This Ever Happen To You ?

[Mike Twangzer]

So I fire up my PBC ... with KBB ... fire basket almost full ,, then dump in a small chimney of lit coals .. good so far .. hang 6 trimmed racks of St.Louis Spares ... let it go for about 3 hrs ... thought it needed a bit higher temp so I stick a 1/4 inch allen wrench under the lid. good so far ... about an hour later take the lid off to probe for doness ... MY GOD ... the drippings lit and a giant A$$ flame shot up about 6 in above the top ... slam the lid dpwn ... run into the house to get a platter ... fought the flames while taking them off the rod ... singed the ribs !!!!! along with my arm hair ... WTF ???? maybe I should have hosed it down ??? Gonna try it again, though just to see... maybe not crack the lid this time..... but be ready ...

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Sounds like you were rendering some serious fat out of those ribs. How long since you cleaned it? Could have been some at the bottom that ignited too.

 

[ssv3]

Never had a flare up that crazy. Here and there I crack the lid open to spike temps but that's no more than a few mins and when I close the lid the flares die down immediately. I think you left the lid open a little too long. I don't know if it matters but I always use lump in mine.

 

[Fwismoker]

Yep lots of fat with a fire that was a tad hot to have meat that was too close in proximity.

 

[Brew-Bq]

Even a small allen wrench would probably be too much. A thin paperclip is usually plenty for me to get temps up. Just curious, did you know what temps you were running before and after the allen wrench?

 

[Mike Twangzer]

The PBC wasn't dirty but maybe cracking the lid was the culprit. With fat dripping off the rib rack ... everything was on fire and just went whoosh !!! no more cracking for me. Temps through the holes were about 190 but I usually ignore evrything and let it ride. Just wanted to get done a bit sooner ... I'm going back to set it and forget it .. thanks all !!!