Long Smoke Lump Coal

pls3824

i smoked a Boston but this weekend and before it was done all of the lump coal had burned up.  I have smoked a couple of others and the longest has been about 18 hrs and still had coal left.  I filled the the grill up to the top of the fire box with ozark oak lump, dropped a fire starter in the middle and brought the tem up to apx 300 and then put in the plate setter and drip pan and setup the digi q.  I started this process around 10:30am and put the Boston butt on at 11:15, temp was down to 250.  The digi q was set on 230 an dI checked it off and on and it was holding temp, but I never looked at the fire.  Around 10pm I went out and the temp had dropped to 178 and there was only two small pieces of coal left.  I had to start anothe fire and put the meat back on to finish cooking.  Any ideas what went wrong?  Did I have the air flow set incorrectly?  Wrong  pal for this long of a smoke?

theyolksonyou

1. Catch the temp on the way up its way more hard to cool back down
2. Fill the lump to almost the top of the fire ring, not the fire box

Scottborasjr

Sometimes if you don't sort the charcoal that will happen. I very rarely sort but had the same thing happen to me with a brisket this weekend. If you are planning for something longer then 13-14 hours I'd recommend actually sorting the charcoal instead of dump and light.

Scottborasjr

Oh yeah @theyolksonyou is right don't be afraid to fill the egg within an inch of the indirect piece. Missed that you only filled the fire box

pls3824

Thanks for the info.  Is it better to shove the starter deep into the coal and light or keep it at the top?

jscarfo

I usually use wicked weekend warrior, but last summer I bought 6 bags of ozark, all the pieces were small and they didn't hold up well on long cooks. The wicked has a lot of big pieces and they seem to burn longer.im sure others will disagree but this is how it worked for me

Hawg Fan

Low and slow usually means a small fire.  One starter in the middle on top and let it burn outward to the firebox.  Your internal temp will dictate the burn time.  If I'm  grilling at a high temp, I light the charcoal in 3 locations on top.

theyolksonyou

Honestly, I don't think it matters.  It you're shooting for 250, start a fire by what method works for you, get established, close the dome, get close to 200ish and set the vent for what you think is 250, adjust as necessary.  I can't speak to the controller, just catch on the way up.  Don't sweat the small details, do what works for you and have fun , eat well