Splits NOT Flaming??

On your next cook try doing away with briquettes all together as a fuel source. In a stick burner, starting the fire with charcoal is a great way to get a quicker coal bed but once the fire is started you really should be using nothing but wood to maintain it.
The coal bed is the most important part of your fire and is really what will thoroughly heat your pit but briquettes and the ash they produce create an obstruction that will clog the fire grate and stop airflow, (especially if they're piled up in a basket). Start with a lit chimney of charcoal (lump preferably) and a couple of small splits with all of the doors on the pit open. Once the splits are ashing over and burning well, go ahead and close the doors but leave the dampers fully open to allow maximum draft and the pit to get thoroughly heated. Once the pit is 25 degrees or so over your target cooking temp go ahead and adjust the intake down. Finally, once your splits have burned down and producing coals add another split and continue to do so about every 45 minutes to an hour to maintain the coal bed and pit temps throughout the cook.
This preliminary process may take an hour or more but it will give you a good coal bed that's not clogging anything up, you'll have a clean burning, hot wood fire that will give you consistent temps and a MUCH easier cook. Think of the coal bed of your fire as the foundation of a house,... the better the foundation, the more successful the rest of the build will be.:wink:
 
oldbill said:
On your next cook try doing away with briquettes all together as a fuel source. In a stick burner, starting the fire with charcoal is a great way to get a quicker coal bed but once the fire is started you really should be using nothing but wood to maintain it.
The coal bed is the most important part of your fire and is really what will thoroughly heat your pit but briquettes and the ash they produce create an obstruction that will clog the fire grate and stop airflow, (especially if they're piled up in a basket). Start with a lit chimney of charcoal (lump preferably) and a couple of small splits with all of the doors on the pit open. Once the splits are ashing over and burning well, go ahead and close the doors but leave the dampers fully open to allow maximum draft and the pit to get thoroughly heated. Once the pit is 25 degrees or so over your target cooking temp go ahead and adjust the intake down. Finally, once your splits have burned down and producing coals add another split and continue to do so about every 45 minutes to an hour to maintain the coal bed and pit temps throughout the cook.
This preliminary process may take an hour or more but it will give you a good coal bed that's not clogging anything up, you'll have a clean burning, hot wood fire that will give you consistent temps and a MUCH easier cook. Think of the coal bed of your fire as the foundation of a house,... the better the foundation, the more successful the rest of the build will be.:wink:
Click to expand...

This man speaks the wisdom! He helped me totally change the way I handle my Lang and the fire. Maintaining a nice bed of coals, free of ash and able to breathe is everything.

Me and her get along MUCH better now :clap2:
 
Splits

ajstrider said:
I see you did "all the mods". I have seen people complain about not enough air flow for wood splits if they did the drier vent from the chimney down to the grate. It might restrict your airflow too much.

It definitely sounds like an airflow problem though. You need good flow in and out.
Click to expand...

On your next cook try doing away with briquettes all together as a fuel source. In a stick burner, starting the fire with charcoal is a great way to get a quicker coal bed but once the fire is started you really should be using nothing but wood to maintain it.
Click to expand...


Hi All Going to try to get the splits flaming again tomorrow. Here is the plan.
1. lose the basket.
2. lose the drier vent that went to the grate.
3. start with 1/2 chimney of KB
4. Heat the white Birch splits. till they make coals.
5. Add the apple or cherry splits, onto the white birch coals.

Will post back with the results.
Thanks DanB
 
Trust oldbill. Loose the charcoal alltogether. I'm bad about wanting to modify things but over the past couple years of really getting back to basics, getting advice here and bludawg telling me to learn the pit, all my mods are gone. No guru ( no offense to ones who do). No charcoal maze, no extensions, etc...etc... And a good trip to The Republic of Texas for back in the pits advice at Kreuz,Smittys,Blacks, louie mueller & Franklins, I start with wood,I cook with wood,and I end with wood on my lang. Stickburner is a stickburner. You'll be a pro before long, keep smokin.
 
