Kingsford Charcoal Problems?


 
M

M Strickland

TVWBB Member
I'm continuing to have problems with my WSM. I’m smoking ribs for Thanksgiving, (our son is providing the smoked turkey 😁) and am having trouble maintaining temperature. I’m having to use a heat gun every 20 minutes or so to “bump” the temperature up. In the past, it has held rock steady throughout the cook with minimal fussing.

I have the top and bottom vents wide open and still can’t hold temperature. I’m using a new bag of Kingsford charcoal that I got at Sam’s Club two days ago. Before this cook, I decided that the charcoal I was using Thad absorbed humidity or otherwise had gone bad.

I’ve inspected my WSM carefully and can’t find any problems other than the fact that my lid thermometer is read about 25 degrees low. Even adjusting for that, my temperature is dropping.

The only remaining possibility is that the charcoal isn’t burning properly. The briquettes look like they are crumbling and possibly are blocking their own airflow.

Is anyone else having problems with running Kingsford in their WSM? Has their manufacturing process or materials changed?
 
That's the regular KBB, right? Time to switch to maybe K pro or another brand like B&B or lump.
See if you still have the same issues.
 
Was it windy or breezy? Wind plus cold air will bring the temp down on a bullet/water smoker. I don't have a WSM, but I used to drape an 8' x 8' square of burlap over my old water smoker which completely solved the problem. The loose mesh of the burlap allows smoke to escape but holds in the heat and blocks the majority of the wind. Good luck.
 
How was the weather for you yesterday? Where I was, it started with rain until 11-12 and then cold with wind gusts. That was a big hindrance for me keeping temps stable.

KBB charcoal briquettes tend to ash like mad. When I've used them on longer smokes (8+ hours) I found sometimes that the ash will choke out some of the briquettes on the bottom, the ash will smother the fire. In my kettles, I've found the ash will build up and block the lower vents if I'm not diligent enough cleaning out the last cook.
 
Thanks, everybody! Looks like I need to try another brand.

This was the regular KBB. Weather wasn't a problem. It was actually a relatively pleasant day. Nowhere near cold enough to cause problems. I've smoked in much colder weather with no problems.

I think there were two problems. First, the briquettes were somewhat broken up, so the smaller pieces blocked airflow. As the charcoal burned down, the excessive ash blocked airflow even more.

I got through the cook by sitting by the smoker and periodically shaking on stirring the ash down and by using a heat gun to heat the briquettes back up.

I think that Kingsford changed the way they make the briquettes a while back to reduce costs, but in the process, sacrificed quality. The regular KBB doesn't seem to bae as good as it used to be.

I'll try another brand. My son recommend lump. He uses lump in his Big Green Egg and likes it a lot. I think I'll get a bag of Kingsford Pro, and a bag of B&B as well as some lump so I can compare them.
 
M Strickland said:
I'll try another brand. My son recommend lump. He uses lump in his Big Green Egg and likes it a lot. I think I'll get a bag of Kingsford Pro, and a bag of B&B as well as some lump so I can compare them.
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I like lump for a few reasons, most notably because it burns more completely and doesn't have any off-smelling smoke when first getting started. Therefore lump can be added unlit to an existing fire without affecting the taste of the final product. I would caution that you will likely find lump burns hotter and quicker. It also has a bit more variability, i.e., it doesn't burn as evenly as pressed briquettes of uniform size. Like anything, there are trade-offs between using lump or briquettes.
 
I was going to say the same as Philip & suggest the fuel had taken on a bit of moisture. That has happened to me on a few occasions, the temps wouldn't come up as normal & the briqs fell apart. Annoying.

Just a suggestion, tap two dry briqs together, they will have a bit of a ring to them. Now take two briqs add some moisture to them, leave for about 20 minutes then tap them together. You will note it's more of a dull sound.
That's a quick check I do before building the fire-basket for a long cook.
Because I live in a damp part of the country & I wrap all my stored bags of fuel in clingfilm, or plastic bags, until I need them. All +/- 250lbs of it.
 
