Long smokes, pit controllers, and the minion method...is this the best charcoal setup?


 
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Doug Kolpien

New member
I've been using the minion method for most of my smoking sessions over the years and it's worked great. I recently finished building a pit controller, and want to know other's experiences with theirs. Is it best to load the hot coals close to the fan, or does a traditional minion setup work just fine? I am uncertain about airflow coming in from only one entry point negating the benefits of the traditional minion method setup.
 
I have always used the tin can minion method and have been using an ATC for my WSM 18 for a while now. It has always worked okay, though I never really liked the ATC blower air going in through one of the daisy wheel holes because they are located above the charcoal grate. As a result, the fire would tend to burn unevenly across the fire ring. Temps were uneven at the meat grate too, being hotter on the side where the fire was. So, I modded the WSM bottom to direct blower air into the cooker from directly underneath the center of the grate. Now I get very even burns.

https://tvwbb.com/threads/atc-vent-mod-below-the-grate.73215/

That may be a bit extreme for some though. The thing that has really worked the best for me with the ATC is the use of very little starter coal. This allows the ATC to supply air in a regulated way to bring the temperature up to the target value. I use a large tomato can with the ends cut out in the center of the grate into which the starter coal is poured. I use the Weber midget chimney to light the starter coal. When done this way, there is very little overshoot. I have (almost *) never had a runaway temperature. Also, it allows me to use an ATC without a damper.

I have seen other other mods that do something similar that do not require drilling a 3/4" hole in the bottom. I'd do it again though.

If you are one that likes to dump an entire chimney of lit coal on top, then maybe an ATC with a damper would be best. Otherwise, it would be hard to get control of that much lit coal.

* unless I leave the side door off and go back in the house after loading in coal mid-cook. (Why is my ATC alarming me that the temp is 500 degrees!!)
 
Brad Baker said:
I have always used the tin can minion method and have been using an ATC for my WSM 18 for a while now. It has always worked okay, though I never really liked the ATC blower air going in through one of the daisy wheel holes because they are located above the charcoal grate. As a result, the fire would tend to burn unevenly across the fire ring. Temps were uneven at the meat grate too, being hotter on the side where the fire was. So, I modded the WSM bottom to direct blower air into the cooker from directly underneath the center of the grate. Now I get very even burns.

https://tvwbb.com/threads/atc-vent-mod-below-the-grate.73215/

That may be a bit extreme for some though. The thing that has really worked the best for me with the ATC is the use of very little starter coal. This allows the ATC to supply air in a regulated way to bring the temperature up to the target value. I use a large tomato can with the ends cut out in the center of the grate into which the starter coal is poured. I use the Weber midget chimney to light the starter coal. When done this way, there is very little overshoot. I have (almost *) never had a runaway temperature. Also, it allows me to use an ATC without a damper.

I have seen other other mods that do something similar that do not require drilling a 3/4" hole in the bottom. I'd do it again though.

If you are one that likes to dump an entire chimney of lit coal on top, then maybe an ATC with a damper would be best. Otherwise, it would be hard to get control of that much lit coal.

* unless I leave the side door off and go back in the house after loading in coal mid-cook. (Why is my ATC alarming me that the temp is 500 degrees!!)
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Thanks for the link and the reply Brad. This is good info. I'll keep your modification in mind if I am unhappy with my results.

A little clarification on the tomato can setup; you place the can on the charcoal grate, then you're pouring the unlit coals around it. Once fired up in the chimney, you pour the lit coals into the can, then remove the can?

I did a 6 hour session with it on ribs, and had relatively good success. The temp was between 225-240 the whole time; next time, I need to adjust the fan run settings so it doesn't shoot up so high.
 
Doug Kolpien said:
... A little clarification on the tomato can setup; you place the can on the charcoal grate, then you're pouring the unlit coals around it. Once fired up in the chimney, you pour the lit coals into the can, then remove the can? ...
Click to expand...
Yes. A slip-joint pliers is a permanent part of my BBQ kit - used to extract the can from the center of the grate. I then drop it into the chimney for cooling.

Doug Kolpien said:
... I did a 6 hour session with it on ribs, and had relatively good success. The temp was between 225-240 the whole time; next time, I need to adjust the fan run settings so it doesn't shoot up so high.
Click to expand...
Is it a bang-bang controller (or PID)?
 
I'm not an ATC guy, but I don't it makes a lot of difference to use the tin can or not. I kind of scoop out some coals and make a little crater that I put the lit coals in. Some people just sprinkle them in the unlit and it works fine for them. I can't imagine an ATC would have much trouble controlling the pit either way.
 
I use an ATC on my 22" WSM and basically run it identically to a non-ATC WSM. Lit coals get spread over the top of the unlit coals. I have, at times, altered the pattern to benefit even burning, but that's it.
 
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Is it some kind of derisive turn for pulse width modulation which turns a fan off and on vs. PID (which is proportional integral derivative if I remember right?)?
 
Except the PID is still at the heart of the controller, although it may only use the proportional control for on-off.

PID... Yup ;)
 
Bob Bass said:
What is a bang-bang controller ?
I don't believe the International Society of Automation recognizes that name/term. Although I might be incorrect...

International Society of Automation (ISA)

Empowering the global automation community through standards and knowledge sharing.
www.isa.org www.isa.org
Was a member until my retirement.
Click to expand...
Also called a hysteresis controller. It doesn't have proportional control and can have a lot of overshoot depending on, in this case, how hard the blower runs in the ON state.
 
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