Charcoal Stacking

[JohnnyCav]

Hello,
I have a Primo XL and got a question about setting up the charcoal. I did my first smoke on Thursday where I did a Boston Butt and controlling temp went great through the entire cook. Yesterday evening for a brisket, I sifted the firebox out and reused remaining charcoal and added new Royal Oak lump to the top. Apparently, I should have distributed the used lump with new because I got a low temp alarm at 3am. Went out and temp was dropping fairly fast so I pulled out the meat and took the unit apart. What I found is that all the older lump burned out below the new so I stirred it up, reassembled, and put the meat back on. Is the assumption correct where I need to thoroughly mix the partially used lump with the new? Went to sleep at midnight, woke at 3am and am still WIDE AWAKE. Thanks!

 

[retfr8flyr]

Actually for long low temp cooks I always remove the old lump and start with all new. I have a basket on my BJ and it's easy to just dump the old lump into a container for later use and start with fresh. I reuse the old lump for high temp cooks, so I am not really wasting it. I have found better consistency doing long cooks using fresh lump.

 

[noboundaries]

Old charcoal, whether briq or lump, is partially used up, but some pieces take up as much room as fresh charcoal. The used charcoal won't last as long as new for obvious reasons and needs to be considered on long smokes, as you learned.

I don’t think I've ever seen this point addressed, but it is a lesson I learned long ago. I reuse used charcoal all the time in my grill and smoker, but compensate on the initial load by adding more new.

 

[JohnnyCav]

Yeah, it was weird. The new lump was virtually untouched and the old burnt out below creating a sort of bridge. The second mistake was when I took it apart and mixed it, it created a fire that was too hot and got a high temp alarm around 5am. I ended up digging everything out and starting fresh. Despite my issues, it has been the best brisket I have ever done. Something has always been missing from my cook's on my Rectec and PBC, and this filled the void.

 

[noboundaries]

Then it was a success! Nice adaptation.

No matter how much experience you gain, there are always little things on a smoke that can surprise you. Heck, I've even had a few big things pop up out of nowhere that left me scratching my head. Adaptation is the key.

 

[jbfromtennessee]

so let me get this clarified. i am a brand new kj owner, so new still play with the learning process before i start using. On a long smoke, 12 hrs or so, will it be best if i use all new charcoal and maybe on a short hot cook use the charcoal left from previous smokes..need all the help i can get. tyia

 

[retfr8flyr]

I have the KJ removable fire basket, so changing charcoal is a breeze. If I am doing a long low temp cook, I always start with a full basket of new lump. I keep a metal can and put my used lump in it for use with regular cooks. If I am doing just a higher time short cook like chicken, or burgers and such, I will mix the old lump in with some new lump, as the long term temp control is not a factor.