I feel like I've been having trouble getting temps into the 400s. I use the SnS and if I remember correctly I didn't have any issues at first. I bought this kettle new last summer and haven't cleaned the inside at all other than using the ash sweeps. Theres a good amount of build up in the lower part of the kettle and I'm wondering if I should scrape that out to help get the temps up?
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Ash and grease build-up at the bottom will cause the sweeps not to seal when done, and over time bend the sweeps upward, causing greater fuel usage since it won't snuff out as well.
But it won't make the grill run cooler. That's all about airflow, and giving coals time to fully get cranked up, especially if not using a chimney.
I always use a chimney, I use either web briquettes, RO briquettes or RO lump. The lump gets over 400, the weber will top but I cant get the RO briq over 400...
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One chimney may not get you much past 400 depending on how coals are arranged and where it's measured. I guess it depends on what you are trying to cook, and how.
There's a natural governor a 22 has, based on its size and shape, but it can be overcome with say 2-3 chimney's worth of charcoal!
I have a dislike of RO briquettes because they are a little smaller, and so they die sooner than KB blue in my experience. But that's probably a red herring here.
This is my first bag of RO briqs and I'm not a fan...
Problem with more than one chimney is it won't all fit in the SnS. I guess I don't need to use it all the time but I do like using it
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Royal Oak Ridge Briquettes? I've had no problem cracking 450+ with a single full chimney. I let them nearly ash over at the top though. I wait till the top briquettes are 1/4 to 1/2 ashed over then dump it. All vents wide open.
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Quote from: kettlebb on May 03, 2018, 05:10:00 PM
Royal Oak Ridge Briquettes? I've had no problem cracking 450+ with a single full chimney. I let them nearly ash over at the top though. I wait till the top briquettes are 1/4 to 1/2 ashed over then dump it. All vents wide open.
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That's exactly what I did tonight and maxed out at 393 with all vents wide open
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A couple factors at play. Are you using the lid thermo as a guide? That's ok but they can deceive.
Do you have the sns plus? Any ash build up at all coupled with that grid pattern of the plus would reduce airflow. Honestly 1 full chimney with vents wide open should be at least 550 when you first dump and settle around 450-500 with all vents open with clean airflow. That's without any gizmo in the grill.
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I use the thermoworks smoke for temp, it's off to the side just past the removable center grate so not all the way to the side. I do have the SnS plus but I shake that out each time i use it.
I do end up re-using a very small amount of charcoal from the previous cook but it's never that much.
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Quote from: Vette10R on May 03, 2018, 05:58:48 PM
I use the thermoworks smoke for temp, it's off to the side just past the removable center grate so not all the way to the side. I do have the SnS plus but I shake that out each time i use it.
I do end up re-using a very small amount of charcoal from the previous cook but it's never that much.
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I use the Marty bigger better basket mod and it can be very temperamental if there is any ash at all. I find it's best to dump it completely and refill with the usable used coal then dump the new on top. There might be some ash that isn't shaking out completely. You might try dumping it and refilling if you haven't already.
As long as there is clean airflow, it cranks just like the sns does I'm sure.
Just like addicted to smoke said, a dirty kettle shouldn't be causing you any trouble at all as long as the vents are open.
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Try a different bag from a different store. Maybe this supply got wet or damp somehow. Good dry fuel shouldn't give you any trouble.
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I'll play around with it I just wasnt sure if that dirty kettle was affecting it. Thanks for the suggestions.
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Sell the SNS for scrap metal,or leave it at the curb for local pick up,,,,,no need at all in a Weber kettle,
Quote from: HoosierKettle on May 03, 2018, 06:07:59 PM
I use the Marty bigger better basket mod and it can be very temperamental if there is any ash at all. I find it’s best to dump it completely...
Yes, my ash can be temperamental at times. Dumping helps a lot.
Marty
I did a cook the other night and had no trouble maintaining 450ish. Single layer of raw KBB in the bottom of my BBBasket, 2/3chimney of lit on top of that. Kind of windy, so that probably helped airflow. Grill itself is filthy, but I keep it swept out. I have also noticed that if the ash pan is too full it seems to choke airflow, but I don’t empty it every cook, and have not noticed a huge difference. Ambinet temps can be a factor too. I did have a few small chunks of hickory in the mix, so they may have raised temps too. Lots of variables, but clean airflow is key. You can crack the lid a bit to bring in more air and keep temps up. They do that at the Weber Grill restaurant so it’s a legit technique.
