit more.

I do have a silver bullet cover, but my maverick thermometer instructions said it would be unhappy living under a cover, so I bravely cooked without the shiny silver fellow. (shoulda worn it myself---it was freezing out! lol. Plus it's cool---looks like an astronaut's suit.). If it's windy next time, i might break out the cover, but i sure hate to give up that great thermometer.

I'd gently nudge the coals when the temps started falling, and that helped much, but when they seemed beyond redemption I'd add 1/2 chimney full of lit, plus throw on some unlit coals for good measure. The first time I refueled I added a full chimney. My goodness, you should have seen that temperature spike!

With only one cook to my name, I know I have lots and lots to learn, but this forum is sooooo great and so helpful in speeding up the learning curve. Thanks to all who post here---you can't believe how helpful this is to novices like me.
 
Susan
It's the wind that causes the high fuel consumption. Blocking the wind will make the a vast difference.
Chris has all the info on here and if you ask the questions lots of folks will get you on the right path.
Jim
 
Thanks, Jim. I did figure that, based on all the posts about it, but I just couldn't bring myself to cover the WSM and give up my remote thermometer.

Next time if it's windy I might just do it though, cuz if it saves me some trips out into the freezing night (actually, the wee hours), I'll be one happy Q-er.
 
Get yourself an empty 50 gal drum. Cut out the top and bottom. Cut the barrel in half. Put hinges on the back side and a couple of handles on the front. Makes a nifty wind break by having it wide open or can completely enclose the WSM and keep it toasty warm. Great for easy access to the door for checking youre fire. Been Q'ing at -10 up here in central Wisconsin and this works great.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dan Norberg:
[qb] Get yourself an empty 50 gal drum. Cut out the top and bottom. Cut the barrel in half. Put hinges on the back side and a couple of handles on the front. Makes a nifty wind break by having it wide open or can completely enclose the WSM and keep it toasty warm. Great for easy access to the door for checking youre fire. Been Q'ing at -10 up here in central Wisconsin and this works great. [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I have thought of using a drum for this purpose. I was thinking of just putting handles on each side of the drum and lifting it on and off. I like the hinges and latches idea better. Gonna make me one now!! I don't have to deal with the temps you do, just the wind issue!
 
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