Royal Oak Lump in Smokey Joe

[adunkle]

Hello Everyone,
      I am new to charcoal and this website. I have converted from gas. Sorry, said the G word. I recently bought a smokey joe and I am using Royal Oak lump. It seems to burn out quickly. I use about a half chimney during a cook. I have the smokey joe silver and it has one vent. Am I using too much charcoal? I am thinking about making a charcoal grate out of expanded metal so the coals can't fall through. I can get a good 15 minutes and then the heat dies off quickly. You input would be appreciated.

Aaron

[landgraftj]

Aaron I've never used lump but I think it's meant to burn hotter and faster than briquettes...hopefully someone will chime in for you. I'd think that 1/2 a chimney may be too little to keep an extended fire. I also believe (correct me if I'm wrong guys) that lump takes a bit longer to light.

[G]

Im no expert but I have been experimenting with lump lately.  Lump seems to heat fast and burn out fast.  I would think a half chimney should give you more than 15 minutes of heat though.  Ive found that lump lights faster than briqs so you could be leaving it in the chimney longer than needed which may be losing the heat before you get it in your joe.  Also, lump tends to load very unevenly in the chimney so even though your chimney is 1/2 full, you may not have as much as you think in it.  Keep experimenting....hope this helps....

[1buckie]

 
   Some things I've noticed about lump:
   It will pick up moisture easier, doesn't have to get rained on, may just be in close proximity to a heavily watered lawn.......
   Will have a wider range of temprature, but needs MORE air at the minimum to keep burning (see below )..............
    If some is not as well lit as the rest, needs better contact than briqs. to keep the burn going........

Some things I've noticed about briquettes:
    Will burn as long as lump, but not at as hot a rate......
  Will continue to burn with less contact between pieces, most probably because of the binders that hold it together into the original shape....those binders are a lot of times designed to keep things burning.....


My best wild guess on this particular problem would be that it's not getting quite enough air, possibly along with not quite being well lit enough at the start......let it go all the way to ashed over & as G says, add a bit more in & "shake" it a bit before you lite to get good contact in the chimney.......
Not sure what to do if it's not getting enough air, maybe just make sure it's loaded into the cooker as close to the intake vent as you can get...?
Hope this helps..........       

If you have room on the porch, patio, area.....maybe get an 18" or a 22-1/2" Weber also....Garage sales are great & CraigsList in your area.....a lot of mine have been cheap or free & you can do an amazing amount of stuff with even an 18"....these larger ones are easier to get the airflow going & might only cost you $10 to get one !!!

[MacEggs]

I find that lump lights much faster than briqs.
When I grill on my SJ, I use no more than half a Weber chimney. Plenty of fuel.
I usually do high heat grilling when I fire up the SJ.

I fabricated some pieces using EM. One for the SJ, and a cone shaped piece for the chimney.

[adunkle]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all the input. Maceggs, I just bought a piece of expanded metal to make a grate like you did. What do you cut it with?

[Johnpv]

That looks like an amazing idea for the chimney starter!  Where would one find expanded metal like that, I'm guessing Loews or Home Depot.

[MacEggs]

I just bought a piece of expanded metal to make a grate like you did. What do you cut it with?

I used an angle grinder with a cutting wheel. 

Where would one find expanded metal like that, I'm guessing Loews or Home Depot.

You might find them there.
I got these pieces from a buddy who runs a sheet metal distribution and fabrication business.
He happened to have some small scrap pieces that he gave to me, free.
Or check a metal wholesale place ... much cheaper than big box stores.

Here is a thread of mine that I did some other fabrications.

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/been-doing-some-fabricating-(pic-heavy)/

[addicted-to-smoke]

Aaron, in my opinion 1/2 of a chimney isn't too much for a Smokey Joe. Long story short, the smaller kettle can't achieve the airflow and so that naturally "slows down" the temperature.

Tonight, cooking for two, I filled my regular chimney 3/4 full with hardwood briquets and a couple large pieces of lump. You're new to charcoal so I'll state my preferences for hardwood briquets (as opposed to regular, Kingsford briquettes ...). Lump burns hotter and faster, yes.

I baked two potatoes down next to the coals (setup on one side) and then two pork loin things with indirect heat, and then two ears or corn over the coals. The grate barely fit the coals were so high but it didn't matter.

[pbe gummi bear]

Aaron, do you pack your lump tightly? Because the shape isn't uniform, half a chimney might not be much at all. In other words, lump is not as dense of a fuel source. I find most royal oak chunks to be a decent size, but I take the smaller pieces that fall to the bottom of the bag to fill up the spaces between the big pieces. I also take a welding hammer to the big chunks to break them up. Usually I can get similar duration with the same volume of lump as charcoal as long as its packed.

[adunkle]

Gummy Bear,
       I don't pack it at all. I just dump it in. I have a piece of expanded metal so I am going to cut out a grate and see if that works.