Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

So a question for everyone here who is measuring temps in their PBC. How are you measuring your temperature? I have been running the probe wire through one of the holes for the rebar, and then securing with the grate clip to a rebar on the side opposite the food. It usually hangs upside down there. My temps have been low (225 if left closed up), and I have to crack the lid quite a bit during any sort of lengthy cook. Im going to adjust my vent a little more open to see if that helps, but wanted to have a good basis for comparison.
 
Bugman said:
So a question for everyone here who is measuring temps in their PBC. How are you measuring your temperature? I have been running the probe wire through one of the holes for the rebar, and then securing with the grate clip to a rebar on the side opposite the food. It usually hangs upside down there. My temps have been low (225 if left closed up), and I have to crack the lid quite a bit during any sort of lengthy cook. Im going to adjust my vent a little more open to see if that helps, but wanted to have a good basis for comparison.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you are using the same method I do to monitor temps. I would do as you suggested and open your vent cap a tad bit more.

Also do you use a chimney to light your coal? If so how much are you lighting up at first?
 

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####### 6,000 posts ######

Andrew! Good to hear from you my friend.

Bugman, depends on the cook. Most of the time I drop a probe through the rebar hole and let the probe hang through the grate so the tip of the probe is about 8 inches below the grate. Sometimes I will clamp the probe to the grate, but most of the time I need that grate space.

:clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:

Now an editorial unrelated to Bugman's question but related to Bugman's post.

That post was officially 6,001, which means it was the 6,000th response to Andrew's original post almost exactly 2 years ago (5/13/15)

In those years Andrew has responded to over 1,200 questions, commented on people's pron, posted his own, and been the heart and soul of this thread....400+ pages of it. Sako is a distant second with over 600 posts. And Bob C Cue with 575. (I have a measly 120.) In total over 250 people have contributed.

What an accomplishment for PBC lovers to keep this thread regularly in the top pages of this site. I've heard many people say it was after reading hundreds of pages of this thread that they were convinced to buy their own PBC.

Thanks Andrew!

Now let's add some more Pron!!


:clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:
 
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Stlsportster said:
Andrew! Good to hear from you my friend.

Bugman, depends on the cook. Most of the time I drop a probe through the rebar hole and let the probe hang through the grate so the tip of the probe is about 8 inches below the grate. Sometimes I will clamp the probe to the grate, but most of the time I need that grate space.

:clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:

Now an editorial unrelated to Bugman's question but related to Bugman's post.

That post was officially 6,001, which means it was the 6,000th response to Andrew's original post almost exactly 2 years ago (5/13/15)

In those years Andrew has responded to over 1,200 questions, commented on people's pron, posted his own, and been the heart and soul of this thread....400+ pages of it. Sako is a distant second with over 600 posts. And Bob C Cue with 575. (I have a measly 120.) In total over 250 people have contributed.

What an accomplishment for PBC lovers to keep this thread regularly in the top pages of this site. I've heard many people say it was after reading hundreds of pages of this thread that they were convinced to buy their own PBC.

Thanks Andrew!

Now let's add some more Pron!!


:clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:
Click to expand...

Wow I didn't realize until you mentioned it that we hit 6000 posts! :thumb: I'm glad to see this thread still going strong after 2 years. Unfortunately I haven't been able to provide much lately but I do pay attention and respond when I can.
Thanks to everyone who is able to stay active and keep things rolling here!

And thanks for the kind words sporster!
 
Fun facts Sportster. No appreciation thread has gone on this long and this active with constantly being on page 1.

And the PBC has come a long way. I remember my first painted one made in Colorado with the dull hooks :becky: and most people hadn't even heard of PBC. I fell in love with it since day 1 and so did everyone else who saw mine. It spread like wild fire after that with an awesome husband and wife team that keep innovating until today.

Thanks for starting this thread Andrew. It has helped countless people make a decision on pulling the trigger and it's synonymous anytime someone searches the internet for PBC. :thumb:
 
Great post Sportster! I would have completely missed the fact that we reached 6,000 posts, but that is testament to the PBC and the great people on this forum.

I bought my first PBC back in April of 2014 when demand was outstripping supply. Didn't get it delivered until the end of June, but it was definitely well worth the wait. I had been thinking about getting the 18" WSM for well over a year to supplement my Weber Kettle, but never pulled the trigger. Then I saw the review on Amazing Ribs for the PBC and that piqued my interest. I did a lot of research and even called Noah to ask him some questions. He couldn't have been nicer and at that point I decided to take the plunge.

While I was waiting for delivery I joined the Brethren and my first few posts were questions about the Pit Barrel and I definitely got some good advice! I believe it was a few months after I got mine, that Andrew starting posting his own question about the PBC and was on the fence about buying one. He sure did his homework! I did my best to encourage him to pull trigger, but he was reluctant at first. Even after he broke down and bought one I seemed to remember he had lots of questions about what his first cook should be, what lighting method to use, blah, blah, blah :-D. At one point I just told him to get on with and start cooking!

