Adding charcoal for a long smoke period

[jay]

Hello! I am new to cooking with the smokenator. I know that the initial setup of 60 coals is good for a 6 hour smoke. What is the best way to add charcoal throughout a longer smoke, such as 12 hours. Should I just add a few unlit charcoals each hour?

[ecripps]

At about the four hour mark you'll want to fill up the smokenator again and then add more every 3-4 hours.

Regards,

Ed

[jay]

Thanks for your reply ecripps. Do I need to add any lit charcoal, or just unlit?

[abreckenridge]

Hello Jay & ecripps,

My name is Adam and I am new to the Smokenator. Loving it so far! I am intrigued by this thread of conversation. I smoked a pork butt for 12 hours yesterday and struggled to keep the temp above 220. In both of your experience have you come to any conclusions on adding charcoal and wood over long smokes? Do you added so many per hour? Lit or unlit charcoal? Do you completely reload the Smokenator after 6 hours and do the Minion method?

Sorry for all the questions! Would love your help!

Thanks,
Adam

[ecripps]

Adam,

I'd add unlit coals at around 4 hours after you knock the ash off. Fill it up as much as possible for long smokes. If you let it go too long, the temps can drop and you'll have problems getting them back up. I add wood chunks every 2-3 hours. If you were using binder clips, don't use them unless you can't keep the temperatures below 250 at the dome. Also try to keep the kettle out of the wind as this can cause issues as well.

Ed

[abreckenridge]

Ed,

Thanks for the timely reply! I did add wood after 3 hours. I'll start adding unlit charcoal at 4 hours. Couple more questions:

1. Are you saying at 4 hours you add as many unlit charcoal that you can? Just stuff 'em into the smokenator?

2. What exactly do you mean by knocking off the ash? How do you do that?

Thanks again,
Adam

[ecripps]

Adam,

You want to use the skewer that came with the Smokenator and stick it in the two round holes and stir the coals to remove the ash from the coals and knock it below the coal support grate.

Just drop the coals down the same holes after you knock the ash off and fill up the Smokenator. Only do this if you plan on going longer than 6 hours.

You might want to check out the YouTube video @ www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep_35ytUcz0 My step-dad put it together a few years ago. That will show you how to knock the ash off and add coals.

Ed

[brandon74]

Adam,

To resolve the issue of a long burn time, I bought a stainless steel bread pan from Amazon and I set that on top of the steel grate. This way I can fill the entire smokenator with charcoal (100+ coals). The bread pan also holds about 60% more water than the one supplied with the smokenator. I get about 9 hours of burn time and fill the water pan every 4 1/2 hours using this method.

Brandon

[whiskeycharlie]

Just refill the Smokenator after ~4 hours? You can do that? Oh man, that makes so much sense my brain hurts! After about 3 1/2 hours, I've been tossing in 12 fresh briquettes every hour. I gotta try this out.

WC

[lytefly]

I highly recommend adding coals regularly. I usually do it each time I check/refill my water tray. Clear the ash from the coals, spread them out if needed and toss in as many coals as needed to refill. If you let them burn down too long then throw in a bunch of new coals, your temps will suffer!