I am graduating from an electric bullet smoker to an offset firebox,
probably the Char-Griller Pro.

Can someone point me to a good method to starting and tending a wood fire
in this application? I've just been using chunks with the electric, and in
the colder months coals to augment the heat. I've become moderately
proficient with this method but am rather clueless when it comes to pure
wood. Or should I continue with a coal/chunk mix?

Also, here in SE PA (30 mi. north of Phila.) I haven't seen anybody selling
hardwood of any appreciable size. Anybody know of a seller in this area or
barring that then a good mail order outfit?

Thanks.
__________________________________________________ _______________
JG... Jeff Givens


"My hovercraft is full of eels."

On Mon, 17 Apr 2006 12:03:42 -0500, "Mike \"Piedmont\""
> wrote:

>Get out your phone book and look of people that sell fireplace wood,
>tell them what you want, but basically, any wood used in a fireplace can
>be used.

Lots of people burn pine and fir to heat their homes. I wouldn't bbq
with either.

"Jeff Givens" > wrote in message ...
>I am graduating from an electric bullet smoker to an offset firebox,
> probably the Char-Griller Pro.
>
> Can someone point me to a good method to starting and tending a wood fire
> in this application? I've just been using chunks with the electric, and in
> the colder months coals to augment the heat. I've become moderately
> proficient with this method but am rather clueless when it comes to pure
> wood. Or should I continue with a coal/chunk mix?
>
> Also, here in SE PA (30 mi. north of Phila.) I haven't seen anybody
> selling
> hardwood of any appreciable size. Anybody know of a seller in this area or
> barring that then a good mail order outfit?

I'm not familir with that exact mode., but a few words that apply to
everything. Small hot fires are better than big smoldering fires. Add wood
in small increments, not big logs or a lot at a time. Pre-heat the wood by
letting it sit on top of the fire box. Use dry wood. If you have a small
firebox, it is good to start off with a bet of charcoal and then add smaller
logs on top of hte burning coals. Split the wood down to about 2" to 3"
cross sections.

Good sources of wood a Fruit tree farms at trimming time, local firewood
dealers, cabinet shops, woodworkers, utility line trimmers (pull up with a
case of iced Pepsi and see your trunk get filled fast)
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

On 17-Apr-2006, "Edwin Pawlowski" > wrote:

> "Jeff Givens" > wrote in message ...
> >I am graduating from an electric bullet smoker to an offset firebox,
> > probably the Char-Griller Pro.
> >
> > Can someone point me to a good method to starting and tending a wood
> > fire
> > in this application? I've just been using chunks with the electric, and
> > in
> > the colder months coals to augment the heat. I've become moderately
> > proficient with this method but am rather clueless when it comes to pure
> > wood. Or should I continue with a coal/chunk mix?
> >
> > Also, here in SE PA (30 mi. north of Phila.) I haven't seen anybody
> > selling
> > hardwood of any appreciable size. Anybody know of a seller in this area
> > or
> > barring that then a good mail order outfit?
>
> I'm not familir with that exact mode., but a few words that apply to
> everything. Small hot fires are better than big smoldering fires. Add
> wood
> in small increments, not big logs or a lot at a time. Pre-heat the wood
> by
> letting it sit on top of the fire box. Use dry wood. If you have a small
>
> firebox, it is good to start off with a bet of charcoal and then add
> smaller
> logs on top of hte burning coals. Split the wood down to about 2" to 3"
> cross sections.
>
> Good sources of wood a Fruit tree farms at trimming time, local
> firewood
> dealers, cabinet shops, woodworkers, utility line trimmers (pull up with a
>
> case of iced Pepsi and see your trunk get filled fast)
> --
> Ed

The Chargriller Pro is !NOT! a pit to be fueled with raw wood. What Ed said
is absolutely true, but with that pit, keeping raw wood smoke from
contaminating
your meat is going to be extremely difficult. To do what you want to do
without
a lot of aggravation requires a Klose or a Tejas or a LazyQ custom built
cooker. Use lump charcoal in your Chargriller and you'll be much happier. I
cook
in an NBS Silver (Now Charbroil Silver). I have cooked with raw wood. I can
actually do it successfully. I don't reccommend it. It is a true PITA in a
cooker
like this. Like Ed said, you have to maintain a very small, hot fire. You
have to
keep feeding it with small sized fuel, probably every 30 minutes or so.
Other-
wise you are going to produce creosote and ruin your meat. With a heavy
guage pit like something built by Klose or Tejas or LazyQ you can vent the
firebox and maintain a fire hot enough to use raw wood without overheating
the cook chamber. On the up side you can grill with very high heat at the
same
time. The down side is the $2K + cost.
--
Brick(Tired of paddling...Shopping for a motor)