DanB said:
Hi All Going to try to get the splits flaming again tomorrow. Here is the plan.
1. lose the basket.
2. lose the drier vent that went to the grate.
3. start with 1/2 chimney of KB
4. Heat the white Birch splits. till they make coals.
5. Add the apple or cherry splits, onto the white birch coals.

Will post back with the results.
Thanks DanB
Click to expand...
You'll be amazed at how much better you'll get along with your offset!!!:thumb:
 
I find it much easier to start my stick burner with a chimney of charcoal.

no making kindling, etc.

just light it, let it ash over, pour it in an lay logs on it

its how I start campfires too now.

just so darn easy
 
Splits

Hi All Well here are the results. Most of time the new splits caught on fire, other times, it was MPIA to get them going.
Here are my findings/thoughts on stick burning.
1. Lest charcoal is the better way to go
2.You MUST stay on the top of things. Once the fire & temps go down. it is HARD to get the splits burning and the temps up. Temps came really fluctuate.
3. I had to use a lot splits 12 x 1/2 to keep things going. One could go broke using just wood.
Speaking of wood I think can get Oak splits 17" x 3/4" x 3/4" for 50 cents a piece. 17" would be a tight fit in my firebox. Each should be good for about 1 hr. So 10 splits=10 hrs burn time=$5.00. Not a bad way to go "IF" I can get them big splits to burn.
4. Half way thur I had to start and add 1/2 chimney KB, to get temps back up.
5. It takes a lot of work to keep a stick burning going
6. NOT sure if it is worth the time and effort or $$.
Thanks DanB
PS Last pic is the white birch, which was the 1st to go, before adding the apple
 
Last edited:
Okay here's some suggestions.
1.) Go get yourself some LUMP charcoal, briquettes don't burn as hot and they leave too much ash.
2.) Build your initial fire BIG. The idea is to build a coal bed and plenty of fuel in the beginning is what will do that. The coal bed is what heats the pit and maintains temps, NOT a flaming log. The wood is there to provide smoke and to eventually become part of the coal bed. Once a sufficient bed of coals is established you'll have a MUCH easier time of maintaining the temps.
3.) Find a firewood dealer who normally deals in seasonal fireplace wood, many of those guys will make you a deal on a pickup load or something (especially in the off season when they aren't making much money). They generally have lots of hard woods on hand and probably oak as well!:wink:
HERE"S MY ORIGINAL POST AGAIN FOR YOU REFERENCE.:-D
On your next cook try doing away with briquettes all together as a fuel source. In a stick burner, starting the fire with charcoal is a great way to get a quicker coal bed but once the fire is started you really should be using nothing but wood to maintain it.
The coal bed is the most important part of your fire and is really what will thoroughly heat your pit but briquettes and the ash they produce create an obstruction that will clog the fire grate and stop airflow, (especially if they're piled up in a basket). Start with a lit chimney of charcoal (LUMP preferably) and a couple of small splits with all of the doors on the pit open. Once the splits are ashing over and burning well, go ahead and close the doors but leave the dampers fully open to allow maximum draft and the pit to get thoroughly heated. Once the pit is 25 degrees or so over your target cooking temp go ahead and adjust the intake down. Finally, once your splits have burned down and producing coals add another split and continue to do so about every 45 minutes to an hour to maintain the coal bed and pit temps throughout the cook.
This preliminary process may take an hour or more but it will give you a good coal bed that's not clogging anything up, you'll have a clean burning, hot wood fire that will give you consistent temps and a MUCH easier cook. Think of the coal bed of your fire as the foundation of a house,... the better the foundation, the more successful the rest of the build will be.:wink:
 