Well the rest is history and he became one of the biggest fans and promoters of the PBC and started this thread.

Hopefully we can reach another 6,000 posts in a couple of years, and continue to help folks out who have questions about the PBC and allow proud PBCers to post their pron and great advice.

Thanks Andrew for starting all of this fun!
 
ssv3 said:
Fun facts Sportster. No appreciation thread has gone on this long and this active with constantly being on page 1.

And the PBC has come a long way. I remember my first painted one made in Colorado with the dull hooks :becky: and most people hadn't even heard of PBC. I fell in love with it since day 1 and so did everyone else who saw mine. It spread like wild fire after that with an awesome husband and wife team that keep innovating until today.

Thanks for starting this thread Andrew. It has helped countless people make a decision on pulling the trigger and it's synonymous anytime someone searches the internet for PBC. :thumb:
Click to expand...

Don't sell the general knowledge here short, too. I have no plans to buy a PBC, but I never miss a new post. A lot of what is posted her can be applied to many cookers, and the finished pictures are worth it all by themselves.
 
man_of_magic said:
Ok ok did some medeterian style lambshanks yesterday......they rocked!
b79e7c9284a7041f354a8081c598148e.jpg


Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-G935F met Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Looks great! I see you're putting your magic skills to good use. Bet you made them disappear quickly!
 
Bob C Cue said:
Great post Sportster! I would have completely missed the fact that we reached 6,000 posts, but that is testament to the PBC and the great people on this forum.

I bought my first PBC back in April of 2014 when demand was outstripping supply. Didn't get it delivered until the end of June, but it was definitely well worth the wait. I had been thinking about getting the 18" WSM for well over a year to supplement my Weber Kettle, but never pulled the trigger. Then I saw the review on Amazing Ribs for the PBC and that piqued my interest. I did a lot of research and even called Noah to ask him some questions. He couldn't have been nicer and at that point I decided to take the plunge.

While I was waiting for delivery I joined the Brethren and my first few posts were questions about the Pit Barrel and I definitely got some good advice! I believe it was a few months after I got mine, that Andrew starting posting his own question about the PBC and was on the fence about buying one. He sure did his homework! I did my best to encourage him to pull trigger, but he was reluctant at first. Even after he broke down and bought one I seemed to remember he had lots of questions about what his first cook should be, what lighting method to use, blah, blah, blah :-D. At one point I just told him to get on with and start cooking!

Well the rest is history and he became one of the biggest fans and promoters of the PBC and started this thread.

Hopefully we can reach another 6,000 posts in a couple of years, and continue to help folks out who have questions about the PBC and allow proud PBCers to post their pron and great advice.

Thanks Andrew for starting all of this fun!
Click to expand...

One thing Bob is leaving out is what gave me the idea for this thread. He made a thread that was getting a lot of "attention" and we both were doing our best to defend some negative and down right wrong information about the PBC. That got me to thinking that we needed a thread where we could post information and not have to fight with people. Even this thread early on had some good social media "boxing matches" but we've gotten that under control for the most part. Bob was definitely a founding member here...and like he mentioned above, may have been the biggest person to help me with the purchase in the beginning.
 
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Each time I light up a chimney I'm walking in the steps of giants. This thread is the reason I joined the brethren a little over a year ago. The PBC was my first smoker and other than the website videos I had no guides. Every one here has helped this New England yankee, forget those NY pinstripe ones ;), turn out some great BBQ. THANKS EVERYONE
 
AClarke44 said:
One thing Bob is leaving out is what gave me the idea for this thread. He made a thread that was getting a lot of "attention" and we both were doing our best to defend some negative and down right wrong information about the PBC. That got me to thinking that we needed a thread where we could post information and not have to fight with people. Even this thread early on had some good social media "boxing matches" but we've gotten that under control for the most part. Bob was definitely a founding member here...and like he mentioned above, may have been the biggest person to help me with the purchase in the beginning.
Click to expand...
Thanks Andrew. I almost forgot about the "IKEA Effect" posts that explain why some UDS owners did not look too favorably on the PBC in the early days!
 
AClarke44 said:
Sounds like you are using the same method I do to monitor temps. I would do as you suggested and open your vent cap a tad bit more.

Also do you use a chimney to light your coal? If so how much are you lighting up at first?
Click to expand...

