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Uneven burning of coals

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Started 9 months ago by JMJ
Latest reply from smokeasaurus

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JMJ
Member

For the last few smokes on my good one I have noticed the coals are not burning even. I get one side that burns much faster than the other. Did it with my brisket and with my thanksgiving turkey. The problem with the turkey was that I split it and the half that was on the side that burnt faster was done sooner. I then moved the other half over to the hotter side and it took about 25 minutes to finish up over there (it was 158F when the other hit 165F).

I read that if you don't have a good solid hot bed of coals it can burn from one side to the other. I had a huge bed of coals and it was definitely 95% red. It also looked like it burned a lot more coal than I expected it to for the 3 hour cooking of the turkey. It was a bit breezy out, I guess this could have had something to do with it.

So my question is, how do I get rid of this "uneven" cooking of the coals? I plan on putting a beef tenderloin on tomorrow and I would really like a good even burn across the box.

Thanks,

John

Posted 9 months ago #
Edgar County - Mathew
Member

I have had a Marshall for over a year now and have cooked on it 30+ times including a handful of comps and I have not figured this issue out. I saw that Chris suggested a red hot fire and I have done that on my last 5-6 cooks and I think it only helped once. I crack my vent a little more on the side that isn't burning and that has helped some. I would love any "tricks of the trade".

Thanks,

Mathew

Posted 9 months ago #
JimRhino
Member

After two and a half years of cooking on The Rodeo, this same thing still happens to me. As has been mentioned, a good bed of coals will help, but also smoker/vent placement in connection with where the wind/breeze is comeing from, will play into the equation. Good foundation of coals and experimenting with vents for your location should control the burn with ease.

If anyone has better 'tricks', let us know!

Carpe 'Que,
Jim Rhino

Posted 9 months ago #
JMJ
Member

Thanks for the info guys. I smoked some big fat pork loin steaks yesterday (took an hour and 20 minutes) and I had another nice hot bed of coals, but one side burnt a lot faster hotter than the other. I guess I'll just chalk it up to something I need to deal with, and maybe try to counter by using the vents.

Posted 9 months ago #
KSpiper
Member

It has been my experience that wind will always impact left/right burning. However, I have recently noticed that I get less left/right burning by using larger chunks of charcoal. I've always used lump, but when Kingsford comp blend came out I tried it. Extremely even temp control throughout, and no left/right burning at all. I haven't used it since b/c I didnt like the taste.

I usually buy my lump in 40# bags. Last week I bought a 20# bag of the same brand and there was a much higher % of larger chunks of charcoal in the bag, and I think it resulted in better temp control and not as much left/right burning. Larger chunks burn longer, dont get caught up in the grate, and have less of a tendency to snuff out the fire.

So you may want to try out briquettes, or a large lump brand like B&B.

Posted 9 months ago #
JMJ
Member

Hey all, I was at the BBQ event in Tempe AZ today. Chris was there with reps from the Good one smokers. I spoke at length with a gentleman (i'm horrible with names) and the side that burned hotter for me was near the opening of the ash pan. Turns out I have a gap near the top of that....a tiny one, but there is a gap. Even with the locking lever down, there is a gap (verified it with a flashlight in the dark). What I did was prep the grill for a couple pork butts tomorrow, and I took a strip of tinfoil and kept folding it in half so it had some thickness to it, then shoved it in that gap at the top of the ashpan near the locking lever. Hopefully now the only air coming in will be from the spinners. I'll let you know after I cook the butts.

Posted 9 months ago #
JMJ
Member

Well, it didn't help. In fact, the left side of the firebox consistantly burns hotter and the right side dies out. I cannot figure this out. I'm very frustrated. I went outside just now (3 hours after closing down all vents on the grill), and I still have red coals on the left side of the box. Clearly there is some air leak as I have all 3 spinners shut down and the damper is completely closed. Today was one of the worst cooks I had, I had to add coals after 3.5 hours because the left side burns faster then it burns out, and the right side will not stay lit. I also had to constantly adjust the damper because the temp would not hold steady.

To top it off, when the grill heats up the left side of the smoker box tilts up (I have a reverse lid Good One, it's left when facing the smoker box), I have to put an 8lb dumbbell on it to keep it flat.

Is anyone else having any issues like this? I'm just really, really frustrated as this is not rocket science. Cooking meat properly is, but getting a nice even bed of red coals is not. I have to think that the air leak has to have something to do with this. I can close the vents on my weber 22.5" charcoal grill and the coals will die out quickly.

Help!