oldbill said:
Okay here's some suggestions.
1.) Go get yourself some LUMP charcoal, briquettes don't burn as hot and they leave too much ash.
2.) Build your initial fire BIG. The idea is to build a coal bed and plenty of fuel in the beginning is what will do that. The coal bed is what heats the pit and maintains temps, NOT a flaming log. The wood is there to provide smoke and to eventually become part of the coal bed. Once a sufficient bed of coals is established you'll have a MUCH easier time of maintaining the temps.
3.) Find a firewood dealer who normally deals in seasonal fireplace wood, many of those guys will make you a deal on a pickup load or something (especially in the off season when they aren't making much money). They generally have lots of hard woods on hand and probably oak as well!:wink:
HERE"S MY ORIGINAL POST AGAIN FOR YOU REFERENCE.:-D
On your next cook try doing away with briquettes all together as a fuel source. In a stick burner, starting the fire with charcoal is a great way to get a quicker coal bed but once the fire is started you really should be using nothing but wood to maintain it.
The coal bed is the most important part of your fire and is really what will thoroughly heat your pit but briquettes and the ash they produce create an obstruction that will clog the fire grate and stop airflow, (especially if they're piled up in a basket). Start with a lit chimney of charcoal (LUMP preferably) and a couple of small splits with all of the doors on the pit open. Once the splits are ashing over and burning well, go ahead and close the doors but leave the dampers fully open to allow maximum draft and the pit to get thoroughly heated. Once the pit is 25 degrees or so over your target cooking temp go ahead and adjust the intake down. Finally, once your splits have burned down and producing coals add another split and continue to do so about every 45 minutes to an hour to maintain the coal bed and pit temps throughout the cook.
This preliminary process may take an hour or more but it will give you a good coal bed that's not clogging anything up, you'll have a clean burning, hot wood fire that will give you consistent temps and a MUCH easier cook. Think of the coal bed of your fire as the foundation of a house,... the better the foundation, the more successful the rest of the build will be.:wink:
Click to expand...

OP not trying to hijack but only educating myself as well.

Bill, writing all these lessons down my brotha!:biggrin1: Still waiting BTW 15 weeks now. :sad: Even bought a 1/4 cord of oak already.

Quick question or two for you:

Lets just say I'm doing a 5 hour smoke and already have a nice coal bed going and weather is about 70-80*

1. Approx how many splits will I use on our LSG?

2. How thick and how long are your splits when it's time to add some in.

3. how many splits at a time?

Thanks a bunch as always.
 
ssv3 said:
OP not trying to hijack but only educating myself as well.

Bill, writing all these lessons down my brotha!:biggrin1: Still waiting BTW 15 weeks now. :sad: Even bought a 1/4 cord of oak already.

Quick question or two for you:

Lets just say I'm doing a 5 hour smoke and already have a nice coal bed going and weather is about 70-80*

1. Approx how many splits will I use on our LSG?

2. How thick and how long are your splits when it's time to add some in.

3. how many splits at a time?

Thanks a bunch as always.
Click to expand...
Well the LSG vertical has a much larger firebox than many of the other cookers out there, 24" x 24" x 22" and I use much larger splits than other guys do. My splits are about 18"x 4" or larger and I start with the same method that I posted on this thread only bigger. Unless it's really cold out, the pit will hold pretty much any temp you want, pretty easily. It all hinges on the coal bed that you get established and maintain throughout the cook. Here's what I do...
I open all the doors and dampers to the cooker and I start with a 8 to 10 lb. bag of lump, some of which makes a chimney of lit coals while the rest gets poured into the firebox. When the chimney is fully lit, I dump the lit coals on to the unlit coals and then put two splits on top.
Once the splits have begun to burn well and are ashing over, I go ahead and close the doors on the cooker with the dampers fully open to allow plenty of draft and to get the pit thoroughly heated.
When the temp has reached a good 25 degrees or more over my target cooking temp I go ahead and adjust down on the intake to dial in my cooking temp and at that time I add another split which begins the routine of 1 split every hour or so and the pit is ready for the meat.
For a five hour cook at 275 <> I would typically use about 6 big splits from start to finish. Once the coal bed is established, the 1/4 inch steel of the pit stays well heated and the pit goes on auto pilot, holding the temps that I want almost perfectly as long as I'm adding my splits or tending to the fire on time. My last split goes in about an hour before the end of the cook and maintains the heat until the end. Typically I'll put some sausage on after the meat has come off the smoker since it requires lower temps and it gets a good slow cooking and smoking as the pit cools.:wink:
Now that scenario is for when I'm using the main cooking chamber but when I'm using the oven to smoke in, my fire is 1/2 that size since the cover over the firebox is either tilted or removed and the heat source is directly under the meat rather in the "offset" configuration.:-D
P.S. 15 weeks!?! How are you holding yourself together?
 
