"Tyler Hopper" wrote in message
...
"SmokinD" wrote in message
lkaboutcooking.com...
I have used this smoker only once, and had a hard time maintaining temp
of
220-250. We worked extremely hard through the day starting hot coals in
chimney starters, and stoking the fire. We also used tons of charcoal.

Has anyone used wood only in one of these char grillers? Does it burn
hotter? it seems adding wood to the fire through the day would be alot
less work than consistantly starting coals.

Any thoughts?

If you use lump you don't need to pre-burn it. Just add it to the fire.


Questions back at ya.

Which model are you using? If you dont know the name, describe it and
approx. dimensions please. depth, width. Do they even make a vert?

What do you use for coal? Kingsford or lump? (suspect K'ford)

Are you leaving the intake AND exit vents wide open?
(assuming barrell type cooker)


D
--

SmokinD wrote:
I have used this smoker only once, and had a hard time maintaining
temp of 220-250. We worked extremely hard through the day starting
hot coals in chimney starters, and stoking the fire. We also used
tons of charcoal.

Has anyone used wood only in one of these char grillers? Does it
burn hotter? it seems adding wood to the fire through the day would
be alot less work than consistantly starting coals.

Any thoughts?

Which Char Grill do you have? Offset firebox or drum-type grill? I assume
it's an offset, in which case you might try building a charcoal fire then
placing a couple of 6" diameter splits of dry wood directly on top of the
coals. They'll give you nice smoke and help stabilize temperature until
they burn down. Add more charcoal and wood as necessary, but realize that
fire management on an offset is not an easy process. It takes time and
attention. There are also several modifications you can make that will
help. They're described on the faq
http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/faq2/7.html#7.2

And Tyler is correct. No need to pre-burn lump charcoal.

Jack Curry

SmokinD ) opined:

I have used this smoker only once, and had a hard time
maintaining temp of 220-250. We worked extremely hard
through the day starting hot coals in chimney starters, and
stoking the fire. We also used tons of charcoal.

Has anyone used wood only in one of these char grillers?
Does it burn hotter? it seems adding wood to the fire
through the day would be alot less work than consistantly
starting coals.

Any thoughts?


If you have the offset firebox version, I can give you a few
pointers, having used one myself since 1999, but recently moving
up to a Klose offset.

*I used lump to start and then a mix of mostly logs and a bit of
lump. The logs were standard fireplace logs, cut in half
lengthwise and preburned in my weber kettle. The fire tending
was a never ending process, maybe 30 minutes between additions.
I would use about 14 logs and 10 lbs of lump during a brisket
cook of 16-18 hours.

*Modifications that helped: firebricks in the firebox and the
main chamber helped out the temperature fluctuations. A
vertical baffle below the grill on the firebox end to shield the
grill from radiant heat.

*Leave the exhaust and inlet full open until you learn some fire
control.

Other tips can be had by searching Google with "char griller" in
the subject and "alt.food.barbecue" as the newsgroup. This
model has been discussed many times in the last 5-6 years.

Happy Q'n...

--
George B. Ross is
remove the obvious bits for email
Why is it that being a good boy and being good at being
a boy don't require the same set of skills? - anonymous

yes you are correct on all counts. It is the Char griller with the side
firebox.
we did use kingsford, and played with both dampers throught the day. I had
read that the more air flow the hotter it burns. we figured opening the
damper on the fire box and the top would create more air flow.

Any input is helpful.

Thanks,

Dave

On 2-Dec-2004, "Tyler Hopper" wrote:

"SmokinD" wrote in message
lkaboutcooking.com...
I have used this smoker only once, and had a hard time maintaining temp of
220-250. We worked extremely hard through the day starting hot coals in
chimney starters, and stoking the fire. We also used tons of charcoal.

Has anyone used wood only in one of these char grillers? Does it burn
hotter? it seems adding wood to the fire through the day would be alot
less work than consistantly starting coals.

Any thoughts?

If you use lump you don't need to pre-burn it. Just add it to the fire.


--
__________
ht_redneck

For email replies, remove an l

Using all wood logs takes a special knack. You immediately encounter the
problem of maintaining adequate airflow to allow complete combustion and
the need to control the size of the fire at the same time. I can't remember if
the chargriller is an offset or not. If it's a straight drum, I doubt you'll have any
success. With an offset you can pop the top of the firebox a little to allow
airflow and some of the excess heat to escape. You just about have to have
a firebrick lining to protect the firebox. The made to purpose cookers, do it
all the time, but the cheapies like my NBS just doesn't have enough firebox
size to handle it well. I actually burn one or two logs on top of a load of lump.
I gain a longer burntime that way and I think a little easier temp control. I've
tried all wood a time or two and don't intend to do it again.

--
Brick(DL5BF, WA7ERO, HS4ADI)


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