Masterbuilt Gravity 1050 Charcoal Consumption

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BiscuitoftheSea

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Original poster
Jun 10, 2019
59
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I'm new to charcoal grills. I've been 100% propane until I wanted to start smoking and then bought a cheap masterbuilt electric with Amazing pellet deal. Then moved on to a ReqTec Rt-700 before moving away from pellets to get more flavor.

Enter the Masterbuilt 1050. So far I've done the following:
1 hour burn in at 250 degrees
30 min burn in at 400 degrees
30 min seasoning at 350 degrees
20 min steak cook at 550 degrees
30 min seasoning at 350 degrees
1 hour chicken cook between 275 and 450 degrees

So total of about 4 hours at maybe 350 degrees average and I've almost burned through an entire 18lbs bag of Kingsford competition briquettes. I'd say I have 4 lbs left. So 14lbs in 4 hours is 3.5 lbs per hour.

Does that sound right? That is going to get very expensive at between $0.50 and $0.80 a lbs for briquettes.

For comparison, my Weber propane says it averages 1lbs an hour at $1/lbs of propane and my old pellet grill would go at maybe 1 or 1.5lbs per hour at $0.40/lbs.

Looks like this might be 2-3x the price of other fuels.
 
If you want more flavor then it is probably worth it. There is a very long MB Gravity thread on this sight. I'm sure there is a discussion on fuel burn time.
 
I average better consumption with lump.
Never checked actual times but plan to asap. But yes you must feed the beast....but very rewarding in regards to flavor and ease of operation
 
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If you want more flavor then it is probably worth it. There is a very long MB Gravity thread on this sight. I'm sure there is a discussion on fuel burn time.

Sorry - I understand there is a 52 page thread on the Gravity series. I just figured it made sense to open a different thread because this is concerning a specific topic vs. a general discussion on the unit itself.
 
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Sorry - I understand there is a 52 page thread on the Gravity series. I just figured it made sense to open a different thread because this is concerning a specific topic vs. a general discussion on the unit itself.
No worries. I'm interested in this thread also. I think sometimes it is difficult to compare some things. Agree propane is cheap (or was last time I bought) but no flavor. Pellets (also add electricity for cost) equals some good flavor. I just bought a Weber kettle. Charcoal may be more expensive but flavor/fun is certainly worth it to me.

Certainly enjoying the journey with new toys and beer required to run them.
 
If all you were looking for was more smoke flavor I would've stuck with the Recteq and used an Amazen tube filled with something like the Lumberjack char/hickory pellets or dust.An expanded 18" tube filled with dust would give over 10 hours of yummy extra smoke that the grill on its own couldn't do.Would've saved you a few greenbacks too.
 
I'll chime in...I own a boat, been boating all my, just a 21 ft deck boat. We never worry about the price of gas because we want to be out on the water, creating great memories and having fun!!!! Sort of like the 1050, sure it may cost more for the charcoal than propane, but the way I see it, it's a better taste and flavor!!!! So I don't worry about it.
 
If all you were looking for was more smoke flavor I would've stuck with the Recteq and used an Amazen tube filled with something like the Lumberjack char/hickory pellets or dust.An expanded 18" tube filled with dust would give over 10 hours of yummy extra smoke that the grill on its own couldn't do.Would've saved you a few greenbacks too.

I tried that. I had all sorts of issues with the tube staying lit and even when it did, the taste of the smoke was not good. It was very dirty tasting which I found odd considering I used an Amazen when I had my Masterbuilt electric and didn't get dirty tasting smoke.
 
I'll chime in...I own a boat, been boating all my, just a 21 ft deck boat. We never worry about the price of gas because we want to be out on the water, creating great memories and having fun!!!! Sort of like the 1050, sure it may cost more for the charcoal than propane, but the way I see it, it's a better taste and flavor!!!! So I don't worry about it.

If I'm smoking a 7lbs pork shoulder (of which, you get about 4lbs of meat at the end) for 14 hours, I just consumed 50lbs of charcoal. First, the hopper on the 1050 only holds 16lbs, so I've had to fill it multiple times during the 14 hours (so much for set it and forget it) and it cost me like $30 in charcoal. That means my $1.99/lbs pork butt cost me $14, seasonings cost me $2 and charcoal cost me $30. So overall, I just paid nearly $12/lbs for pulled pork. That doesn't seem like a good deal. I haven't heard about people saying they used 50lbs of charcoal to smoke a single pulled pork, so that is why I opened this thread. Either something is wrong with mine, or I'm doing something wrong to be burning 3.5lbs of charcoal an hour.
 
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I tried that. I had all sorts of issues with the tube staying lit and even when it did, the taste of the smoke was not good. It was very dirty tasting which I found odd considering I used an Amazen when I had my Masterbuilt electric and didn't get dirty tasting smoke.

I'm very surprised at all that.

Anyways I hope the MB 1050 works out but that sure seems like quite a bit of fuel consumption.Something just doesn't seem right...maybe an airflow problem as in to much?
 
