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Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

information about low temps from Noah

OK guys this is for those of you at sea level (or very close) with the temp drop issue. I spoke with Noah today (he is every bit as friendly and easy to talk to as you've heard).....I explained it seems that there were folks in humid areas that had issues with temps dropping in the PBC. Assuming you are following the lighting procedures correctly he said to try opening your vent cap (intake) to 1/2 open. He also said he thinks the temps dropping could be due to the humidity getting to the charcoal you are using and it may be obsorbing some of the moisture (my words). If your temps still drop he said to crack your lid 3/4" and let it stay that for for at least 20 minutes. That will help the fire get going better. He thinks those two procudures will help with the issue. He said it seems that people in humid areas buy a bag of coal open it and cook with little or no issues but run into the temp issues when they cook again with the remaining coal (that was left in the bag not in the coal basket after a cook). That's why he thinks the humidity may be getting to the charcoal.

Now he didn't say this but I believe cracking the lid for 20 minutes may help "dry out" your coals so to speak. If the humidity is getting to the charcoal, that along with the juices dripping on the coals would help us understand the temp drop. Your coals don't have to look or feel wet either. But don't forget charcoal will absorb moisture and unless they are soaked you probably won't know. I didn't even think about that when I mentioned the temp drop issue seem to only be in humid areas. I would also recommend putting your charcoal in an air tight container after opening to keep humidity out.

Hopefully this will help you guys.....
 
I found that when the lower vent is facing into the wind, the temps will drop. I turned mine out of the wind a few weeks ago and the temp rose back to around 280* within minutes.

I had not considered "moist" charcoal, but I will keep an eye on my pork butt cook this weekend to see what happens as I will be using KBB from an open bag.
 
HooBQ said:
I found that when the lower vent is facing into the wind, the temps will drop. I turned mine out of the wind a few weeks ago and the temp rose back to around 280* within minutes.

I had not considered "moist" charcoal, but I will keep an eye on my pork butt cook this weekend to see what happens as I will be using KBB from an open bag.
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That's odd, I would have thought the wind would make it hotter.....good information to know.

As far as the charcoal goes I've even noticed the open bags seem to take longer to light. Matter of fact one of the reasons I started using a propane turkey fryer burner to light my chimney is because some of the charcoal seemed to take forever to light. Even though humidity is pretty low in Oklahoma I bet it was still getting to my coals based on where I store them. Especially if it rains the storage area gets humid! Never put the two together though....duh! :loco:
 
AClarke44 said:
That's odd, I would have thought the wind would make it hotter.....good information to know.

As far as the charcoal goes I've even noticed the open bags seem to take longer to light. Matter of fact one of the reasons I started using a propane turkey fryer burner to light my chimney is because some of the charcoal seemed to take forever to light. Even though humidity is pretty low in Oklahoma I bet it was still getting to my coals based on where I store them. Especially if it rains the storage area gets humid! Never put the two together though....duh! :loco:
Click to expand...
Humidity does make a difference and to a degree the charcoal does absorb some but not as much as you think.

With humidity it's important to have a small hot fire established then it's not as big of a factor. Too often people start cooking when the fire isn't established then is when humidity can drag the fire down...Kinda of like a load on it.

When you see a good section of coals really red hot glowing it will power through it no problem. So it doesn't matter how much humidity you have if you have the proper ratio of lit coals...each one produces so much BTU's

Remember what you have to have to make a fire....Triangle of fuel, oxygen and heat. Opening that vent and allowing more oxygen is the accelerant it needs to get the fire hotter so the humidity doesn't cool it down as much. Humidity is taking away heat
 
Blcarney said:
Thanks. I started a Google spreadsheet for it, and added a couple fields based on yours. Do you do any fun stuff like charts, graphs, pivot tables etc?
Click to expand...

I have graphed out some things using a pareto chart, but nothing too fancy yet. Google docs isn't as comprehensive as excel is. I may just use excel & share it to my other devices via my home network.


Blcarney said:
To make sure I'm reading you correctly, you pulled & wrapped the butts (never thought I'd type those words in that order) at 6:04, then back in the PBC for 2 hours, then rested for 2 hours? Total time = 10 hours? Or did you pull / wrap at 6 hours, then rest for 2 hours?
Click to expand...


I took it off the PBC(sorry for the term pulled, seems confusing for pork or chicken lol) at 6hrs to wrap it & put it back in the PBC for another ~2hrs until the bone was wiggling. Then I took it out of the PBC& let it rest still wrapped in foil on my counter for 2 hrs. so yep, total time of 10 hrs.

HTH
 
I know I'll get flamed for this but I have found using the lighter fluid method (and using plenty of it) works the best for me. It provides a good, even burn that lasts. I light it outside the barrel and then place the basket in the barrel with a heavy rake when it's nice and hot.
 
AClarke44 said:
That's odd, I would have thought the wind would make it hotter.....good information to know.