I just did a brisket cook on my 18.5 WSM, water pan with water, B&B charcoal and got 12 hours at 225 to 250. Temps were in the low 40's F. I use the WSM charcoal ring with 2 charcoal grates perpendicular to each other, creating smaller openings at the bottom.
 
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I smoked some ribs this past weekend here in Detroit. It was cold. I couldn't get my temp (with KBB) up over 210. I finally ended up wrapping my 14" WSM in a towel on the windward side and it brought the temp up to 250. Added about 45 minutes or so to the smoke time, but they still came out great. It was another rib smoke in banana leafs, but this time I did a Trader Joe's Soyaki marinade as well. They came out better than the first time. Long story short, it was wrapping it in the towel that was the key to bringing the temp up.

YMMV.
v/r,
jason
 
ChuckO said:
With the top and bottom vents wide open, what's your pit temp? Mine would be in the high 300's, but I don't put water in the diffuser

edit: Just noticed this is an old thread, not looking for an answer (unless you want to)
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I like to smoke up around 250 to 275 for ribs. For these ribs I had trouble maintaining 210 or so. With the heat gun I could boost it, but it would die back. I had a water pan and had filled it with hot water from the faucet. Vents wide open for the entire cook.

I left the vents open after the cook to see how much ash was produced. KBB normally produces a lot of ash, but this looked excessive.

Weather wasn't bad. Light breeze and temps in the high 40s. The WSM is in good but well-used condition, so the problem as to be with the charcoal. I had gotten a fresh bag the day before at Sam's Club.

It wasn't burning as hot as normal and then the ash blocked off airflow. I had to keep knocking the ash down and use the heat gun.
 
Jason Kuczynski said:
I smoked some ribs this past weekend here in Detroit. It was cold. I couldn't get my temp (with KBB) up over 210. I finally ended up wrapping my 14" WSM in a towel on the windward side and it brought the temp up to 250. Added about 45 minutes or so to the smoke time, but they still came out great. It was another rib smoke in banana leafs, but this time I did a Trader Joe's Soyaki marinade as well. They came out better than the first time. Long story short, it was wrapping it in the towel that was the key to bringing the temp up.

YMMV.
v/r,
jason
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I had only a light breeze, and high 40s temps. (I live near Atlanta) Fresh bag of KBB from Sam's Club.
 
TonyUK said:
I was going to say the same as Philip & suggest the fuel had taken on a bit of moisture. That has happened to me on a few occasions, the temps wouldn't come up as normal & the briqs fell apart. Annoying.

Just a suggestion, tap two dry briqs together, they will have a bit of a ring to them. Now take two briqs add some moisture to them, leave for about 20 minutes then tap them together. You will note it's more of a dull sound.
That's a quick check I do before building the fire-basket for a long cook.
Because I live in a damp part of the country & I wrap all my stored bags of fuel in clingfilm, or plastic bags, until I need them. All +/- 250lbs of it.
Click to expand...
I let the briquets born out to see how much ash was left. It looked excessive. It was fresh from Sam's Club.
 
M Strickland said:
I had only a light breeze, and high 40s temps. (I live near Atlanta) Fresh bag of KBB from Sam's Club.
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If you don’t mind me asking - which Sam’s Club did you get those from? I frequently go to the Sharpsburg and Douglasville Sam’s and will avoid the KBB if it was one of those locations.
 
W Tyler said:
If you don’t mind me asking - which Sam’s Club did you get those from? I frequently go to the Sharpsburg and Douglasville Sam’s and will avoid the KBB if it was one of those locations.
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I got them from the Sam's in Hiram, Georgia.

I'm beginning to think that moisture absorption could be the problem. The briquets have seemed softer and more broken up. I suspected moisture earlier, so that's why I bought a "fresh" package. As I think back, they used to be more solid.

Where do you get your charcoal? Do you use other brands?
 
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