PLEASE! Everyone knows a dirty kettle affects temp.
In pics, the clean ones are usually much hotter.
But, in person, the ones currently in the process of being dirtied are hotter.
I dont know where youre from
@Vette10R, but where I am (Ohio), it only recently started to get warm. I have a harder time getting my grill hot when the temps outside are below 45f, especially if it is extra windy too.
I'm surprised to learn some of you don't sift out your charcoal holders after every cook. Why keep ash in there when it's so easy to get rid of? Did the gas grill break down again, and you're in a hurry? :)
It's Step One.
Even with just Weber's baskets, I pick them up and tilt toward me, so that small coals don't fall out of the open bottom slot. Give a couple side to side shakes and the ash that's on the coals falls away. They will now relight properly. Either leave them in, or add them to your chimney.
Step Two: I then remove the charcoal grate and drop it on the grass. Now ash is shook loose from that grate, so that only heat, not moisture, will attack the grate.
Step Three: Now I have an open pit for inspection and easy scrape or brush most of whatever the sweeps won't get. I don't empty the ash can with every cook, but now would be the time for that.
Quote from: Schaefd2 on May 04, 2018, 04:57:42 AM
I dont know where youre from @Vette10R, but where I am (Ohio), it only recently started to get warm. I have a harder time getting my grill hot when the temps outside are below 45f, especially if it is extra windy too.
I'm in MN so I deal with the cold and understand the effects. Yesterday when j started this thread it was 75 degrees out, it's actually been very nice the last couple weeks here.
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Quote from: addicted-to-smoke on May 04, 2018, 05:22:22 AM
I'm surprised to learn some of you don't sift out your charcoal holders after every cook. Why keep ash in there when it's so easy to get rid of? Did the gas grill break down again, and you're in a hurry? :)
It's Step One.
Even with just Weber's baskets, I pick them up and tilt toward me, so that small coals don't fall out of the open bottom slot. Give a couple side to side shakes and the ash that's on the coals falls away. They will now relight properly. Either leave them in, or add them to your chimney.
Step Two: I then remove the charcoal grate and drop it on the grass. Now ash is shook loose from that grate, so that only heat, not moisture, will attack the grate.
Step Three: Now I have an open pit for inspection and easy scrape or brush most of whatever the sweeps won't get. I don't empty the ash can with every cook, but now would be the time for that.
I always shake the ash from the SnS and chimney before each use they use the sweeps to knock everything into the ash pan.
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Quote from: Harleysmoker on May 03, 2018, 10:37:37 PM
Sell the SNS for scrap metal,or leave it at the curb for local pick up,,,,,no need at all in a Weber kettle,
I and many others would respectfully disagree with you, especially if you are cooking on a vintage colored Kettle. It does a great job with keeping the coals off the side of the bowl and it shines with low and slow cooking. Have you ever used one to draw up this conclusion?
Use a Vortex. Never had a problem with it, very versatile, been using it for years...
For the record, I just ran 410f (lid thermometer) for over two hours with a full chimney of GFS Lump with bottom vent wide open and top vent open 60%. it is 65f outside right now.
I did have some GIANT pieces in this chimney this time though
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Quote from: Schaefd2 on May 04, 2018, 03:17:51 PM
For the record, I just ran 410f (lid thermometer) for over two hours with a full chimney of GFS Lump with bottom vent wide open and top vent open 60%. it is 65f outside right now.
I did have some GIANT pieces in this chimney this time though
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What about grate temp? I never use the lid temo because it's always directly over my coals. Usually the lid thermometer is pegged to the max when grate is at 350 lol
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Quote from: Vette10R on May 04, 2018, 06:03:51 PM
What about grate temp? I never use the lid temo because it's always directly over my coals. Usually the lid thermometer is pegged to the max when grate is at 350 lol
Depends where that thermometer is located in relation to the heat. In a typical indirect cook, where the thermometer is hopefully over the food, the lid temp will be about 50 more than the grate temp. This has been so repeatable for me that I stopped using a grate thermometer in many cases. I just look at the lid and subtract about 30-50.
Lid temp and the grate temp will be more similar when smoking/barbecuing low-and-slow. With low heat, the temp is more even throughout the kettle. With grilling/higher heat, there's always hotter areas near the fuel AND up near the lid.