"Jeff Givens" > wrote in message
...
>I am graduating from an electric bullet smoker to an offset firebox,
> probably the Char-Griller Pro.
>
> Can someone point me to a good method to starting and tending a wood fire
> in this application? I've just been using chunks with the electric, and in
> the colder months coals to augment the heat. I've become moderately
> proficient with this method but am rather clueless when it comes to pure
> wood. Or should I continue with a coal/chunk mix?
>
> snip,snip
>

Let me add a hearty "AMEN" to Brick's warning about wood fires in the CGP.
I've been using this smoker for about 3 years now, and the hardest, most
frustrating lesson was learning that I just wasn't gonna be happy with a
wood fire. Life got much better when I accepted advice from this ng to burn
primarily lump. I add a stick or three of hickory during the early stages of
smoking (one stick at a time), but it's still very hard to maintain a good
burn while avoiding flare-ups. If you're gonna burn any wood larger than
chunks, I also strongly recommend home-riggin' a baffle inside the cooking
chamber at the opening from the firebox. Without it, anytime a stick of wood
flares up, the flames are pulled into the cooking chamber, and your smoking
party turns into a grilling experience. I enjoy this smoker and I think it's
a good value in it's price range, but temp control can be a challenge with
it. It's definitely easier with lump than with wood. Have fun.

On 18-Apr-2006, "Jerry" > wrote:

> "Jeff Givens" > wrote in message
> ...
> >I am graduating from an electric bullet smoker to an offset firebox,
> > probably the Char-Griller Pro.
> >
> > Can someone point me to a good method to starting and tending a wood
> > fire
> > in this application? I've just been using chunks with the electric, and
> > in
> > the colder months coals to augment the heat. I've become moderately
> > proficient with this method but am rather clueless when it comes to pure
> > wood. Or should I continue with a coal/chunk mix?
> >
> > snip,snip
> >
>
> Let me add a hearty "AMEN" to Brick's warning about wood fires in the CGP.
>
> I've been using this smoker for about 3 years now, and the hardest, most
> frustrating lesson was learning that I just wasn't gonna be happy with a
> wood fire. Life got much better when I accepted advice from this ng to
> burn
> primarily lump. I add a stick or three of hickory during the early stages
> of
> smoking (one stick at a time), but it's still very hard to maintain a good
>
> burn while avoiding flare-ups. If you're gonna burn any wood larger than
> chunks, I also strongly recommend home-riggin' a baffle inside the cooking
>
> chamber at the opening from the firebox. Without it, anytime a stick of
> wood
> flares up, the flames are pulled into the cooking chamber, and your
> smoking
> party turns into a grilling experience. I enjoy this smoker and I think
> it's
> a good value in it's price range, but temp control can be a challenge with
>
> it. It's definitely easier with lump than with wood. Have fun.

Given what Jerry had to say. I recently acquired a chop saw which
I use to cut splits down into fist sized junks. Works great. A reciprocal
saw would do the same thing. A totally raw wood fire in a cheap pit
it a futile effort. It just isn't worth the effort. I no longer desire to
work
with a raw wood fire. Maybe when I can afford a $2500 pit I will re-
consider.

--
Brick(Tired of paddling...Shopping for a motor)

On Tue, 18 Apr 2006 23:32:28 GMT, wrote:

>Given what Jerry had to say. I recently acquired a chop saw which
>I use to cut splits down into fist sized junks. Works great. A reciprocal
>saw would do the same thing.

I use a 10-inch miter-box saw to cut small logs into chunks. The logs
are from 1" to 4" in diameter. I set up a bucket or wheelbarrow
alongside the saw to drop the chunks into

It pays to pay attention during the process. It's easy to get into a
rhythm of chop, drop, chop, drop . . . and the next thing you know,
you've jammed the blade a bit and the saw has let out a great big BANG
and stripped the log clean out of your hand, tossing it across the
yard. If you weren't paying attention, you will be after that happens.

