Mini Run Time


 
Rich Dahl

Rich Dahl

R.I.P. 7/21/2024
Yesterday I did an 8+ lb whole pork butt on my mini ( will post that this afternoon) and thought I would share some information I observed.
I had some concerns about it not being able to go over 9 hours without a fuel reload and an ash dump (using KBB). Especially running 260-275 I knew it would go through fuel faster at the higher temps. The longest cook previously has been about 6 hours.
Well I was pleasantly surprised at 9 hours I shut it down and the pictures below were taken this morning. It was still chugging along at 275 at shut down.
I would estimate I easily had 2 or more hours before the ash would have choked off the oxygen and fuel for about 3 hours.
I am very impressed with how efficient it really is. I had enough leftover charcoal to fill both charcoal holders in the performer for tonight’s cook.
mini001_zpsd5d88980.jpg

mini004_zps943c4896.jpg
 
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Very impressive. Mine ran almost 6 hours yesterday > 225 and < 251 (give or take a couple on temps)
If I could get 8 hours, I'd cook a butt on my mini as we typically buy/cook 6 LBS butts
What altitude are you? I'm basically sea level
 
ChuckO said:
Very impressive. Mine ran almost 6 hours yesterday > 225 and < 251 (give or take a couple on temps)
If I could get 8 hours, I'd cook a butt on my mini as we typically buy/cook 6 LBS butts
What altitude are you? I'm basically sea level
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I'm at 5200 feet. I used to live in Orange County in Lake Forest before retiring to Arizona. I can tell you cooking up here is a whole new game compared to where we used to live, everything takes longer.
 
Thanks for sharing. I would have never thought you'd be able to get that long of a cook out of a mini. I have an 18 and rarely load it to the max, so I might have just found my new winter project.
 
That's surprising. My experience with Kingsford was the ash buildup at 5 hours was enough to cover my tin can baffle. I wonder if my using a charcoal ring had any influence.

Your photo looks like about what I'd expect after around 2 hours. Strange....
 
Phil S said:
That's surprising. My experience with Kingsford was the ash buildup at 5 hours was enough to cover my tin can baffle. I wonder if my using a charcoal ring had any influence.

Your photo looks like about what I'd expect after around 2 hours. Strange....
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Phil, the can I use under the charcoal grate actually pushes the grate up a little bit so it's as tall as you can get and I don't use a charcoal ring. I've done lots of 6 hour cooks with no problem.
I think possibly and I don't know for sure the fact I don't use a ring lets the ash spread out through out the whole bowl, buying more time before it can choke out the coals.
 
I can cook for 13+ hours on a single basket of charcoal (Kingsford Blue) with temps from 225-245 with enough charcoal left for 2 more hours. A 10lb butt usually takes 13-13.5 hours. Check out my thread (http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?37044-My-Mini-WSM). I use a 10' x 24" roll of Reflectex wrapped around the mini twice ( http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100318...toreId=10051&N=5yc1v&R=100318552#.UMPW-XchPnh ) held together with 1" binder clips.

After a 7 hr brisket (point only), still have half a basket of charcoal remaining.

 
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Yepper, a Tyson Chicken can raises the charcoal grate a little. :)

I did use a ring but it would seem to me that x number of briquets will put out Y amount of heat and produce Z amount of ash. Since I was cooking around 250, my results should have been pretty similar to yours but my bowl was full at the 5 hour mark. I did notice you have a wood knob on your vent handle while I have plastic. Hmm..... :)

I'll try the next time without the ring and see what happens.
 
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