Weber Kettle Club Forums
Cooking & Food Talk => Charcoal Grilling & BBQ => Topic started by: BertVentures on January 04, 2018, 10:07:53 AM
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I like to use Kingsford briquettes for pizza making, but I hate the white smoke it gives when I light it in my Weber chimney starter using weber firestarter cubes, it completely fill my entire backyard (and my next door neighbors too) with white thick smoke, it doesn't last for long, but long enough to be annoying.
I have seen few people light the briquettes with gas torch which seems to generate no white smoke, is there any other way to minimize or eliminate white smoke? .
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When I use my looftlighter it doesn't smoke very much...that's basically the same as a gas torch though. That is one of the things I like about the Weber Briquettes...it lights a lot cleaner, at least compared to KBB. It puts out at least have the smoke, and the smoke doesn't smell like KBB does. Weber is kind of expensive to use for a pizza cook though. I've been out of gas for my gas assist for a few months and can't remember if that helps reduce the smoke.
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Go lump. Lights in half the time. Still smokes but it’s smoke period is very short. Personally I think weber briquettes take forever to light and still smell like shit. They are great long burning coals for low and slow though. My favorite for that.
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When I am lighting briquettes in a chimney I use a gas burner. Started this for the same reason you are asking, too much smoke. Using a turkey fryer burner cuts down on the smoke by probably 75% and as an added bonus, coals are ready quicker. I dont run the burner the whole time, just long enough to get the coals going really good.
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Go lump. Lights in half the time. Still smokes but it’s smoke period is very short. Personally I think weber briquettes take forever to light and still smell like shit. They are great long burning coals for low and slow though. My favorite for that.
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This.
I started using Weber briqs and Weber start cubes at the same time so I’m not sure which one has the funny smell initially, but I really REALLY miss my lump charcoal. But I use up what I have before I buy more so I’ll continue to use my Weber briqs for awhile. I do like them a lot, just not as much as Lump.
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Go lump. Lights in half the time. Still smokes but it’s smoke period is very short. Personally I think weber briquettes take forever to light and still smell like shit. They are great long burning coals for low and slow though. My favorite for that.
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I’m with you HoosierKettle. I use royal oak lump. With my performer has assist, I can have a chimney ready in 10 minutes with little smoke that smells like a campfire.
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Go lump. Lights in half the time. Still smokes but it’s smoke period is very short. Personally I think weber briquettes take forever to light and still smell like shit. They are great long burning coals for low and slow though. My favorite for that.
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I’m with you HoosierKettle. I use royal oak lump. With my performer has assist, I can have a chimney ready in 10 minutes with little smoke that smells like a campfire.
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Gas assist*
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Go lump. Lights in half the time. Still smokes but it’s smoke period is very short. Personally I think weber briquettes take forever to light and still smell like shit. They are great long burning coals for low and slow though. My favorite for that.
Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app (https://siteowners.tapatalk.com/byo/displayAndDownloadByoApp?rid=91018)
I’m with you HoosierKettle. I use royal oak lump. With my performer has assist, I can have a chimney ready in 10 minutes with little smoke that smells like a campfire.
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Gas assist*
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Thank you all, I like charcoal briquettes, it burns longer and cheaper. There must be a simpler way to eliminate briquettes smoke, someone will figure it out one day.
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I started using a cane torch to light all my cookers (years ago) and never really have issue with heavy smoke.
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Thank you all, I like charcoal briquettes, it burns longer and cheaper. There must be a simpler way to eliminate briquettes smoke, someone will figure it out one day.
Best answer I can give you to eliminate the smoke, don't use them... ;) I love my lump!
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I think the key is to getting it started fast. - looftlighter as Mike suggested, My choice- chimney of insanity with BBQ Dragon fan, or as per the experiment I did. Did someone mention lighter fluid.
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/lighting-charcoal-faster-with-no-or-least-amount-of-smoke-experiment/msg291520/#msg291520
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I’m glad my neighbors are not sensitive. Start up smoke has never caused a problem where I live. Most of my neighbors burn in fire pits for fun as well as cook on charcoal so There’s plenty of blame to go around. My start up smoke gets lost in the mix.
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Thank you all, here the thing, I like to use briquettes and I like the convenience and simplicity of just lighting a cube under the Weber chimney starter. So, till I find or figure out an alternative that is as simple as that, my neighbors will have to tough it out ;D
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Coconut charcoal has very very little smoke when lighting. Kingsford has like 150x the smoke of coconut charcoal
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Thank you all, here the thing, I like to use briquettes and I like the convenience and simplicity of just lighting a cube under the Weber chimney starter. So, till I find or figure out an alternative that is as simple as that, my neighbors will have to tough it out ;D
With you on that ! ! !
BD
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I have less than 2 bags of briquettes left and i don't plan of buying anymore. Aside from heavy smoke, my eyes and nose can no longer tolerate the fumes that comes out of it. Going forward, I'll be using lump exclusively.
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I asked one of the manufactures of what causes this smoke, no answer yet.
I think it is mainly due to the starch they use as a binder and it only happen when briquettes are exposed to low heat.
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Lump with some homemade fire starter ( like cotton dipped in wax) is the only way I know. Never had any 'bad smoke' issues. Good luck.
