Cheap offset and Charcoal Use

snett

Newbie

Original poster

Apr 1, 2015

5

10

• Jul 3, 2015

• #1

I just seasoned my char-broil offset smoker 430. I thought I sealed it up good. However today I noticed that I went through a whole chimney of charcoal in about 2 hours. Is this normal? By the looks of it I will have to add charcoal every hour. I did buy some expanded metal to make a charcoal box and will try the minion method. Does the charcoal box make that much different? I know when I use my 22 inch weber and use the snake method I can keep it going for a good 4-5 hours before having to really bother it. Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question.

 

oddball

Smoke Blower

Apr 6, 2008

126

21

Belleville, IL

• Jul 4, 2015

• #2

It largely depends on the temp you are trying to achieve, but I always used a lot of charcoal with my old offset.  Also, the larger the chamber, the more fuel needed to heat/maintain temp.

 

remmy700p

Meat Mopper

Jun 10, 2013

220

22

Inland Empire, CA

• Jul 5, 2015

• #3

Offsets use a lot of fuel. That's why they're more economical to run as a stick burner.

 

delbbq

Fire Starter

May 28, 2015

66

14

• Jul 9, 2015

• #4

SN2V0944.jpg

• delbbq
• Jul 9, 2015
• 1

This works well for me.Cut fuel use by at least half from "stock"..!!

 

ivanstein

Fire Starter

Jul 26, 2015

55

11

Wichita Kansas

• Jul 28, 2015

• #5

I had a Char-Broil offset that I did all kinds of work on to up the efficiency. However, it still used 2-3 bags of charcoal for a decently long smoke. The WSM is much more efficient and controllable.

 

jirodriguez

Master of the Pit

OTBS Member

SMF Premier Member

Jun 5, 2009

4,656

143

Portland, OR

• Jul 28, 2015

• #6

Yup the cheap offsets use a heck of a lot of fuel, that's why I switched to a 22.5" WSM. In the summer with no wind I can run 22+hrs. at 250° on 20 lbs. of charcoal. In the winter I get about 18 hrs. on the same load.

I had an old Char-griller and I would have to add one full chimney every 2-3 hrs., it sucked.

 

thehonks

Newbie

May 31, 2016

5

15

Cedarburg, WI

• Jun 3, 2016

• #7

DelBBQ said:

 

SN2V0944.jpg

• delbbq
• Jul 9, 2015
• 1

This works well for me.Cut fuel use by at least half from "stock"..!!

Click to expand...

I have this smoker as well...can you explain what you did here and what it is doing?

Thanks!

 

Last edited: Jun 3, 2016

hardcookin

Master of the Pit

OTBS Member

Aug 13, 2015

2,269

696

Northeast

• Jun 4, 2016

• #8

I would get a good bed of charcoal and then switch to burning wood splits. Probably in that Charbroil you will be adding splits every 20-25 mins.
Is wood easily available in your area?

 

thehonks

Newbie

May 31, 2016

5

15

Cedarburg, WI

• Jun 4, 2016

• #9

hardcookin said:

I would get a good bed of charcoal and then switch to burning wood splits. Probably in that Charbroil you will be adding splits every 20-25 mins.
Is wood easily available in your area?

Click to expand...

Yeah...a couple of hardware stores have big bags of different kinds of wood chunks...there is probably somewhere to it cheaper than there, but I need to do my research on that.

For the photo above though, I was actually talking about the grate on the side and the bricks in the firebox.  He said that cut down on fuel by half and I was curious about the method he used and why that cuts down on fuel consumption.

 

kapangaluc

Newbie

Jun 7, 2016

16

10

indiana

• Jun 10, 2016

• #10

i had the same problem. used a lot of charcoal and ash choked the fire. i am mixing in lump charcoal may be switching to all wood next time.

 

kapangaluc

Newbie

Jun 7, 2016

16

10

indiana

• Jul 27, 2016

• #11

here is an update. i made a partial charcoal basket with only the front and back sides. the base is 9 inches wide and as long as the firebox. i then took another piece of expanded metal and split the basket in two. i now start the fire in one half and later add charcoal/wood in the other half, plus a few lit coals from the first half. It works great!!!! i call it: REMINIONING very efficient use of charcoal. i can even just burn chunks and will hold good temps. because the basket is higher than the original grate, i have more space to remove ashes, which allows me to smoke for as long as i need.
i was very kinda frustrated with this smoker at the beginning but now i think can manage the fire well and may be ready for my first brisket. i am happy i didnt give up