Hello Jerry,

> "Jeff Givens" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>> I am graduating from an electric bullet smoker to an offset firebox,
>> probably the Char-Griller Pro.
>>
>> Can someone point me to a good method to starting and tending a wood
>> fire in this application? I've just been using chunks with the
>> electric, and in the colder months coals to augment the heat. I've
>> become moderately proficient with this method but am rather clueless
>> when it comes to pure wood. Or should I continue with a coal/chunk
>> mix?
>>
>> snip,snip
>>
> Let me add a hearty "AMEN" to Brick's warning about wood fires in the
> CGP. I've been using this smoker for about 3 years now, and the
> hardest, most frustrating lesson was learning that I just wasn't gonna
> be happy with a wood fire. Life got much better when I accepted advice
> from this ng to burn primarily lump. I add a stick or three of hickory

I concur with the advice to burn primarily lump, but would like to add that
if you do find a good source of hardwood, and want to pursue an all-wood
fire, consider burning the wood in a fire pit until it's reduced to embers,
then shovel those into your firebox. It works okay if you can avoid starting
a fire. I did this a few times because I had access to dirt cheap oak logs;
I could fill my trunk with wood for $5. Still, it doesn't beat the convenience
and predictability of lump. Eventually, I gave up the entire enterprise and
got a Kamado (God help me if I need any customer service - it took me 5 months
just to get the thing delivered).

> On 18-Apr-2006, "Jerry" > wrote:

Disagree, used a Char-griller successfully with wood for a few years.
Caveat: for a 5-6 hour cook (ribs) I'd use lump+wood for the first 2 hours
or so then go to lump only. Using wood on a lump coal base, two hours is one
medium log or a couple of smaller pieces. For more smoke resistant cuts like
butt, I'd use whatever I had. Never had (or maybe recognized?) what others
describe as creosote, but was always careful to use aged wood. Larger pieces
always required some lump or other coals to help keep them burning and not
just smoldering. Never had the problem with fire licking into the main
chamber, but I had a grilling coal grate in the main chamber I turned upside
down as a baffle (Thanks for the tip Brick!)
Most of the wood was larger than recommended too. I'd agree smaller pieces
are the best, but not the only possible option.

A Char-Griller *can* handle wood IMO, but the meat being cooked has to be
taken into consideration. Ribs don't handle it as well as a big ole butt.
For ribs I stay with lump only pretty much now just cuz I don't get the
right sizes wood. For longer cooks wood is a nice option.

Gonna learn this summer how something other than a Char-Griller handles
wood. Wish me luck.

Dale
--

Sorry, left out a few pointers. Using wood does take more work with the
intake (exhaust is always full open, right?). If you want to burn wood you
can't just let the intake stay at the same width for the whole load as you
would with lump, you have to monitor it and it can tend to some high temp
spiking (325-350) while it gets up to a good burn. Another reason I tend not
to use wood for ribs on a chargriller.

It takes a bit more work up front, but with a little practice can pay off
with less work with longer load times.

D
--

Kevin S. Wilson wrote:

> On Tue, 18 Apr 2006 23:32:28 GMT, wrote:
>
>
>>Given what Jerry had to say. I recently acquired a chop saw which
>>I use to cut splits down into fist sized junks. Works great. A reciprocal
>>saw would do the same thing.
>
>
> I use a 10-inch miter-box saw to cut small logs into chunks. The logs
> are from 1" to 4" in diameter. I set up a bucket or wheelbarrow
> alongside the saw to drop the chunks into
>
> It pays to pay attention during the process. It's easy to get into a
> rhythm of chop, drop, chop, drop . . . and the next thing you know,
> you've jammed the blade a bit and the saw has let out a great big BANG
> and stripped the log clean out of your hand, tossing it across the
> yard. If you weren't paying attention, you will be after that happens.

"I set up a bucket or wheelbarrow alongside the saw to drop the chunks into"

Nice sentence. Try again.

You should consider a garage sale to get rid of those dangerous power
tools, troll.

On Mon, 17 Apr 2006 12:03:42 -0500 "Mike \"Piedmont\"" >
wrote:

>I always started out with a bed of charcoal (briquettes or lump)then
>laid on top of the coals 2 sections of split firewood. These were laid
>down with a space between them of about 2-3 inches. I'm not sure how to
>explain this but I laid them so that there was a channel that ran from
>the firebox door at the end and the opening to the cooking chamber.
>
> LOOOOOOOOG
> >End of Firebox opening to cooking chamber
> LOOOOOOOOG
>
>I sealed the unit as best I could and kept a tiny opening for the
>firebox dampener otherwise the logs flames way too much. Frivolous air
>gaps in any cooker are a real bad thing! When you get it right, the logs
>burn at a slow consistent manner and as they burn, they replenish the
>coals to a moderate degree.

