building and keeping fire in charbroil offset.

[fng]

for those that have the charbroil how do u build and keep fire.....I am using lump and wood chunks and havng problems getting temp up and keeping it. the last 5.5 hour smoke I used darn near a full bag of lump and 3/4 of a big bag of chunks.....seems like a lot. I do know when I add lump or chunks I open the big door on fire box and am having to do it darn near every 20-30 mins to keep my heat...please help this is getting expensive lol

 

[Dutch]

For those that use a side fire box (I use one on my propane GOSM), they do a couple of things-

First is to use some type of a charcoal basket. Some use the square grill topper pan that is used for grilling vegetables; others (myself included) have built a charcoal basket using expanded metal sheets. Build the basket as large as you can but still be able to place it into the fire box and be able to close the lid.

Second is to use the Minon Method. Fill the basket with unlit charcoal (briquettes or lump) with a couple of wood chunks toss in. Place about a dozen briquettes in a chimney and fire them up. Once started and beginning to ash over, dump over the top of the unlit charcoal and add a chunk of wood or two on top. Adjust your temps by opening/closing the air intakes. Make small adjustments and allow 10-15 minutes to for the smoker to settle in before make more adjustments. If you don't, you'll be chasing your temps and just get frustrated.

 

[smokin' dick]

What Dutch said. These inexpensive offsets are fuel hogs. I have a Silver Smoker, maybe the same one you have, and this is how I fuel it. Made a charcoal basket. it is about 13" square x 7" tall. Just small enough to fit into the fire box. I fill that about 3/4 full, of unlit with it all piled up towards the vent end of the fire box. Add a half chimney of fully lit beside the unlit. Put this lit on the side nearest the smoke chamber. Have your stack fully open and your intakes at half or less. See what happens with your temps and adjust accordingly. When it is time to add more fuel, push all the lit coal towards the smoke chamber and add your new unlit fuel beside that on the vent end of the fire box. I use lump for fuel and will get 2 hours or more burn time between fuelings. Good luck. Oh yeah,I did a brisket cook, full packer no foil, about 12 hours and used less than 10 lb of charcoal using this method.

 

[olewarthog]

Here is how I build my fire in my CharGriller offset. Like Dutch said, you need some kind of charcoal basket. I use a shaker basket made by CharBroil that Lowes carries. You need some way to raise the basket up so airflow is not restricted by ash during a long cook. I used a charcoal grate from an old grill that I bent to fit in the SFB & the shaker basket sits on top.

I am using briquettes in the pics below, but it will work with lump as well. Briquettes tend to burn longer & produce less heat than lump. OTOH, they also produce a lot more ash.

I start by filling all but one corner of the basket with unlit charcoal with 3-4 good sized chunks mixed in. I leave the front corner closest to the main chamber open to force the fire to burn back against the airflow. This seems to help slow the rate of burn

I fill a generic chimney (not as large as the Webers) about 3/4 full & get it burning good. I don't wait for all the coals to completely ash over. Just get a good fire going. I dump the lit charcoal into the open corner of the basket.

I open the stack vent & the side vent all the way. When my chamber temps hit about 210, I close the side vent down to only about 1/4 open & give it 15 mins or so to stablilze. Small adjustments to the side vent from that point will keep temps pretty stable.

When my temps drop to below 220, I shake the basket to loosen the ash & rake the remaining lit coals to the cooking chamber side & refill the basket will unlit charcoal & a few more chunks if necessary.

Hope this helps.

 

[triplebq]

This thread is why I use a watt burner as my heat source . My wood is only a flavor enhancer .

 

[soafung]

or...you could burn sticks and be done with it.

 

[fng]

BAM!!!!!! I did as suggested and got the shaker basket and wow what a difference. .......been in the smoke process since 11 am it 3 pm Texas time and its rocking with little added to the box! y'all are life savers thanks again

 

[rickw]

I have an oven too

 

[dilley340]

I have a couple of CharBroil Silver cookers and I've noticed that the way the cooker(s) are positioned to the wind makes a big difference. If the wind is blowing from the stack side to the firebox side direction, you'll have trouble getting and maintaining temps. I guess the wind goes through the stack and out of the firebox vent. If I turn the cooker around, I notice an improvement.

After time and many cooks, my Silver cookers had build up with cresote and sealed up the leaks. I use Royal Oak lump and can cook for about 12 hours on one bag.