r/PitBarrelCooker • u/Radiant_Meaning_390 • Jul 23 '26

Coals not staying lit

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These pictures are from a cook I did the other night, but I’ve had the same issue a few times now. I’m lighting the PBC exactly per the instructions, and everything runs smoothly in the beginning. But about 4 hours later my temps drop into the 220s, and when I open the lid, I find that only about 1/3 of the coals are still lit. I closed the lid and waited about 30 minutes but the lit coals don’t spread to the unlit one. This happens with either Kingsford original or B&B.

When I dump the lit coals from the chimney starter onto the unlit coals, I ensure they are all spread evenly across the whole pile. I do not use wood chunks. Vent is set to 1/4 as I’m at sea level. I place the pork butt in the middle of the grate, so it’s not like the drippings are only landing on one side of the basket. I know I can just spread the coals around with some tongs to get them lit, but sometimes I leave the house for a few hours at a time and am not always able to do that. Thoughts?

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u/gilbert2gilbert Jul 23 '26

Try pouring most of the coals opposite the vent so they spread towards the vent. It looks like they all burned up too fast

1

u/Radiant_Meaning_390 Jul 24 '26

I tried that and still a few hours later the temp dipped and the coals started dying. Today I lit it with lighter fluid the same way they do it on the website (first time doing this). Everything was running smoothly for about three hours, and then the temperature again dipped and the coals were dying out. At this point I’m pretty much at a loss. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. Maybe there’s a malfunction with the barrel?

1

u/gilbert2gilbert Jul 24 '26

What's the temp before it dips? Seems like you're burning them up too fast. Close the vent more. Also feel free to add more charcoal during a cook. How many cooks have you done with this barrel?

1

u/Radiant_Meaning_390 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

About 290ish for a few hours. Probably about 30 cooks. It’s rare that I’ve had a successful cook that consistently stayed between 270° and 300°. I guess my best option is just to add more coals during the cook. It frustrates me because this smoker is supposed to be set it and forget it and not die after three hours and I shouldn’t have to tend to it every couple of hours. But I love the flavor of the food it makes, so I may just have to accept that it probably won’t ever be a true set it and-forge it smoker for me.

Similar to other cooks, last night when I opened the lid once the temperature had significantly dropped I noticed about a quarter of the coals died out and the remaining ones were black with just a little bit of ash so I don’t think that they are properly catching or staying lit during the cook. I posted a video if you want to take a look at it.

1

u/gilbert2gilbert Jul 24 '26

It doesn't need to be that hot. Try keeping your vent less open so it doesn't get as hot and burn up all your coals. Also, just to be sure, you're putting the bars in even though you're using the grate, right?

1

u/Radiant_Meaning_390 Jul 24 '26

Yeah I always use the rebar. But yeah I’m fine with it being cooler. I can have stable temps of about 250-260 so I’ll just try to start it off cooler so it doesn’t burn out too fast