Pork Butt Fire went Low last NIght HElP

If it didn't get below 140 it should be fine. -RP

good sugestion, but keep in mind there's no substitute for a good fire. been a couple posts in the last few months about the fire going out even with a powered draft unit running the show.

a powered draft thingy is a good bit of insurance, but still no guarantee, FWIW

I followed Naked Whiz's direction, but I think my problem is not enough charcoal.. both time's it has happened the firebox was about empty.

I think my problem has been thinking I couldn't fill it any higher than the firebox. I don't even think I even filled it that high.

a full load (in the firebox only) should be enough. is all the lump GONE when you open the thing? if all your lump is in mammoth chunks, the fire (which is quite small) can have a hard time migrating around to new lump. my best fires have been a mix of lump. bigger stuff at bottom, but not afraid to introduce small stuff in there to fill voids and allow the fire to bridge and move around.

Murrayhill and RCflier,
I will give you guys a few tips that has kept me from loosing a fire yet. At least I hope this is why. I might loose one tonight but heres how I prevent it.

1. When you build a fire for a low and slow (mostly unattended cook) Make sure to start with a completely clean egg. I dont get all anal and break out the shop vac like some, but I do get all the old lump out and all the ash out of the bottom making sure there are no holes clogged. Also making sure the opening in the firebox lines up with the opening in the vent.

2. I also prefer to use new lump. I actually have a little galvanized pail that I put my old lump in. I try to use all new when I really have to trust my fire will burn all night. Some will say just dump it in, which I believe in and do on all other cooks, But with a low and slow all nighter I cross all my T's.

3. When I build my lump I start off with the largest pieces on bottom to kinda protect all those holes from getting clogged. After I get the bottom covered with large hunks I just work my way up with the coals trying to go from larger to smaller filling up the firebox completely to at least the bottom of the firering. With that said I do not spend an hour doing this. I dont really get down to measuring the pieces to see whos bigger. Just try as I build it to get the larger on the bottom. These low and slow are the only cooks I do this with. If im cooking chickens or ribs during the day,when Im around, I just open my egg and use my ash tool to stir up the old lump getting all the ash thru the grate and them pore on the lump. I have caught myself lately just using my little pail to put all the old lump in then put a few larger new pieces on the bottom and then pouring all the old lump on top. Then whatever new I need to fill up the box. But as I said, I use all new lump when I do low and slow saving any old for my next cook.

4. With the cap and daisy wheel off and vent wide open on bottom, I light the fire in center. My method is starter cubes. After I light I give it about 10 to 15 minutes and then I put on my platesetter and grate and close the lid with the daisy wheel still off. I watch as it creeps up to the temp I want. I usually cook my butts at about 250 dome. As it comes up to temp its also bringing the platesetter and grate up to temp with it. In my opinion this is very crutial to having a fire maintain temp. When it gets to about 240 I set my daisy wheel on with just the vent parts wide open and close my bottom vent about 3/4 way. As it creeps on up or down I adjust my vents accordingly. After I hone in on 250 I let it set for about 20 minutes to kinda prove itself. I wont to make sure its not gonna move at all. I usually get my meat ready while Im waiting. If its still holding 250 after 20 minutes, I take my meat out to the egg. I lift the lid, I put on my welding gloves and lift off the grate. I pick up the edge of the platesetter and throw on about 4 or 5 hunks of hickory and then put all of it back on with a drip pan and put my meat on and shut the lid.

5. After I shut the lid the temp will drop quite a bit because of the cold meat. I usually dont go back and look at it after I shut the lid for an hour. Even if its not made it back to 250 I still dont adjust. After about 2 hours I go back and its almost always back to 250 and holding. Its all downhill from here. I check on it about 2 other times before going to bed and it rarely ever moves. Just make sure you stay around to see your changes if you make any. I think alot of people will overshoot their initial temp and close it way down. When this happens you may actually be closing it way to far down and it will eventually put your fire out. Probably at 3 in the morning while your nice and cozy! :woohoo: :woohoo: Some guys on here have had successfull cooks with the bottom vent open only the thickness of a credit card. I have never had that happen. Every fire is different as well as the weather, air temp, and humidity.
Sorry for all the reading but hopefully this helps. Theres alot of info on this board and I kinda created my own style from all the info. In my opinion the most important step is honing in on your temp with all the grates and setters that your gonna use before adding the meat. Its a slow process but it has worked for me. Happy cooking and remember to keep the lid closed. No looking!!!

it's been bbq's galore brand. the latest stuff I picked up is cowboy, but haven't done any slow cooking with it yet.

I had the same problem on Wednesday night with 2 5lb butts. I had filled the LBGE with cowboy and a few wood chunks, thing burned like a champ all night, then in the last 4 hours took a nosedive and dome temp dropped to around 180 and the meat was temp was low too.

2 things I found out later
1. my dome therm was off about 20* (fixed)
2. I had a shitload of ash in the bottom of the egg restricting air flow. Clean her out yesterday.

But now I am doing another 2 butss (6#ers) and my dome temp just dropped in the last few hours and my meat temp decreased. I will figure this out and maybe we can stop the plight of ruined butts
tim