Had my first dead charcoal cook


 
P

Paul Pearson

TVWBB Super Fan
I fired the smoker up last night with 2 chimneys full , one had some month old from a previous cook and one full of lump.got the smoker up to 350 and put the chicken on. I checked it 15 minutes later and the temp was 225. After some poking and stirring the fire woke up some but even with both top vents open and the lid cracked I could only get to 300.

On previous cooks that much coals let me run 350 or 375 for 3 hours so all I can figure is the used charcoal got wet or something.
 
Yea it prolly was a little damp from all this wonderful weather . How spent was it, good sized pieces or smallish?

Tim
 
It was pretty tightly packed so it was probably more spent than I thought. I normally split the old charcoal between the two chimneys but someone was helping me and put it all in one.

Thinking back on it I didnt have the cover on the smoker since I used it last and some snow got on it so I probably got some water down inside.
 
Paul;
When my smoke is finished, I immediately close all vents and let the coals die out. When I clean out the smoker, I pick up the charcoal ring (it is wired to the charcoal grate) and shake it. Anything that falls through I consider ash and it goes into the metal trash can I use for my discarded charcoal. Anything left in the ring, I consider "usable". I have an extra 18.5" OTS that I use for a coal dump. It is safe to put coals that may not be completely out (not apt to happen but could happen). At any rate, it makes a great storage bin for my used charcoal. I use these ONLY on my grills. I'll put a layer of new briquettes in the chimney (about 1/3 full) then add old coals. I discovered if I have "used" in the bottom of the chimney they'll mostly burn up by the time the chimney is lit. I have had no problems using them in the grill.

Using only new briquettes in the smoker I get repeatable, consistent, results. THAT, I do NOT tamper with. Repeatable and consistent, that's what I want out of my smokers.

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
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