John

Posted 9 months ago #
big john
Member

same problem here. I have virtually no control over the fire. To get it hotter I have to prop open the lid approx 1". I can not save the coals either. My personal opinion is that each smoker has a build variaion,since I have seen this model used with no problems before buying this I had a brinkman pitmaster, and a weber smokey mountain, and although they were not built as heavy as the Good one I felt like I had more control. I have had this smoker almost 2 years and still have not mastered the fire.
I am both frustated and disappointed.

Posted 9 months ago #
guidoman
Member

Here's something that I kind of discovered early this year and I've been doing it ever since. One day when I was lighting my charcoal in my chimney, I didn't want to put it down low on the patio because of the kids running around so I stuck it on top of the unlit charcoal that I had poured in my firebox of the Open Range. Anyway, when the charcoal was ready to dump, I picked up the chimney and noticed that the unlit charcoal below it was burning real good. So I poured most of the chimney charcoal on the unlit side and had a great burn. The next time I cooked I put my unlit charcoal in the fire box as usual and then placed a chimney on the left and one on the right on top of the unlit charcoal and started my chimney charcoal like that. Been doing that ever since and the charcoal burns good on both sides with no problems maintaining temperatures. Let us know if anyone else tries this with success!

Posted 9 months ago #
JimRhino
Member

Hey Guidoman...Good idea! That's how I do it on my Rodeo too. Having cooked with Chris many times, I know that he does the same thing.

Carpe 'Que,
Jim Rhino

Posted 8 months ago #
guidoman
Member

Thanks Jim. Like I said I kind of found that out by accident but I've been doing it ever since. Hopefully the other folks that have been having troubles will read this!

Posted 8 months ago #
JMJ
Member

Guys, I use 3 sources to get my box hot. I have an electric iron in the middle, and a firestarter pack on each side. They burn for 6 minutes at 1300F. I get a solid box of red coals, all the way across. I wish my problem was solved this easily :(

Posted 8 months ago #
meatcutter
Member

I have noticed the left to right situation in my Marshall also. However, I do not really notice it until about 2-3 hrs into a cook. At that time I will go in with a small coal rake and redistribute some of my coals to the side that seems not to be burning as well. After that is done I do not really seem to have the situation occur again, even in extended cooks of 10-12 hrs.

Posted 8 months ago #
Smokin Joe
Member

I have a Rodeo and noticed wasted unburnt lump in the ash pan after a cook. The charcoal grate has rather large openings, so I made 2 baskets with smaller mesh openings. These baskets hold 4-5 lbs of charcoal. I never experiensed the uneven burning that several have complained about when using these baskets, so I tried several cooks without them and noticed the uneven burning. The only downside I have is having to add a couple handfulls of coals every couple of hours. Has anyone else tried something similar?

Posted 6 months ago #
meatcutter
Member

An Addendum to my previous post after more cook time logged on my Good-One. I have found the biggest part of fire control with my Marshall, was changing my mindset of how to build a fire. Always before in any other smoker I had it was start with an unlit bed of coals, your smoking wood and then add a chimney of hot coals on top and let it burn down slowly. Now with my Marshall, I make sure to have a hot bed of coals across the entire fire box (about 7-8#). then add my smoking wood and another 8-10# of unlit on top, which allows the fire to burn up instead of down like I was accustom to before. The crucial thing I have found for me, is that initial bed of coals has to be fully engaged. I get a 6-8 hr burn before adding more fuel.

Posted 6 months ago #
rip
Member

I have a open range and the left side or ash pan side gets more air (gaps around the ash pan) and burns hotter as well. I am surprised that no one from aceofhearts has responded???? I am going to put a gasket on the pan and see if it helps.

Posted 5 months ago #
smokeasaurus
Member

Get some Weber starter cubes and set 4- 5 spaced out evenly on the ash tray. Have your lump loaded in the firebox before you do. Light the cubes and slip the tray in place. Keep the fire box lid open and your spinners out about -7- turns. Keep your damper open for maximum air flow. When your coals are about 90 % fired up set your spinners to 2.5 turns and close both lids. Your smoker box should get no higher than 310 and will settle down to around 250 with your damper at 11 o'clock. Once you are around 250 open the right spinner to 4 turns out total while leaving the left spinner at 2.5 turns. You get more air on the left side due to the ash tray opening. That should help with the left to right burning problem on The Open-Range. Of course all pits are different but this is a good starting point. Let me know if this helps!

Posted 5 months ago #
ChrisM
Administrator

Smokeeasourus, we have found your method works the best to garentee he evan start and the long burn.