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I ended up going with the propane torch... I bought one from Harbor Freight near me for about $28.
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I use one of those single burner butane can stoves & sit the chimney on it. Works awesome with minimal smoke for both lump and briquette charcoal.
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Yes, a can of Sterno should be more economical than using Weber cubes. But it takes more effort, as you'd want to obviously lift the chimney away and kill the flame prior to the coals being completely lit. (As with a gas-assist Performer, it won't be necessary to leave the flame on all the time, unless you're in a hurry or like replacing fuel more often.)
Bert
You're halfway there with the torch. But I'm telling ya, the cheap briquets DO produce more nasty, acrid smoke when starting up compared to Weber or Stubbs. And quite frankly, unless Kingsford Blue is on sale, it's not really that much cheaper than Weber or Stubbs briquets because they WILL last a bit longer.
Also, be on the lookout for something called "hardwood briquets." They'll still have a binder of course, but are nicer briquets in my opinion. Price varies, as does availability. Can't say they're any better than Weber or Stubbs briqs, but the labeling and branding tell you they are a step up from all the cheap stuff.
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@addicted-to-smoke I think @19266022mw is referring to something like this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1RO9WG/
I haven't tried Weber or Stubbs briqs. I buy Kingsford 100% Natural Competition Charcoal Briquets form costco, the price has been reasonable.
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Ah, well their Natural Competition stuff is nicer than the blue bag, which is probably what we all assumed you meant.
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@addicted-to-smoke I think @19266022mw is referring to something like this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1RO9WG/
I haven't tried Weber or Stubbs briqs. I buy Kingsford 100% Natural Competition Charcoal Briquets form costco, the price has been reasonable.
Yeah that's the type i was talking about. They do a great job!
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Also avoid exposing your charcoal to moisture as much as possible. Don't keep it in the bag once oened, especially outside. Charcoals are a magnate to moisture. Store it in a 5 gallon bucket with a good lid so you can leave it outside in the rain, snow, hurricane etc without any problems. Though more expensive, rectangular buckets are preferred since it's much easier to pour the coals inside the chimney or grill.
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I use RO lump and sometimes RO briquets. I ALWAYS use a Sterno can to light. Never had a problem with thick white smoke.
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@hawgheaven I will try sterno can, but I am looking to eliminate or generate minimal smoke, which I achieved with my propane torch. My neighbors are happy but my guests are scared of me... ;D , single butane burner is less intimidating option if it performs as good as the propane torch.
@Jules V. that's a good point, I do store my open bag in an outdoor storage box, not very tight. I will start storing them in an empty dry acid bucket.
Any recommendation for a good charcoal scoop?
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My charcoal lives in my shed in its original bag. No moisture problems. The Sterno can works excellent. Light it, sit the chimney over it and when you see flames coming out of the chimney, set it aside and cap the Sterno to extinguish. I light my coals this way on the grates, then dump. Easy peasy.
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One advantage the SSP has over subsequent Performers is that the charcoal bin has that rubber-ish gasket like thing at the top. It "seals" well enough to the SS table top that the interior will stay dry, although you'd still want to leave them in the bag with the bag top rolled down.
I'm a happy user of the Kingsford Kaddy. Holds a full bag's worth of briquets, is waterproof, and I pour straight from that into the chimney. There are other brands of the same container (sold as pet food containers) that are identical.
My original Stereo comment was made in the context of it being CHEAPER to use, long term, than Weber cubes. But the key to minimizing the acrid smoke is to hit the coals with as much flame as possible, which is why an over exuberance from a torch or large gas burner works best (and is faster.)
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But the key to minimizing the acrid smoke is to hit the coals with as much flame as possible, which is why an over exuberance from a torch or large gas burner works best (and is faster.)
The torch generates temperatures over 3000º F, that's why I am not sure if the butane single burner will generate enough heat to minimize the acrid smoke like the torch. It's worth the try.
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But the key to minimizing the acrid smoke is to hit the coals with as much flame as possible, which is why an over exuberance from a torch or large gas burner works best (and is faster.)
The torch generates temperatures over 3000º F, that's why I am not sure if the butane single burner will generate enough heat to minimize the acrid smoke like the torch. It's worth the try.
It's actually not worth a try, if that's the reason for trying. :)
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Any recommendation for a good charcoal scoop?
If you're referring to cold charcoal, just use your bare hands or wear a latex gloves. A rectangular bucket makes much easier to pour or control the amount of coal that's needed.
Also, i only use lump so i don't really have problems with excessive smoke. While using briquettes in the past and didn't want excess smoke, i used a modified 80000 btu wok burner.
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One advantage the SSP has over subsequent Performers is that the charcoal bin has that rubber-ish gasket like thing at the top. It "seals" well enough to the SS table top that the interior will stay dry, although you'd still want to leave them in the bag with the bag top rolled down.
I'm a happy user of the Kingsford Kaddy. Holds a full bag's worth of briquets, is waterproof, and I pour straight from that into the chimney. There are other brands of the same container (sold as pet food containers) that are identical.
My original Stereo comment was made in the context of it being CHEAPER to use, long term, than Weber cubes. But the key to minimizing the acrid smoke is to hit the coals with as much flame as possible, which is why an over exuberance from a torch or large gas burner works best (and is faster.)
Pet food containers? Brilliant!
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