Too much charcoal?

[Gocubs1815]

So I'm new to smoking and using charcoal grills.

Was watching a few videos and the thought crossed my mind about burning charcoal. What happens if you light up and put too much charcoal in your grill?

Most people I've seen using like a Webber Kettle are putting like half a chimney in there. What would happen if you put too much in the grill/smoker? I'm guessing there would be too much heat, but what would you do if you had too many coals? Could you still control the heat with the dampers?

Are there any resources to determine how much charcoal you'd need given the size smoker you're using and the temp you want to cook at?

 

[noboundaries]

Good question, but charcoal can be reused especially in a Weber. Once you're done grilling or smoking, put on the lid, close all the vents, and the fire will choke out. Next time you want to use the Weber, put a few new briquettes in the chimney, knock the loose ash off the used and add them to the chimney. Fire it up, get them hot, and start cooking. Snuff the fire when done and repeat.

Personally, I ALWAYS use my charcoal baskets in my Weber kettle. It makes it easy to de-ash and load the chimney. I usually use about 3/4 of a large chimney of new and used charcoal to fire up my Weber Kettle.

Finally, if you understand the fire triangle of heat-fuel-air, you can use air to control how hot or cool your fire is regardless of how much fuel is loaded. Lots of air, lots of heat (hot briquettes), and you have a hot fire.

You can control it even more by adding less heat by firing up fewer briquettes, but this applies more to a smoker than a grill.

 

[cmayna]

Yup, The more briquettes, the hotter it can be.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Should you put too much lit charcoal, and the temp is running away, close the bottom vent and Wait. The lack of air will choke off some of the Burning charcoal and the temp will drop. When the temp gets within 5 degrees of your goal, CRACK the bottom vents. This will dampen the heat from swinging too low. When the temp settles at or near your goal, add your meat and wait some more. The temp will drop from the cold meat. If the temp does not creep back up to desired, within 15-20 minutes, open the vents a Touch more. BE PATIENT! You will see everything balance out at or close to your desired temp. With Red meat, swinging from 200°F to 250°F, all looks like 225°F to the meat, a typical goal. As long as the Average Temp is what you are shooting for, the swings won't hurt. Search the Minion Method and Snake Method for Kettles. This will give a feel for, how much Charcoal in the kettle, how to arrange the charcoal, how much smoke Wood and where to put the chunks, and how much Charcoal to Light to get going...JJ

 

[Fueling Around]

It depends what cooker/smoker platform you're using.
I have a cheap Brinkmann offset. I get it started with about 1/2 chimney in the offset chamber when I'm smoking. If I'm grilling, a full chimney in the charcoal grate under the main chamber grates is good.
I have a Weber kettle. 1/2 chimney is good for grilling, but way too much for a low and slow smoke. I use a double row of coal in the snake method and light the end coals with a propane torch

edit because the post chopped off most of my reply

 

[Gocubs1815]

Okay, thanks for the info. But plot twist...

Instead if a Webber Kettle, what if you're cooking in a smoker with 72'x32'x24 dimensions. That's 32 square feet that need to be heated to 250°
How much coal do you think one would need?

 

[jcam222]

Okay, thanks for the info. But plot twist...

Instead if a Webber Kettle, what if you're cooking in a smoker with 72'x32'x24 dimensions. That's 32 square feet that need to be heated to 250°
How much coal do you think one would need?

Probably help to know more about your smoker type. That’s pretty big. Offset? cabinet? In my opinion in a cooker that big it’s not as much how much charcoal , it’s all about controlling the heat with airflow. In my large vertical 270 smoker I fill the basket with a good 12 lbs or more of lump. I toss one chimney of lit coals on top that. Whether I fill it full or half full the temp management is all about adjusting the top and bottom vents.