Charcoal Burnout

Unknown

Have had a medium egg for about 2 years. In the past, I have used Maple Leaf, ROyal Oak and Wicked Good charcoal. Lately, I have used only Royal Oak which has appeared to be in good condition. My problem is that it seems to burn out after about 3-4 hours on a slow 250 degree cook. I have used the Elder Ward method and filled the egg with charcoal. This has mostly occured when cooking with a plate setter. ANy thoughts on how to lengthen the time?

The Naked Whiz

aleggor,
How much charcoal are you using? No way that a medium egg filled up halfway up the fire ring will burn out in 3-4 hours at 250 degrees.[p]TNW

Unknown

The Naked Whiz,
I don't know in pounds, but I fill up the medium to the point where the charcoal is 1/2 way up the top fire ring. It really seems to be burning hot below the plate setter but the dome temp is 250 sometimes 280. I keep the firebox very clean. Checked my dome thrmometer and it seems to be accuate for other cooks. This really has me puzzled.

stike

aleggor,
are the chunks huge? royal oak often has really big pieces, and a very low fire (250 or lower) doesn't involve very much charcoal burning. if the pieces don't all touch (if they are really big), it can be tough for the fire to migrate from piece to piece.[p]it's rare, but i had it happen. i save the big stuff for nuke sears, or to use on the bottom of a lo and slo, at the fire grate, for air flow.