Im using a Weber chimney to light my coals. My procedure has been to fill the basket up (using KBB), then pull out 40 and light them in the chimney with newspaper. After waiting 12 to 15 minutes, that gets dumped on top of the basket in the PBC (random distribution). I have a few chunks of apple wood in there usually as well. I have tried the 15/10/10 method from amazing ribs, as well as just waiting another 10 or 15 with the lid on and rebar in to heat up the barrel a little. I usually start out OK, but then drop and dont recover well until I crack the lid. Some of it is grease on the coals depending on whats cooking, and sometimes it seems as if Im snuffed by ash (using the PBC ash catcher) So Ill crack the vent, but wanted to see what else might work. I know one idea is fresh coal (I stock up on one of the sales usually and am using a back stock still....), and I even went to buy some lighter fluid in case that is the answer to get more coals burning ahead and am just having poor luck with a minion style burn. I also thought about clustering the coals away from the vent to try and see if that helps. Ill have to take more note of wind direction next time to see if that works to my advantage, but wanted to see what everyone else had in mind...
 
Bugman said:
Im using a Weber chimney to light my coals. My procedure has been to fill the basket up (using KBB), then pull out 40 and light them in the chimney with newspaper. After waiting 12 to 15 minutes, that gets dumped on top of the basket in the PBC (random distribution). I have a few chunks of apple wood in there usually as well. I have tried the 15/10/10 method from amazing ribs, as well as just waiting another 10 or 15 with the lid on and rebar in to heat up the barrel a little. I usually start out OK, but then drop and dont recover well until I crack the lid. Some of it is grease on the coals depending on whats cooking, and sometimes it seems as if Im snuffed by ash (using the PBC ash catcher) So Ill crack the vent, but wanted to see what else might work. I know one idea is fresh coal (I stock up on one of the sales usually and am using a back stock still....), and I even went to buy some lighter fluid in case that is the answer to get more coals burning ahead and am just having poor luck with a minion style burn. I also thought about clustering the coals away from the vent to try and see if that helps. Ill have to take more note of wind direction next time to see if that works to my advantage, but wanted to see what everyone else had in mind...
Click to expand...

Sounds like you are doing just about everything correctly. Open your cap a tad more. Also let your coals go in the chimney until it looks like the pic below. I don't time mine, I go by how it looks. Pour over the top, put the rebar in and put the lid on. Let it sit for 15 minutes mininum. Then you should ready to cook. I've tried several different ways to place the coals and really haven't found anything that works much better than just pouring over the top. Maybe slightly better if you focus away from the intake slightly like you mentioned.
Is it humid and close to see level where you live? If so you may end up having to crack the lid every couple hours. I don't think we've figured that one out yet....
 

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I drilled a hole just below great level and insert my maverick probe through it and it seals using one of the gaskets that came with my igrill. It sits level and is in a consistent place everytime. I used to do what you are doing but got tired of messing with it and untangling.
Bugman said:
So a question for everyone here who is measuring temps in their PBC. How are you measuring your temperature? I have been running the probe wire through one of the holes for the rebar, and then securing with the grate clip to a rebar on the side opposite the food. It usually hangs upside down there. My temps have been low (225 if left closed up), and I have to crack the lid quite a bit during any sort of lengthy cook. Im going to adjust my vent a little more open to see if that helps, but wanted to have a good basis for comparison.
Click to expand...
 
AClarke44 said:
Sounds like you are doing just about everything correctly. Open your cap a tad more. Also let your coals go in the chimney until it looks like the pic below. I don't time mine, I go by how it looks. Pour over the top, put the rebar in and put the lid on. Let it sit for 15 minutes mininum. Then you should ready to cook. I've tried several different ways to place the coals and really haven't found anything that works much better than just pouring over the top. Maybe slightly better if you focus away from the intake slightly like you mentioned.
Is it humid and close to see level where you live? If so you may end up having to crack the lid every couple hours. I don't think we've figured that one out yet....
Click to expand...

I wouldnt say its too humid, not like a costal area. And its not extreme lowlands by any means, probably 600'. Maybe Im just expecting higher temperatures and faster cooking times based on the PBC videos, but Im getting more traditional smoker temps and times when I try to cook.

Im tempted to try some RO Lump to see how that does in there instead, but I dont want to change up too much at once until I can get things figured out.
 
Bugman said:
I wouldnt say its too humid, not like a costal area. And its not extreme lowlands by any means, probably 600'. Maybe Im just expecting higher temperatures and faster cooking times based on the PBC videos, but Im getting more traditional smoker temps and times when I try to cook.

Im tempted to try some RO Lump to see how that does in there instead, but I dont want to change up too much at once until I can get things figured out.
Click to expand...

Lump would make it run hotter but based on everything you've said I think your vent cap (intake) is just a tad too closed. Open it up a little and see what happens.
 
If you use a small hammer you can tap the vent open in very small increments so you don't have to worry about loosening the nut on the vent while cooking
 
TealStBBQKing said:
If you use a small hammer you can tap the vent open in very small increments so you don't have to worry about loosening the nut on the vent while cooking
Click to expand...

Teal,

An easier way and even more precise is just adding a split lock washer. I added one and haven't looked back. Adjusts to any increment effortlessly.

best few pennies I spent. :-D


 
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