Minion vs. Circular burn vs. Light em up

I just dump a chimney of lit coals right on top and never have an issue.

*scratches head* I would like to hear the thoughts on this myself. I would think the circular would be more controlled. I have been thinking about using a metal can with both ends cut off and a few holes drilled in it for better air flow.

I fire my bullets the same way...I concentrate my weed burner in the center of the coals for 30 seconds then again at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock then back to center...works great! :thumb:

I use the Minion method basically in my WSM's. I fill the charcoal ring with charcoal and wood, and put the lit coals on top, spread out evenly over the surface.

Honestly, for any of these methods, air intake is key. The fire can not start burning any more than your air intake allows, no matter how your lit/unlit charcoal is arranged. The only thing you can really do to affect this is to arrange your coals in a way that they can not burn as much as you want. Not the other way around.

If the problem is with the fire burning too quick and hot, I would look for leaks.

I agree with bigabyte. Any of the "Modified Minion" methods should work if you control airflow. With my WSM, I fill up the ring, make a slight dent in the middle, and pour about 15-20 lit coals on top. With my old offset, I found that a charcoal maze (similar to your "circular burn") worked best.

bigabyte said:

Honestly, for any of these methods, air intake is key. The fire can not start burning any more than your air intake allows, no matter how your lit/unlit charcoal is arranged. The only thing you can really do to affect this is to arrange your coals in a way that they can not burn as much as you want. Not the other way around.

If the problem is with the fire burning too quick and hot, I would look for leaks.

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Totally agree with this phiosophy - both for air intake and outflow. It can't come in if it can't go out! :thumb:

I need to figure something out for my UDS, I am having a devil of a time getting the temps to stabilize currently. And the center of the basket is burning out too fast to keep the circular burn going. I have considered a few options, imcluding a ring of air inside, to force a ring burn.

Alot of people on the board also suggest placing your hot coals towards the bottom of your basket so the ash from burnt coals does not quell the soon-to-be lit coals underneath them. I've heard that fire will always move towards your intake so you should place your lit coals at the opposite end. I use both of these methods with a coffee can for help.

All I've ever done is fill up the firebasket and evenly distribute my lit coals across the entire top of the pile. I've never really had a problem.

Another member build a UDS recently and called me when he was having temp spikes like you on his first burn. He did the "coffee can method" as I recall, or at least put all his coals in a divot in the middle of the stack. He was sure that he had no air leaks and I recommended trying my method and the next day or so he called back and let me know all was well and my method worked much better.

Perhaps it's just my mind's logic, but I've always thought that if you start with a lot of lit coals in the very center and that ring moves toward the outside of the pile that you'll end up with more heat as the burn progresses. I'm a geometry guy and I know that (now stay with me here.....:roll as the radius or diameter of a circle increases, so does the circumference. THEREFORE....since the circumference is getting bigger, you're ending up with more lit coals all the time, thus more heat. BUT....many people have said that they use this method on this forum before and have good success.

I also agree with Chris, though, that he amount of oxygen will only feed so much fuel. This would suggest that my theory won't matter. All I know is, what I do works and I'll stick with that.

I got a basket for my COS for Christmas and just used it last week for the first time. Did it Minion style and had the best burn/coal efficiency success to date. I filled the basket almost to the top with coal and dumped one round of started coals on it. After reading these posts I'm wondering if I should dump the lit coals further from the intake -- or -- if/because my COS coal basket is smaller than a UDS basket where I put lit coals won't make a significant difference. I'll try it next time and report.

JD McGee said:

I fire my bullets the same way...I concentrate my weed burner in the center of the coals for 30 seconds then again at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock then back to center...works great! :thumb:

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same here :thumb:

Kathy's Smokin' said:

I got a basket for my COS for Christmas and just used it last week for the first time. Did it Minion style and had the best burn/coal efficiency success to date. I filled the basket almost to the top with coal and dumped one round of started coals on it. After reading these posts I'm wondering if I should dump the lit coals further from the intake -- or -- if/because my COS coal basket is smaller than a UDS basket where I put lit coals won't make a significant difference. I'll try it next time and report.

Click to expand...

Now, for an offset, I think we're talking about a different animal. The OP was talking about a UDS, which is similar to a WSM (in shape, and burn, that is). For my offset smoker, when I load the firebox with charcoal, I have learned to light the coals nearest the cook chamber, or farthest from the intake. When I did it the other way around, the draft pushed the fire toward the unlit coals, consuming the fuel way quicker and hotter than I wanted. For an offset, I'd recommend lighting coals furthest from the intake so that the draft goes through the unlit coals and then to the lit coals.....duplicating the minion method. Think of it as the minion method on it's side.... Doing it this way works a lot better for me, keeps temps more consistent, saves fuel and makes for longer burn time between refuels.

bigabyte said:

I fill the charcoal ring with charcoal and wood, and put the lit coals on top, spread out evenly over the surface.

Click to expand...

I use a similar strategy with my WSM.
I did not notice much (if any) difference when I left a bowl-shaped cavity to pour hot coals into.
Once the WSM reaches a stable temp, it generally remains there unless there is a change in
air entering and leaving the chamber (IE: you opened the door or lid to check on something or the wind changed)
and only needs water/fuel serviced every 3-6 hours.

You don't rush good BBQ, let the cooker warm up before you put anything in there then leave it alone.

i add charcoal, in no particular fashion. if i'm doing a hot and fast cook, i light it in three or four places. if i'm doing a slow and low, i light it in the middle. so far, no hitches.