Pit Barrel Cooker Troubleshooting Help

Hi All,


I've had a PBC for a couple months now and am having problems with low temperatures and even keeping it lit and am hoping the more experienced PBC users might share their wisdom with me.

1. I use the Kingsford classic briquets and the fridge magnet method to snuff out the coals at the end of a cook and generally have enough coals left after shaking the ash off to cover the bottom of the basket for the next cook.

2. I clean the ashes out of the PBC before each cook and add 1 whole chimney's worth of fully lit coals to the old coals.

3. I'm at about 1800 feet above seal level, but keep my air vent wide open. At the recommended setting, the temp drops down to the 200 range and starts to go out.

Using this method, my cook temperatures are often as low as 225 and the cooks take as long as a traditional smoker. I'm also had the fire go out twice on me and I regularly have to crack the lid to get the temperature to rise back into the 250 - 275 range. This is causing me to babysit the PBC more than I want to and more than I feel like I should for the way it's advertised and the cook times that are advertised. Can someone school me on what I'm doing wrong? It feels like it's chocking itself out and simply needs more air. Any suggestions before I start drilling in extra holes in the lid that I can cover with a fridge magnet as necessary to get more heat?

Thanks in advance!

Anthropas

Hi Carbon,


Yes. I've experimented with adding fresh ones on the bottom by themselves as well as fresh ones on the bottom with the old ones and it hasn't made a measurable difference other than using us a ton of charcoal.

I typically put a whole chimney of fully lit fresh briquettes in with the old ones. I haven't done any really long cooks yet like for pork butts or a turkey. Most of my meals on the PBC are chicken, tri-tip or baby backs. I haven't had the need, even at these lower temperatures than I'd like there are still coals left when I'm done and fridge magnets snuff the PBC out very fast due to how well it seals up. My old coals re-light from the new ones without issue.

Thanks,

Anthropas

Hi Guys,


Thanks for the ideas and suggestions. I have tried using only fresh briquettes on the bottom and in the chimney and it hasn't made a difference. As soon as I put the lid on my temps drop rapidly down into the low 200's rather than the 250 to 275 that I have been expecting in order to reduce my cook times.

I'll give Noah a call, but wanted to spare him the hassle if someone was able to say, "I had the same thing happen to me and here's your problem..."

Thanks guys,

Anthropas

Thanks everyone for their posts and responses to my original questions. For those of you who shared your experiences of using smaller amounts of lit coals or leaving your lids open to get more heat going up front and then closing the lid, I have tried that as well. The PBC can get amazingly hot with the lid off. If it maintained a 300 degree cook temp once I put my lid back on, I'd be happy as a clam and that was what I was expecting when I bought it as I've seen people put up their i-grill data temp screenshots on the web with those type of 275-300 consistent temps. My experience has been that once my lid goes back on, my temps will eventually drop down to 200-225 and occasionally go out if I don't babysit it. So I must be doing it wrong. I'll talk to Noah and try his recommendations and then post the results. Hopefully others can learn from my mistakes.

Thanks,

Anthropas