Long cook problem, fire out

Tecumseh

Greetings everyone,

Did a 14 hour cook last weekend for packer brisket, 12 hours in (4 a.m.  ) my temp alarm went off, thankfully brisket was wrapped and at 190, but dome temp had been dropping for the last hour, below my min. of 200. Upon investigating, my fire only burned in the center all the way to the bottom then it went out, estimating an 8" diameter burn. All the lump on the sides were intact. Before the cook, I cleaned the Egg entirely, put fresh lump in all the way to the top of the fire rim, lit fire in the center, put on plate setter and grill and let it warm up. 

Is there a specific way to put the lump in? I try to maintain a 225-235 temp for brisket, could that be the cause? Or do I need to light two spots when I start, like front and back and not the center?

This was on a large egg.

Thanks for the advice.

GrillSgt

I think it's pretty clear that your problem was your one point of ignition, considering your procedure pre-cook. I usually light left and right of center. 

fishlessman

used to have a wiggle rod (bent coat hanger) to put thru the lower vent to shke/move the lump grate. found an aluminum arrow in the yard and use that on the sides thru the top. usewd to happen more with the wax fire starters, dont see it much lighting with papertowel/oil any more, bigger fire at the start

ChokeOnSmoke

I light with an electric starter and then stir the whole thing with a shovel to evenly disperse lit coal among until ones.  I have mostly ashes and a few random chunks when I'm done.

gdenby

I typically light at 3 spots, 2-6-10 0'clock. That is mostly because I've start positions go out, or not get well established. Still have had fire burn straight down. I've tried putting either a really big piece of lump at the bottom, or less frequently, a chunk of wood. For long cooks, seems to lessen but not eradicate the problem.

lousubcap

First up, welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  Above all, have fun.
Regarding your burn pattern, clearly the fire failed to move outward.  I light in one sport slightly forward and left of center and have not experienced that pattern.
If reloading, I will make sure there are a few good sized pieces of lump on the bottom and then fill it up with whatever comes from the bag.  I like pieces around deck of card size or smaller to ensure the fire can transfer from piece to piece given the small volume of fire at the low temps.  I would suggest you try to run hotter (250-270*F) as that window seems to be a sweet spot for most LBG's.  Larger fire volume so less chance of a straight down burn.  FWIW-

Carolina Q

Lots of guys recommend lighting in one spot for lo n slo cooks. They say you don't need a lot of fire for a low temp cook so it's a waste of lump to light in multiple places. Well, that may be true I guess, but 250° is 250°, regardless of how many places are lit so multiple spots just means a smaller fire in each. I always light mine in 3-4 spots to avoid your vertical burn problem. I have yet to run out of lump mid-cook and I've never had a fire go out. And it's fairly easy to maintain a 250° dome temp.

I keep mentioning 250° as that is an easier temp to hold in most eggs. 200-225° can be a challenge. And 250° does a great job.

Here's an 18 hour cook I did a few years ago. Lit in multiple spots.

Tecumseh

Appreciate all of the advice. I use a propane torch (flame thrower) so getting a fire started isn't a problem. Think I'll try two spots off center and bump up the temp to 250. 

bluebird66

Welcome!!

pgprescott

I'm sure I missed it, but I have never heard of this happening with a controller. This is why I have one. I use it rarely, but when I do it helps me sleep quite well. 

Hopefully you are all good anyway.