Chargriller Fire ?'s

[GOON'S BBQ]

I have found that with my CG that I need to do several things to keep the temps up around 215-250.

1. Flip the cooking chamber grate over and raise it all the way to the top.

2. Keep the intake barely open once the fire is going.

3. close the chimney stack vent. There are enough leaks to keep the air flowing through the cooking chmaber.

4. Keep the intake pointed away from direct wind.

5. Keep the SFB loaded with charcoal throughout the cook.

I had my cooking chamber grate lowered just 1 notch and I had a lot of troube even hitting 205. Raised it up and problem was solved immediately.
I have never been able to get the chamber up over 250, which is actually great for butt and ribs but I can never get my chicken crispy without throwing them on the grill for a few minutes.
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Tipsy Pig BBQ and Brewery

[Bucksnort101]

Goon, that was one of the two things I did differently this time. Put the grate in the main chaimber at the lowest setting rather than at the top as in previous cooks. And initially added less lit charcoal at the start of the cook. I think next time I'll still go with less lit coal, but raise the grate in the main cooking chamber a little higher and see how that works. Somewhere in between has got to be the answer.
Not cooking anything expensive until I get the hang of this though.

[Alien BBQ]

Which model do you have?
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[Bucksnort101]

Alien, it is the Chargriller Pro with side firebox. Have built a charcoal 11" by 11" by 6" deep charcoal basket out of 3/4" expended metal to replace the original coal grate. Inverted the main chambers grate and stuffed the opening between the grate and the side of the main chamber with heavy duty foil as well, I think by playing with the height of that grate I can get to where I want the temps to be. I hope to do another smoke this weekend and will try that at well.
One thing I've also noticed is the removable drawer on the firebox gets very hard to near impossible to remove when the unit heats up. May have to bend the guides a up a little in order to get more room for movement?

[Doc1680]

Bucksnort101

You went and did a total 180. Don't go with less fuel (in the SFB or your chimney). Go with less wood chunks. That was probably the reason for your high temps. That should get you high enough to hit the sweet spot and a little more when needed. Then you want to let your smoker get hotter than you desired temp then bring it down by closing your air intake. Trying to coast up to temp is hard. You tend to under fuel the fire then end up constantly adding to try to keep up.

I would keep your smokestack open. The CG does leak, but the stack is still the main way the smoke gets out of the cooker. Once you can start getting your temps where you need them add some mass to your cooker. I use plain old ceramics briquettes in the bottom of my cook chamber. You can also use firebricks from your local fireplace store. These help to even out and hold the heat for quicker recovery times.

Give it a try. I think you'll be happy.
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Doc

[Cal-B-Que]

Wow! Lots of different and interesting opinions.

I found that inverting the charcoal grate (in the main chamber) brought my temps down, so I put that mod suggestion aside after the first try. I raise the cooking chamber charcoal grate to the highest opinion and do not invert it. I do not use any foil or metal plates to divert intake smoke.

I have 3" flexible dryer vent on the inside which goes from the exhaust pipe down to grate level, and I have the same pipe on the outside extending the exhaust pipe about 2 ft up. I also replaced the firebox grate with a BBQ basket from Lowes (Found all of these modification ideas with photos somewhere on this site). I never close the draft pipe.

I also tried the ceramic charcoal at the base of the main chamber before but have since removed them. I found that they did not increase temps, but did help to even the temps out more throughout the cooking chamber. But I prefer to have a hotspot on one side of the cooking area (near the firebox), rather than work with one temp for all items that I cook at one time. This allows me to cook some items at closer to grill temps near the firebox side, while low and slow cook others on the other side. I much prefer that versatility over more even temps in the cooking chamber.

To elaborate, I start with 3/4 chimney of Rancher coal and throw 1 fist sized chunk of Oak on at a time (about 1 or every 20-30 minutes). As the original coal burns down I will replace with a combination of coal and lump charcoal in amounts neccesary to maintain desired cooking chamber temp - usually 250 degrees. You could use either one or both, but I usually go with both if available. I am in a dry mountain climate and temps are about 90 degrees this time of year. In the winter I have cooked in 30 degreeish temps, and use a little more coal.

Dont be discouraged with your Chargriller, it is a great cooker. You just need to learn how to use it.

[Doc1680]

I agree Cal. Everyone that has a CG probably does a few things the same way and a few things different.


Bucksnort101
Just play with your cooker. You'll find your groove and be turning out great Q in no time. Just keep us post as to your progress.
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Love the voodoo that Q do.

Doc

[roxy]

[Bucksnort101]

Roxy, that's what I've done. I have built a charcoal basket out to expanded steel. measure 11" by 11" by 6" tall. Have it sitting on top of the guides as you suggest. This is what I have used for every cook so far.
Only thinks I've changed so far is the amout of lit coal I add to the unlit in the basket, the amount of wood chunks in the basket and the height of grate in the main cooking chamber.
Am going to cook again this weekend, this time I'll raise the grate up a little higher and see if that permits better airflow to the main chamber.
Thanks for all the suggestions.

[roxy]

What are you using to check your cooking chamber temps..? I hope not the guage that is on the lid of the cooker, mine is out by at least 75 degrees.
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LIAR #100
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[Bucksnort101]

Using a Maverick ET-73 at grate level.