If I'm smoking a 7lbs pork shoulder (of which, you get about 4lbs of meat at the end) for 14 hours, I just consumed 50lbs of charcoal. First, the hopper on the 1050 only holds 16lbs, so I've had to fill it multiple times during the 14 hours (so much for set it and forget it) and it cost me like $30 in charcoal. That means my $1.99/lbs pork butt cost me $14, seasonings cost me $2 and charcoal cost me $30. So overall, I just paid nearly $12/lbs for pulled pork. That doesn't seem like a good deal. I haven't heard about people saying they used 50lbs of charcoal to smoke a single pulled pork, so that is why I opened this thread. Either something is wrong with mine, or I'm doing something wrong to be burning 3.5lbs of charcoal an hour.
I have a MB560. Unless there is something different besides the size between the two, something does not seem right. I go through a hopper at 225 deg anywhere from 10 - 12 hours. That is with chunks of wood layered in or 1 stick in the middle surrounded by charcoal. I can put my cook on in the evening, top off the hopper around midnight go to bed and not worry about it till I awake in the morning.
One thing a believe though and this is just my 2 cents, I looked at the times and temp you are describing and you can't look at average. At 500 - 400 you are burning some charcoal. Even at 350 vs 225 thats a huge difference. So try a butt at 225 and then see what you burn.
 
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I have a MB560. Unless there is something different besides the size between the two, something does not seem right. I go through a hopper at 225 deg anywhere from 10 - 12 hours. That is with chunks of wood layered in or 1 stick in the middle surrounded by charcoal. I can put my cook on in the evening, top off the hopper around midnight go to bed and not worry about it till I awake in the morning.
One thing a believe though and this is just my 2 cents, I looked at the times and temp you are describing and you can't look at average. At 500 - 400 you are burning some charcoal. Even at 350 vs 225 thats a huge difference. So try a butt at 225 and then see what you burn.

Yeah I think the next step for me is to puts some ribs on at 235 and see how it goes. I'm guessing the increase in charcoal consumption is not a linear relationship with temperature.
 
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If I'm smoking a 7lbs pork shoulder (of which, you get about 4lbs of meat at the end) for 14 hours, I just consumed 50lbs of charcoal. First, the hopper on the 1050 only holds 16lbs, so I've had to fill it multiple times during the 14 hours (so much for set it and forget it) and it cost me like $30 in charcoal. That means my $1.99/lbs pork butt cost me $14, seasonings cost me $2 and charcoal cost me $30. So overall, I just paid nearly $12/lbs for pulled pork. That doesn't seem like a good deal. I haven't heard about people saying they used 50lbs of charcoal to smoke a single pulled pork, so that is why I opened this thread. Either something is wrong with mine, or I'm doing something wrong to be burning 3.5lbs of charcoal an hour.
I have 1050 , smoke a lot butts but never use over bug and half. Lately start use a lump charcoal even better result.
 
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I've looked long and hard at the MB gravity charcoal. Haven't gone there, yet
A 1050 is way outside of the area I need to feed wife and me or even when the critters come home.
I don't need a grill that will handle 8 (or more) pork butts.
Have you searched the mods to trap more charcoal in the basket?

I use my 22" kettle the most. Wally World charcoal works just fine.
There has been numerous charcoal brand comparisons and Royal Oak (Wally World appears the same) has won over Kingsford for burn and ash residue. I don't like Kingsford as they use soft woods in the mix.
 
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I've looked long and hard at the MB gravity charcoal. Haven't gone there, yet
A 1050 is way outside of the area I need to feed wife and me or even when the critters come home.
I don't need a grill that will handle 8 (or more) pork butts.
Have you searched the mods to trap more charcoal in the basket?

I use my 22" kettle the most. Wally World charcoal works just fine.
There has been numerous charcoal brand comparisons and Royal Oak (Wally World appears the same) has won over Kingsford for burn and ash residue. I don't like Kingsford as they use soft woods in the mix.

The mods to catch charcoal are no longer needed. The 2021 MB 1050 had some redesigned parts to eliminate the need for the mods. The grate between the charcoal and the ash tray was changed and the charcoal hopper is now porcelain lined to name a few.
 
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Are you going through this much charcoal only when you’re smoking?

I ask this because maybe the metal plates aren’t completely cutting off the oxygen when you put them back in, causing you to burn up more charcoal when not in use?
 
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Are you going through this much charcoal only when you’re smoking?

I ask this because maybe the metal plates aren’t completely cutting off the oxygen when you put them back in, causing you to burn up more charcoal when not in use?

It is only when cooking.
 
Wow, after reading this, I’m glad I still have my WSM 22.5/BBQ GURU setup.
22 hours on one load of fuel mixed with wood chunks. Sounds like a real bargain to me. And I really liked the design of the MB gravity feed, but that is a lot of fuel. I don’t think my Lang uses that much wood in $.
Al
 
Wow, after reading this, I’m glad I still have my WSM 22.5/BBQ GURU setup.
22 hours on one load of fuel mixed with wood chunks. Sounds like a real bargain to me. And I really liked the design of the MB gravity feed, but that is a lot of fuel. I don’t think my Lang uses that much wood in $.
Al

How many lbs is a load in your WSM and what temp are you running for the 22 hours?
 
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