Quote from: Vette10R on May 04, 2018, 06:03:51 PM
... because it's always directly over my coals. ...
Yeah stop doing that ... unless you have one those lids where the vent is 180 degrees from the thermometer.
Quote from: addicted-to-smoke on May 04, 2018, 06:26:56 PM
Quote from: Vette10R on May 04, 2018, 06:03:51 PM
What about grate temp? I never use the lid temo because it's always directly over my coals. Usually the lid thermometer is pegged to the max when grate is at 350 lol
Depends where that thermometer is located in relation to the heat. In a typical indirect cook, where the thermometer is hopefully over the food, the lid temp will be about 50 more than the grate temp. This has been so repeatable for me that I stopped using a grate thermometer in many cases. I just look at the lid and subtract about 30-50.
Lid temp and the grate temp will be more similar when smoking/barbecuing low-and-slow. With low heat, the temp is more even throughout the kettle. With grilling/higher heat, there's always hotter areas near the fuel AND up near the lid.
my lid has the vent and thermometer on opposite halves of the lid. I always place my vent opposite the coals; so the vent is over the meat. This means my thermometer was directly over the coals. However, like addicted to smoke, I have noticed a 50f difference from the lid therm being over the coals to the lid therm opposite the coals. (I've twisted the lid around and checked). I ran 410 over the coals. And if I'm using a lid therm, I'm not using my hockey puck grate therm.
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How do I stop doing that? The lid thermometer is opposite of the lid vent. I thought you put the vent over the indirect side which obviously puts the thermometer over the coals...
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Quote from: Vette10R on May 04, 2018, 06:39:58 PM
How do I stop doing that? The lid thermometer is opposite of the lid vent. I thought you put the vent over the indirect side which obviously puts the thermometer over the coals...
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He said stop it only if your lid doesn't have the vent and therm 180 degrees from each other (opposite halves). Continue placing your vent over the meat (opposite the coals) and just subtract 50f from what the lid thermometer says. You can temporarily twist your lid around to verify that 50f number.
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The 180 degree part didn't register to me thanks.
Either way I use me thermoworks smoke on every cook so that lid thermometer might as well not be there.
Like I said though I'll play around with some variables and hopefully get it dialed in.
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Quote from: Harleysmoker on May 03, 2018, 10:37:37 PM
Sell the SNS for scrap metal,or leave it at the curb for local pick up,,,,,no need at all in a Weber kettle,
Strange...... I love my SnS. It works great .
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Quote from: Vette10R on May 05, 2018, 05:25:32 AM
The 180 degree part didn't register to me thanks.
Either way I use me thermoworks smoke on every cook so that lid thermometer might as well not be there.
Like I said though I'll play around with some variables and hopefully get it dialed in.
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That's nice that the smoke will register higher temps. I'm not sure what my maverick reads but I can't use it on hot cooks. It just reads hhh. I guess that means too hot lol.
Try using the force sometime and leave the thermo out. If you have a black kettle, bank the coals without any charcoal holder. That's another chunk of steel you have to heat up.
I find charcoal holders limiting. I've utilized two zone cooking with no charcoal holder for years with no ill effects to the porcelain. I wouldn't do it in my old grills out of precaution but I've had countless insanely hot fires banked in my black kettles with no problem. You can create a graduating two zone fire that you can't do with a holder. They are useful and have their place for certain cooks but largely completely unnecessary.
A typical cook, I will dump a half lit chimney over the top of probably 3/4 chimney of used. At this point I leave the lid and grate off until you can visibly see a raging hot fire that will burn your hand off when anywhere near it. Then put the lid on and let it settle a couple minutes and cook. Trust me, you won't need a thermometer to know your cooking hot. Here is an example or two
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For some reason, I don't think I've cooked stuffed peppers in a container before. But I run hot and cold on making things easier for myself.
Speaking of which, I agree that charcoal holders can be limiting for gaining extra heat or longer heat. My main objection to banking them, apart from not wanting to roach my colored bowls is that after the cook I have coals not contained in something easy to pick up and shake ash out of.
Edit: But I can see how you could simply pick up the grate with dead coals on it and gently shuffle and/or use a rake, and then probably (carefully) dump them into a chimney?
Ats, the peppers and that other tray of asparagus were a couple of take and bake meals from sams club. They came in the foil and I was just following the oven directions.
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