oldbill said:
Well the LSG vertical has a much larger firebox than many of the other cookers out there, 24" x 24" x 22" and I use much larger splits than other guys do. My splits are about 18"x 4" or larger and I start with the same method that I posted on this thread only bigger. Unless it's really cold out, the pit will hold pretty much any temp you want, pretty easily. It all hinges on the coal bed that you get established and maintain throughout the cook.
I open all the doors and dampers to the cooker and I start with a 8 to 10 lb. bag of lump, some of which makes a chimney of lit coals while the rest gets poured into the firebox. When the chimney is fully lit, I dump the lit coals on to the unlit coals and then put two splits on top.
Once the splits have begun to burn well and are ashing over, I go ahead and close the doors on the cooker with the dampers fully open to allow plenty of draft and to get the pit thoroughly heated.
When the temp has reached a good 25 degrees or more over my target cooking temp I go ahead and adjust down on the intake to dial in my cooking temp and at that time I add another split which begins the routine of 1 split every hour or so and the pit is ready for the meat.
For a five hour cook at 275 <> I would typically use about 6 big splits from start to finish. Once the coal bed is established, the 1/4 inch steel of the pit stays well heated and the pit goes on auto pilot, holding the temps that I want almost perfectly as long as I'm adding my splits or tending to the fire on time. My last split goes in about an hour before the end of the cook and maintains the heat until the end. Typically I'll put some sausage on after the meat has come off the smoker since it requires lower temps and it gets a good slow cooking and smoking as the pit cools.:wink:
Now that scenario is for when I'm using the main cooking chamber but when I'm using the oven to smoke in, my fire is 1/2 that size since the cover over the firebox is either tilted or removed and the heat source is directly under the meat rather in the "offset" configuration.:-D
P.S. 15 weeks!?! How are you holding yourself together?
Click to expand...

Great description of the process.:thumb: Makes perfect sense now. My splits are just about that size.

Thanks!!

As far as the holding myself together I honestly cant anymore:frusty: I touched base last Friday and mine seems to be a few behind so Im getting closer. Im hoping/thinking in the next week or two they will start. Theyre ridicolously swamped. I just keep adding accessories to it in the meantime though.:becky:
 
ssv3 said:
Great description of the process.:thumb: Makes perfect sense now. My splits are just about that size.

Thanks!!

As far as the holding myself together I honestly cant anymore:frusty: I touched base last Friday and mine seems to be a few behind so Im getting closer. Im hoping/thinking in the next week or two they will start. Theyre ridicolously swamped. I just keep adding accessories to it in the meantime though.:becky:
Click to expand...
Well the good thing about the wait is that it shows the attention to quality and detail that Chris insists on and he doesn't get in a hurry or cut any corners. Your pit will be built right and when it arrives it'll be ready to cook some quality Q!:-D
 
oldbill said:
Well the good thing about the wait is that it shows the attention to quality and detail that Chris insists on and he doesn't get in a hurry or cut any corners. Your pit will be built right and when it arrives it'll be ready to cook some quality Q!:-D
Click to expand...

As tough as the wait is I agree with you 100%. Good thing is that even though summer is over weather here is awesome pretty much year round so I can make up for all the missed cooks in the meantime.

God the wait is unbearable though.:pray:
 
DanB said:
I've been Hi/Jacked??:grin:
No Problem.
Click to expand...
Yeah, we should have been private messaging all that stuff, sorry bout that!:oops:
Then again, if you were to buy an LSG vertical offset we'd be more than happy to continue the conversation!!!:becky: LOL!:grin:
 
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