WSM Charcoal Burn Length Problems

[BeardedMan]

I got a WSM 18.5" a few weeks ago and have been enjoying it. I keep running into an issue with the amount of time I get out of charcoal.

Have been using Royal Oaks lump charcoal. Last Saturday, I filled the ring to the top and lit some charcoal in an upside down chimney starter. Added the lit coals to the pile and spread them around. I then added 4 fist-sized chunks of hickory. I was able to keep the temperatures close to my desired temp of 250 for a couple of hours. 2.5 hours later, my temperatures starting dropping quickly and I couldn't keep them above 200. I had to take the smoker apart and add more charcoal to get the temps I wanted (wanted 300 for the rest of the cook). After adding more charcoal, the temperatures still fluctuated a lot.

What am I doing wrong? Should I switch to briquettes?

 

[gmc2003]

Hi and welcome to the forums. When I use my WSM 22" I fill the charcoal ring up, and bury about three chunks of wood at various distances from the center. I then remove the charcoal in the center of the ring(about a soup cans width) and put around 8 to 10 lit coals in the open space. Start with all of your vents wide open, and when your about 20 to 30 degrees from your target temp. Start closing down the bottom vents until your stabilized at your target.

Chris

 

[BeardedMan]

Thanks for the reply Chris. I will have to try that method next time. Do you normally use lump or briquettes?

 

[noboundaries]

A dense briquette will give you a longer smoking time and better temp control due to the uniformity of the briquettes and less exposed surface area.

Lump is best for hot n fast, like poultry. The irregular surface area of lump exposes more surface area, causing greater distribution of heat and air to the fuel-air-heat triangle of fire.

Royal Oak/Embers/Expert Grill are all RO Ridge briquettes. Weber and B&B are great too, but pricier. Kingsford can work in the smoker, but it is 25% less dense and only lasts 60% as long in spite of what's on the bag.

(Can't get the bold to go away for some reason, even when highlighting and deselecting bold. I'm not shouting intentionally).

 

[sandyut]

I never used lump coal, but with kingsford I was about to get 12-14 hours on my 14" WSM with a PARTY Q pretty easy. I think noboundaries knows why.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Are you using water in pan? Water will make smoker run cooler. I put an empty 12 ounce coffee can in middle of charcoal grate and put unlit charcoal around it about 3/4 full. Then dump lit charcoal in can and remove can with high temp glove or tongs. Spread chunks around top. I get good 8 - 10 hours with Kingsford.

 

[BeardedMan]

A dense briquette will give you a longer smoking time and better temp control due to the uniformity of the briquettes and less exposed surface area.

Lump is best for hot n fast, like poultry. The irregular surface area of lump exposes more surface area, causing greater distribution of heat and air to the fuel-air-heat triangle of fire.

Royal Oak/Embers/Expert Grill are all RO Ridge briquettes. Weber and B&B are great too, but pricier. Kingsford can work in the smoker, but it is 25% less dense and only lasts 60% as long in spite of what's on the bag.

(Can't get the bold to go away for some reason, even when highlighting and deselecting bold. I'm not shouting intentionally).

There's really no need to yell :-P. Seems like briquettes would help me out due to the uniformity as you said. I'll have to pick up a few bags this week.

I never used lump coal, but with kingsford I was about to get 12-14 hours on my 14" WSM with a PARTY Q pretty easy. I think noboundaries knows why.

Yeah, seems like KBB is the way to go.

Are you using water in pan? Water will make smoker run cooler. I put an empty 12 ounce coffee can in middle of charcoal grate and put unlit charcoal around it about 3/4 full. Then dump lit charcoal in can and remove can with high temp glove or tongs. Spread chunks around top. I get good 8 - 10 hours with Kingsford.

I am using water in the pan but I only filled it halfway. I thought by the time I needed 300 it would be mostly gone. I was under the impression that using water in the pan was good for 225-275ish while going higher is when you'd go empty. I'm probably wrong about that though.

 

[sandyut]

oh yes, use a dry water bowl covered in foil. the water is just taking away energy / heat.

 

[noboundaries]

Yeah, seems like KBB is the way to go.

Been there. It works, but won't last as long as Royal Oak Ridge briquettes. Embers and Expert Grill are the RO Ridge seconds that don't have a perfect stamp, broken briqs, etc. I haven't noticed any difference between their performance. Tested by me head to head and posted at SMF.

 

[yankee2bbq]

Been there. It works, but won't last as long as Royal Oak Ridge briquettes. Embers and Expert Grill are the RO Ridge seconds that don't have a perfect stamp, broken briqs, etc. I haven't noticed any difference between their performance. Tested by me head to head and posted at SMF.

I concur with the above statement. Switched to Royal Oak briquettes and never looked back.

 

[BeardedMan]

Been there. It works, but won't last as long as Royal Oak Ridge briquettes. Embers and Expert Grill are the RO Ridge seconds that don't have a perfect stamp, broken briqs, etc. I haven't noticed any difference between their performance. Tested by me head to head and posted at SMF.

Will find that thread. Thanks. I saw this at Walmart, is this what you're referring to?

 

[gmc2003]

Here is the thread noboundaries is taking about I think:

Kingsford Briquettes vs. Royal Oak Ridge Briquettes: Burn Temperature, Time, and Ash Comparison

It's that time of year just before Memorial Day when "bulk" charcoal goes on and off sale, with deep discounts, up to 50%. July 4th will be the next opportunity, then Labor Day. After Labor Day you can often find "clearance" sales that are unbelievable as stores empty their summer stock to...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Enjoy the read.
Chris

 

[noboundaries]

I saw this at Walmart, is this what you're referring to?

Yep. If you look on the bottom of the bag on the back, you should see "Made by Royal Oak Enterprises."

 

[hawtsauc3]

I'm guessing you just lost airflow, either the vents were closed or you built up too much ash and a poke or 2 with some tongs would have fired her back up.

That said, having used lump once (this last week out of desperation) i prefer briquettes. I have used KBB, Embers, and Royal oak and prefer embers. 40lbs for $10 on sale or $15 not on sale is hard to beat. I used to love KBB but ever since they changed their formula back in like 2014 i've just moved on. The embers ive had have burned identical to the royal oak, but i did notice there's less uniformity in the briquettes.

You may also want to look into a temp controller. While my WSM would always be pretty steady, itd tend to hit 1 or 2 times per smoke where either the temp would shoot way up or start dropping. Compared to my ECB this wasn't a lot of work, but now that i have a party q, it really has become set and forget.