Thanks for the post.

Chris

Posted 5 months ago #
smokeasaurus
Member

Thank you Chris. I can't take any of the credit though for the lighting method. Rob told me about this method when we were hammering out my Open Range purchase! It is a great way to get the Open-Range fired up! I stumbled out of the house the other morning and had her all set up for a Pork Butt cook the night before. Half-Asleep I got those starter cubes going and I was cooking in no time! No more chimney starters,newspaper or torches for me!

Posted 5 months ago #
big john
Member

regarding the uneven burning of coals. I have found that the biggest issue with the ash pan leaking air is due to the ash pan not sliding all the way in due to ash and charcoal buildup. the more you use the smoker the more the buildup, when you remove ashpan to empty, all of the dust and pieces of charcoal are compacted against the end when you reinstall it. the only way i have found to remove all of the buildup is to stand the smoker on end however i do not recomend this do to the weight of smoker, the first time i bent the damper lever. Does anyone have a solution? tried shop vac but you need a long skinny hose i dumped mine today and the ash pan fits like new john

Posted 2 months ago #
smokeasaurus
Member

I use a low profile squeegie hooked up to a medium length wooden handle. This lets me get the fire box bottom clean of bits of lumps and ashes.

Posted 4 weeks ago #
Tom M.
Member

Well I like all the rest of you having trouble keeping my open range burning.Yesterday I went to my dealer in Franktown Colo.to get some lump charcoal. I was talkind to him about not being to keep it going, and he said I am either not getting enough air or I don't have enough fuel.A light bulb came on,and I thought well, maybe I am trying to be chinsey on the lump charcoal, or trying to be exact on the 10 pounds recomended for a burn, because I tried all that turning the spinners and it didn't help,so I knew it wasnt the air.So I came home and got the smoker out,opened up the burning side and dumped way more than I usually did.Probally more than a half sack of the 20 pound sack,filled the fire box to about 1/2 inch below the rest where the grill sets on if you were grilling.Then today I got out the smoker,lit two chimneys of charcoal right in the fire box.When they got all burning I dumped them in spread them arround with my home made spreader. (a bent coat hanger)Closed the lid opened the spinners in the fire box and the one on the smoker side all the way and opened the damper all the way.The charcoal in fire box lit I guess,because I didnt wait until they were 100% litto close things up.I closed the spinner on top of smoke chamber then opened it 2 turns.I closed the damper to 11 oclock,and closed the spinners on the fire box and opened them back up 2 and 1/4 turns.The thermometer instantly went way past 250 degrees and I had to close the damper way down.I think it was almost closed.I put on my ribs and brats and started smoking.OH! I put in 1 chunk of cherry wood for smoke.
Well let me tell you that this time my open range stayed lit and if I needed any more heat all I had to do was bumb the damper open a fraction of an inch or the other way if too hot.I started at 8:35 am and at 5:00 pm it was still going strong 9'25",so I closed all the spinners to put out fire and save the rest of charcoal.I also put in some expanded metal on top of where the charcoal goes so little stuff dosn't fall through.I got this open range 1 year ago last month and this is the first time it has burnt right.I live in Franktown,Colorado about 7500 feet in elevation,dont know if elevation has anything to do with how much you open the spinners or not.But I do think that I wasn't putting enough charcoal in to start with.I'll let you know next time.So maybe you all might try what I did.Let me know.
Later,
Tom Monks

Posted 4 weeks ago #
smokeasaurus
Member

I have had good luck filling up the fire box with lump and them putting -6- firestarters about 5 inches apart along the ash pan. I then light all the firestarters and slide the tray in. I keep the spinners open about 8 turns with both lids and the damper wide open. When the flames reach the top of the lump I close the lids set the damper at 11:00 and with the top spinner at 2.5, I set the left firebox spinner at 2 turns and the right one at 4 turns. This compensates for the door side letting in air.
This has worked consistently for me in my Open Range. Give it a shot. Rob Russell recommended the firestarter method to me and I have never looked back. It sounds like you might have solved your problem but if you cant duplicate your success you might want to give this a try. I used to be a little tight with the lump until I realized I can just choke it out and use it again. We old Kingsford guys are stubborn sometimes!!

Come to think of it, it makes sense to burn from the bottom to the top because the air flow comes from down low at the spinners. I think when burning from the top down is where we all run into problems because the lid fits so well without alot of air up at the top of the firebox so it seeks the air coming from up in the bottom.

What do y'all think?

