Butt #2 is in the smoker...

[Rings Я Us]

You can easily pull pork butt at 203. it's not to easy to slice.

 

[Rings Я Us]

 

[Rings Я Us]

Award winning Sammies. :D

 

[SherryT]

You pull the cooking chamber off the bushel basket and set it aside (if you had a charcoal pan with legs not attached to the cooking chamber) And shake the ash all down into the bushel basket through the holes (you didnt drill in your pan yet) and then you dump more coals on the remaining lit ones you had left in your charcoal pan. Thus adding 5 more hours onto your previous time you smoked for already. :D

I "did" drill my charcoal pan (in the bottom AND the sides) and I did add more coals AND shake down the ash during the cook...my mistake was letting too much time elapse before I checked them the LAST time and they were almost gone.

 

[Rings Я Us]

Oh.. ok.. nice. Well how do you get to the pan to add some more?

 

[Rings Я Us]

I notice a temp drop going steady over an hour from say 245 to 220 and that's my clue to go out ad dump or put in another 2 or 3 dozen coals. Shake the ash down with the food off to the side so it doesn't get ash.. then stick the body back on for another 5 or 6 hours.. the vents wide open if it gets cool.. then shut them down in a bit after it's back to 240 or so.

 

[SherryT]

Oh.. ok.. nice. Well how do you get to the pan to add some more?

The same way you do...

 

[Rings Я Us]

I didn't see your pan set up.. I was thinking you had it in the body on the bottom rack hooks for the lower rack maybe.

 

[Rings Я Us]

 

[normonster]

Sounds like you are in the market for a wireless setup. I love mine. The only thing I wish it had was more probes!!

 

[SherryT]

View attachment 356611

So how many LIT coals would you put in the center of THAT many briquettes?

I'm going to break down my setup and post pics of it this weekend when I add another couple of vents to the bucket.

 

[SherryT]

Sounds like you are in the market for a wireless setup. I love mine. The only thing I wish it had was more probes!!

View attachment 356638

Yeah...that's on my list! Right now, I have two single-probe Mavs.

 

[Rings Я Us]

So how many LIT coals would you put in the center of THAT many briquettes?

I'm going to break down my setup and post pics of it this weekend when I add another couple of vents to the bucket.

Something like 5 or 6 I use in the center

 

[Rings Я Us]

Mine has this in the bushel basket.
I took the ash catcher off so that big hole is there plus a few dozen I drilled. I used the vent on the lid of the smoker :D

 

[SherryT]

Something like 5 or 6 I use in the center

Then I use too many lit and not enough UN-lit.

I also notice there's no "bare spot" in the center of yours. When I've started mine, I've cleared out a completely bare place in the center, stuck in an open-ended #2 can, filled it with lit coals, and then removed the can, leaving the lit coals touching the edges of the ring of un-lit briquettes...is that the wrong way? Should there be a "base" of un-lit UNDER the lit coals?

I'm going to stick it out with this one (mainly because I'm stubborn), but, looking back, I think I should have gotten an electric...

 

[Rings Я Us]

I fill it to the brim and just use tongs to place the lit on top in the center. ,20 minutes its up 2 temp.

 

[Rings Я Us]

 

[SherryT]

I fill it to the brim and just use tongs to place the lit on top in the center. ,20 minutes its up 2 temp.

I'll go that route next time.

My biggest worry is that, at some point, too many coals will end up being lit at once and I'll get this huge temp spike (which can be controlled by closing vents I guess)...

OK...never mind! :p

 

[Rings Я Us]

I was going to just do this with the pan , like in this thread.

www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/how-to-modify-el-cheapo-brinkmann-aka-ecb.198378/#post-1380483