keeping the fire going

[paulfire]

I am sure this is a common problem for the newbies, i set up for a night cook, full load of briquets (the ones from B&Q) on the Excel, get it going at 9pm using the clay saucer or water method !!! fire seems good, temp seems good on the maverick, add 10 or so briquets at midnight, so far so good. vents top full, bottom down to half. bedtime.
up at 0330am heat alert, find the fire dying and short of dismantling a hot BBQ all effort to revive the beast fail.
is it my lack of experience or the "cheap" fuel?
where can i get Heat Beads if they might be a solution
the pork shoulder i was cooking actually was delicious after 3 hours extra in a low oven and used the left over briquets to cook a load of wings. not bad after all.

[PeanutZA]

Its the fuel. Those b&q rubbish are worse than just using rolls of loo paper.

The forum Grand Master sells heat beads. I get mine online when I treat myself to Weber toys.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[keith157]

It could also be where the smoker is sited, if there is no wind to form a draft there will be less combustion. We have a small garden with a high fence and little through breeze resulting in low overnight temps hence why I purchased my iQue 110. I don't compete so had no excuse to buy anything more complex or efficient. If you are techy minded there are posts on here on how to build a forced draft system.

[ConorD]

Also the external temp when you are going to bed will drop and affect the internal temp. I have always used heat beads and this will happen even with the best fuel source IMO. Before I bought my PartyQ I used to get the temp up before I went to bed to cover any temp drop off during the night - I was BBQ'ing through the winter so the temp drop could get quiet extreme from sitting in the sun in the day to almost zero at night.

I used to have to get a bunch of coals going in the starter and drop them through the WSM door to get it going again.

I couldn't imagine going back to night cooks without the assistance of a fan but they are not cheap so raising the temp and getting some decent fuel will help.

[YetiDave]

The B&Q briquettes are crap, the ones I've used gave off a load of nasty smoke (I saw pallets of it stored outside in the rain) and didn't have a very long burn time. Try the Bar-Be-Quick lumpwood from Sainsburys, the pieces aren't massive but it does burn for a good while

[paulfire]

Thanks for the advice gents, I will order some decent fuel ASAP, and I will investigate the forced ventilation suggestions, my pit is sheltered and roofed so might be a problem. more big boy toys to buy, whuppeeee.

[Gary Morris]

I've built a cold smoker and firebox, apologies as this isn't strictly bbq related)
I also have a postage stamp sized garden with high (ish) fences. I had real problems keeping it lit, so I fixed a computer fan to the fire box surround (aka flowerpot) - the result was a fire box full of ash after 4½ hrs. A simple 12v bike battery in a Asda plastic bag, connected to the fan.

[keith157]

I've built a cold smoker and firebox, apologies as this isn't strictly bbq related)
I also have a postage stamp sized garden with high (ish) fences. I had real problems keeping it lit, so I fixed a computer fan to the fire box surround (aka flowerpot) - the result was a fire box full of ash after 4½ hrs. A simple 12v bike battery in a Asda plastic bag, connected to the fan.

Sounds a familier story that's basically what one of the major forced air system comprises, a PC fan. then get posh and put probes and bells & whistles and that's it.