Posted 4 weeks ago #
Tom M.
Member

I am going to try again next time just like I did yesterday and hope it works well.Like I used two chimneys and the coals under the chimneys were red hot so I put the coals in the chimneys in Between.I might have to try some of thoes fire starters some time though.I don't get a chance to cook too often,so it will probally be in September my next time.I'll let you know how things go.It went perfect yesterday,and was goooood!

Posted 3 weeks ago #
smokeasaurus
Member

Good Luck Tom. I hope you can duplicate your success from last time!
Those fire starters from Weber are really nice to use. Odorless and they get the job done!! I buy a case at a time.

Posted 3 weeks ago #
Colorado_Redhawk
Member

Tom M - I just got my Open Range from Fire & Smoke last week. Didn't have much success with it this weekend - the fire temp seemed okay - 250 - for a couple of hours but after that time the chicken was only to about 131 degrees. Have you found that it takes much longer to cook at our altitude?

Posted 2 weeks ago #
ChrisM
Administrator

Colorado, I was just in Denver last week doing a Whole Hog, in KC I can do the hog in about 8 hours in Denver it took 12 hours to get to 195.

E-mail or Call if you have any issues we can talk you through them.

Posted 2 weeks ago #
krazman
Member

Hi All. Got my 30-P years ago directly from Ron Goodwin (before A 0f H took over distribution.) Upgraded to pneumatic tires at time of sale. Included at no charge: 2 20# bags of lump, Weber Chimney starter, grill cover and free delivery to my home! I only live about 20 miles from Burns KS.

Anyway, I have been having the same left to right burn problem for a long time. Spoke/e-mailed with several A of H people. I follow their instructions EXACTLY. Doesn't help.

I have made these mods over the years: added a second layer (staggered) of the charcoal shelf material to decrease the drop through of unburned lump into the ash pan. Plugged the thermometer hole as I use a Maverick ET-73. 2 way lockable casters on the front T stand. And about 2 years ago I updated the 2 lower vent spinners to the current style. That's when I first started having the uneven burn problem!

The new style spinners don't stay parallel to the body of the fire box. The top of the spinner tilts back as soon as you start to open it. The old style did not do this! It did "self-adjust" due to gravity.

A of H told me to bend the end cap of the ash pan into the body of the fire box to seal it better. Only made it worse. I am going to re-install the old spinners to see if that helps. I know that the old spinners would smother the fire when closed to conserve lump. The new ones when tightly closed along with the top vent closed, the lids closed and the damper closed still allow the lump to smolder for 2-3 days after shut down. No lump remains, only ash! I found this out when I grabbed the smoker 2 days after my cook when I went to move it. HOT!!!

I don't want to sound bitter or unhappy. Quite the opposite! Just some issues that need to be resolved.

FYI...in other threads people have mentioned they move the hot coals around with lots of things. I use the rake and 90 degree bent tip poker from my wood stove tool set. They work well to move hot coals and also to get the ash that misses the ash pan. They hang nicely from the slide in/out handle for moving the smoker. I also changed the bolt at the top of the left leg (as you look at the ash pan end) with a longer bolt so that I can hang my thermometer transmitter from it.

Ron Goodwin once told me that when you try to make too many improvements over the original design, you just mess it up. He was absolutely correct with regards to the spinners!

Posted 1 week ago #
smokeasaurus
Member

Hi Krazman, I think its cool you got your pit direct from from the 'Man' himself!! He seems like a nice guy from his cameo in the Ace of Hearts video! The only thing that has worked somewhat steady for me is getting a 95% burn going then shutting her down. But I still sometimes get left to right or right to left burning later in the cook!! I use some charcoal tongs and move hot lump around to keep her going. I guess its a small price to pay for such good tasting grub!!

This is a trait that all Open Ranges seem to share I guess. How old is your OP?

Posted 1 week ago #
ChrisM
Administrator

Krazman, It sounds like you got the first round of spinners built by Goodwin Enterprises were they did not weld the nut flat on the spinner. Remember we are the distributer not the manufacture we do not control the manufacturing or Quality Control processes of Goodwin Enterprises. The spinner change was due to the fact that the old model locked up and required a large pipe wrench to brake open this was a well know problem when we took over distribution of the smoker and we had hundreds of complaints from dealers and customers. This change was approved and tested and the spinners are manufactured by Goodwin Enterprises in Burns.

So as you see this is the only changes that have been done, other then adding top rack and replacing the Candy thermometer with a Tel-Tru Thermometer.

I suggest if you live close to Burns take the spinners back to Goodwin Enterprises for replacemnet.

Chris

Posted 1 week ago #

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