As far as the charcoal goes I've even noticed the open bags seem to take longer to light. Matter of fact one of the reasons I started using a propane turkey fryer burner to light my chimney is because some of the charcoal seemed to take forever to light. Even though humidity is pretty low in Oklahoma I bet it was still getting to my coals based on where I store them. Especially if it rains the storage area gets humid! Never put the two together though....duh! :loco:
Click to expand...

Put a gamma seal lid onto a bucket and you've got an airtight seal for outdoor storage.
 
pjess50 said:
I know I'll get flamed for this but I have found using the lighter fluid method (and using plenty of it) works the best for me. It provides a good, even burn that lasts. I light it outside the barrel and then place the basket in the barrel with a heavy rake when it's nice and hot.
Click to expand...

No flames from me. I have used the lighter fluid method and I agree that it is the most fool-proof method of lighting the coal basket. Most of us try to use the chimney method because we are used to using it and don't want the added expense of buying lighter fluid. Some claim to be able to taste the difference on the food, but I have not found that personally.

I do believe that lighting the coal basket effectively is the key to consistent results on the PBC. It is the only variable factor in the cooker's design. It takes a number of cooks to settle in to a repeatable lighting routine and it is truly the only critical part of the cook up until the time you pull your food. Many of us don't give this 15-20 minute process the attention it requires (too busy with food prep) and the results will always be inconsistent until we do.
 
Thingfish said:
I do believe that lighting the coal basket effectively is the key to consistent results on the PBC. It is the only variable factor in the cooker's design. It takes a number of cooks to settle in to a repeatable lighting routine and it is truly the only critical part of the cook up until the time you pull your food. Many of us don't give this 15-20 minute process the attention it requires (too busy with food prep) and the results will always be inconsistent until we do.
Click to expand...

Nice! 100% agree. :thumb:
 
I keep up on this thread plus there's a Facebook page for PBC lovers and there are always so many people worried about temp. monitoring, and making modifications. I guess it's not in my nature to concentrate on these things. I bought my PBC because I thought it was a set it-and-forget it cooker. For the most part it is, I know it a lot better now. I know how long the butts, ribs, chickens take. And I have no clue what temperature the PBC is running at.
 
Devil_Inside said:
I am not sure if this would work. When I first got the PBC I had a big problem controlling the temperature - it would start off very hot and then it would drop like a rock, thus I cooked chicken for literally 4 hours. I reached out to Noah and he identified that I wasn't lighting the charcoal correctly - basically I was doing exactly what you are describing - waiting additional 15 minutes with the lid off to get the charcoal going, and it simply didn't work for me.

Ever since I started following "the guide" the temperature is a lot more controlled, but I am still having some issues (see my previous post).
I will try lighting a few more briquettes and leaving them in the chimney for a few more minutes and I am hoping this will help some.
Click to expand...

I'm going to keep trying for the right combination. I am going to try what Noah recommended next cook.
 
Cibelo said:
I'm going to keep trying for the right combination. I am going to try what Noah recommended next cook.
Click to expand...

I was hoping you'd see that post. Let's us know what you found out when you try out the recommendations.
 
pjess50 said:
I know I'll get flamed for this but I have found using the lighter fluid method (and using plenty of it) works the best for me. It provides a good, even burn that lasts. I light it outside the barrel and then place the basket in the barrel with a heavy rake when it's nice and hot.
Click to expand...

Been working for me except I do it all in the barrel ..:clap:
 
Nothing wrong with lighter fluid. I do it time to time.
 
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Just a last reminder that Noah, the other inventor of the PBC, will be at the Chicago area Bash tomorrow. Details of the event are in my signature below. He will probably get the around 11am. Hope to see some of you PBC fans there.
 
ssv3 said:
Nothing wrong with lighter fluid. I do it time to time.
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It seems to me that many more coals are lit using the lighter fluid than there are using a chimney. Should we be lighting more than 40 briquettes to start with?
 
Cibelo said:
It seems to me that many more coals are lit using the lighter fluid than there are using a chimney. Should we be lighting more than 40 briquettes to start with?
Click to expand...

I've never used lighter fluid but I know a few people who have. Some of them experienced the PBC getting too hot when they used fluid. Using the chimney and 40 briquettes helped lower temps. So I would say people like yourself who are having problems with temp drop may benefit from starting more briquettes. I wouldn't add more than 4-6 more the first time though.

I'd try Noah's recommdation first though.
 
Hung 2 chickens today and 1 rack of ribs. Here are the chicken halves:
3DBE9424-20AF-4B6C-BA2B-A8D27C3D7ABB_zpsw35os5uq.jpg

Good crispy skin:
141C139F-1E1F-46B9-9F3E-D5BE26388B72_zpsizgahbtz.jpg

I'm partial to dark meat, so here's mine:
7E36369B-322A-4C50-9A07-0D84F782DD71_zpsrkj5z69m.jpg
 
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