Coal Bed Getting Too Large

[Its_Raw]

I thought I read somewhere in one of the threads about the negative effects of the coal bed getting too large, but I do not recall what the negative effects were. I smoked some ribs over last weekend and the coal bed grew quite a bit. I was able to keep the temperature within a reasonable range, but the fire struggled at times to keep going. I used thinner splits that would burn a bit faster, but I have never had much luck with shorter, fatter splits.

What say you?

Thank you!

 

[mike243]

As the ashes build up it smothers the fire, thats 1 of the reasons bins are made to let the ash drop away from the wood that’s burning

 

[Its_Raw]

Any suggestion on removing excess ash with any without the use of an elevated grate?

 

[Smokin Okie]

I don't put the splits down on the ash. I find a way to prop up one end. UNLESS .... I want to cool down the fire, then I will push the split(s) down in the ash.

I also create a " channel " down the middle of the coal bed. I pull back the coals and ash to both sides, then lay splits across the channel, so air can get under the split(s) .

I also move the coals around. I can push some to the back , or bring some to the front, or pile them up so when I put a split on, air can get under parts of the split.

 

[Chasdev]

Here's my take..coals produce mostly heat with lesser smoke flavoring aspects compared to burning wood.
Burning wood (flames) produce a lower level of heat than the coals but the smoke produced flavors the meat more.
Dry wood, say 14% moisture level, burns more completly which produces fewer coals but with lots of sweet smoke.
Wood with higher moisture content burns slower and leaves a larger and hotter coal bed.
The issue I encounter is that in an effort to get more smoke flavor I end up with a large and too hot coal bed which needs to be manipulated or reduced before I can add more wood to get the smoke I want.
So to me the issue comes down to wood moisture content, at least in a hard to drive cheap offset smoker.

 

[Texascat]

It's been a while since I had an offset but I used to keep a coal bucket and coal shovel on hand. Sometimes it would be necessary to remove some of the coals to prevent buildup and maintain a lower temperature.

Probably not the safest thing to do but it worked for me.

 

[Chasdev]

That’s exactly what’s needed, or at least what I’m going to do in future.

 

[Its_Raw]

Going to start a rather larger brisket a bit later. Will see about removing some ashes if necessary and moving the colas around as Okie suggested. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

I've found the coal bed usually kind of regulates itself, but maybe that's my smoker. If you did have too many taking some out is the way to go. I've seen the Bar-A BBQ guy talk about having too big of a coal bed on some of his Youtube videos. That's probably the only place I've really seen that. More common for me is probably not having enough of a coal bed. I usually start my pit with some lump charcoal to jump start my coal bed. It's just easier to get started cooking much faster than building a large fire, and waiting for it to break down into coals.

 

[JckDanls 07]

So your building the fire right on the floor of the firebox ?? No grate at all ??

 

[Smokin Okie]

I've found the coal bed usually kind of regulates itself, but maybe that's my smoker. If you did have too many taking some out is the way to go. I've seen the Bar-A BBQ guy talk about having too big of a coal bed on some of his Youtube videos. That's probably the only place I've really seen that. More common for me is probably not having enough of a coal bed. I usually start my pit with some lump charcoal to jump start my coal bed. It's just easier to get started cooking much faster than building a large fire, and waiting for it to break down into coals.

Well, too large a coal bed has never been a problem for me either,