Alohapiggy Posted June 6, 2019 Report Posted June 6, 2019 I’m just curious has this happened to any other KK owner. I was holding 225 to 235 solid for about 5 or so hours. I was not using anything but a ThermoWorks blue dot to monitor temps. The vents were set and I was waiting for the end result. Left for about 3 hours, and when I got home the fire was out and my pork butt was sitting @ 155. I just started the fire again and put the meat back on. Hopefully the pork butt is still good.
DennisLinkletter Posted June 6, 2019 Report Posted June 6, 2019 Standard questions would be.. Did you start with a full basket? DId you shake out your ash from the last cook before the cook? Did you pour the smalls from the bottom of the bag into the basket? Could the charcoal be damp? Was there a breeze before but not after? Wind blowing directly into the grill's face can artificially boost temps. What might have reduced your airflow? Did you make any setting changes before you left? 2
Alohapiggy Posted June 6, 2019 Author Report Posted June 6, 2019 I lost air flow it seems but not sure how. Oh well it just means I gotta cook more food and get use to my new grill. I just wanted to see if this happened to anyone else.
tony b Posted June 6, 2019 Report Posted June 6, 2019 I've had fires go out mid-cook before, but it's rare. The one time that I can recall the reason was that my smoker pot was sitting on top of the burning coals and when they burned up more, the pot slide down and blocked the fire from getting to the unlit charcoal in the basket. I now make sure that my fire is started at the front of the smoker pot and not completely under it.
Alohapiggy Posted June 6, 2019 Author Report Posted June 6, 2019 I’m debating if I should get a Cyber Q. I sold my Flame boss 200 with my egg. I wasn’t planning on getting any type of fan assisted unit. I’m gonna keep trying low and slow cooks till I get use to my new grill.
tony b Posted June 6, 2019 Report Posted June 6, 2019 I like using my Guru on really long cooks, just for the piece of mind, especially if I have to leave the house for a while. While it's not foolproof, it might have saved your cook. 1
Alohapiggy Posted June 6, 2019 Author Report Posted June 6, 2019 I’m glad my daughter was home. When she sent me a picture of the grill and blue dot temperature I headed home. When I got home the meat temp was 151. I started the fire back up and kept on cooking. The pork butt turned out really good. 1
Pequod Posted June 6, 2019 Report Posted June 6, 2019 I think your experience is sufficiently rare (I've never had it happen) that a bit more experience is all it will take. CyberQ is *definitely* optional.
tony b Posted June 6, 2019 Report Posted June 6, 2019 Glad your daughter alerted you to the problem and you were able to save the cook!
alimac23 Posted June 7, 2019 Report Posted June 7, 2019 I've never had it happen, but then i'm always very careful how i build / position my charcoal. What size were the charcoal chunks? I always find i get much better performance and reliability with larger chunks compared to lots of broken up little bits, as Dennis says above, the small bits of charcoal can block the airflow.
Alohapiggy Posted June 7, 2019 Author Report Posted June 7, 2019 I use everything in the bag. I never had a fire go out on me.
Syzygies Posted June 7, 2019 Report Posted June 7, 2019 (edited) Quote Bye bye my brisket on rye Ran my Kamado down to embers but the fire was shy And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye Singin' this'll be the fire that dies This'll be the fire that dies Did you write the book of smoke And do you have faith in that Dennis bloke If the Forum tells you so? Do you believe in the ember's glow? Can coffee lump save your mortal soul? And can you teach me how to cook real slow? Edited June 7, 2019 by Syzygies The Day the Fire Died 3 5
Alohapiggy Posted June 7, 2019 Author Report Posted June 7, 2019 Haha I haven’t heard that song in a long time. Very creative.
DennisLinkletter Posted June 7, 2019 Report Posted June 7, 2019 4 hours ago, Alohapiggy said: I use everything in the bag. I never had a fire go out on me. The smalls usually just prevent you from going over 350-400º but if there was ash caught up in the smalls, the two together might cut airflow dramatically, or not..
Alohapiggy Posted June 7, 2019 Author Report Posted June 7, 2019 The fire going out is no biggie. It just means I gotta figure out what my next low and slow cook will be. The more times I fire up my grill I will definitely learn more about how to control it. Thanks to everyone for your answers.
Pequod Posted June 7, 2019 Report Posted June 7, 2019 6 hours ago, Syzygies said: Brings a tear to my eye every time...
DennisLinkletter Posted June 7, 2019 Report Posted June 7, 2019 9 hours ago, Alohapiggy said: If I was going to use wood that large I'd put it in the very bottom of the basket and light my fire above it. Heating the wood on top like that will produce lots of bitter wood alcohol vapor/thick grey yellow smoke that you don't want on your food.
TomRaz Posted June 7, 2019 Report Posted June 7, 2019 20 hours ago, Alohapiggy said: I’m debating if I should get a Cyber Q. I sold my Flame boss 200 with my egg. I wasn’t planning on getting any type of fan assisted unit. I’m gonna keep trying low and slow cooks till I get use to my new grill. Alohapiggy i have a 23kk and use a Flame Boss 500 they sell a guru adapter plug that will mate the Flame Boss 500 to you smoker port and the probes have no right angles so you can easily slide them through the small port on the side
Alohapiggy Posted June 7, 2019 Author Report Posted June 7, 2019 I heard a rumor that Thermoworks is coming out with a fan operated temperature controller soon. I’ll probably wait and see if it’s to see if it’s true. 1