Thanks for all the comments. I am traveling right now and not able to
digest everything, will do so when time permits. Two quick notes: I have
had a very hard time in this area finding hardwoods. A decent bag of
hickory chunks is even a pain to obtain at times. I even went to one 'bbq'
place that had not a single bag of wood, all gas.

I'm aware of the need for a heat baffle in the Char-Griller. However, I was
hoping to get away from the creosote buildup I was getting in the electric
and figured going wood offset would be a big plus in this. This obviously
is going to take some more thought.
__________________________________________________ _______________
JG... Jeff Givens


"My hovercraft is full of eels."

Jeff Givens wrote:
snip
> had a very hard time in this area finding hardwoods. A decent bag of
> hickory chunks is even a pain to obtain at times. I even went to one 'bbq'
> place that had not a single bag of wood, all gas.
>
snip

> JG... Jeff Givens

Look in the phone book yellow pages or classifieds in the newspaper for
folks that deal in firewood, you can use maple trees, oak, hickory,
apple, cherry, pear for starters. 'Anything' that is sold for use in a
fireplace can be used. Just ask the seller what type of wood they sell.
--
Regards,

Piedmont

The Practical Bar-B-Q'r at: http://web.infoave.net/~amwil/Index.htm

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless,
whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism
or the holy name of liberty or democracy?

Mahatma Gandhi, "Non-Violence in Peace and War"

On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 14:46:40 -0500, "Mike \"Piedmont\""
> wrote:

>'Anything' that is sold for use in a
>fireplace can be used.

That's twice in the last few weeks this nonsense has been posted here.
If you want to BBQ with pine and fir, have at it, but please stop
telling people that any commercially available firewood can be used to
BBQ.

EMOVETHIS wrote:
> On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 14:46:40 -0500, "Mike \"Piedmont\""
> > wrote:
>
> >Look in the phone book yellow pages or classifieds in the newspaper for
> >folks that deal in firewood, you can use maple trees, oak, hickory,
> >apple, cherry, pear for starters. 'Anything' that is sold for use in a
> >fireplace can be used. Just ask the seller what type of wood they sell.
>
> No.
> The large majority of what's sold for firewood most places--certainly
> anywhere in the Northwest--is softwood from evergreens. You do *not*
> want to cook over that. If you say 'almost any hardwood sold for use
> in a fireplace' you'd be okay.

And you don't wanna burn pine in yer fireplace unless yer lookin' for a
chimbley fire!

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !

Kevin S. Wilson wrote:
> On Tue, 18 Apr 2006 23:32:28 GMT, wrote:
>
>> Given what Jerry had to say. I recently acquired a chop saw which
>> I use to cut splits down into fist sized junks. Works great. A reciprocal
>> saw would do the same thing.
>
> I use a 10-inch miter-box saw to cut small logs into chunks. The logs
> are from 1" to 4" in diameter. I set up a bucket or wheelbarrow
> alongside the saw to drop the chunks into
>
> It pays to pay attention during the process. It's easy to get into a
> rhythm of chop, drop, chop, drop . . . and the next thing you know,
> you've jammed the blade a bit and the saw has let out a great big BANG
> and stripped the log clean out of your hand, tossing it across the
> yard. If you weren't paying attention, you will be after that happens.

I have a 12" chop saw that has bearing problems for exactly that reason.

I've gotten into the process too much and nearly flipped my tractor over
while doing serious FEL work while preparing a paddock.

Matthew

--
I'm a contractor. If you want an opinion I'll sell you one.
Which one do you want?

On Thu, 04 May 2006 20:40:13 -0400, "Matthew L. Martin"
> wrote:

>I've gotten into the process too much and nearly flipped my tractor over
>while doing serious FEL work while preparing a paddock.

FEL?

As a young'un I nearly flipped a tractor over backward while digging
post holes with an auger mounted to the rear PTO, when the auger got
bound up. The front end comes down fast and hard if you're quick
enough on the clutch.

Kevin S. Wilson wrote:
> On Thu, 04 May 2006 20:40:13 -0400, "Matthew L. Martin"
> > wrote:
>
>> I've gotten into the process too much and nearly flipped my tractor over
>> while doing serious FEL work while preparing a paddock.
>
> FEL?

Front End Loader.

> As a young'un I nearly flipped a tractor over backward while digging
> post holes with an auger mounted to the rear PTO, when the auger got
> bound up. The front end comes down fast and hard if you're quick
> enough on the clutch.

Shear pins are your friends.

Matthew

--
I'm a contractor. If you want an opinion I'll sell you one.
Which one do you want?

On Mon, 17 Apr 2006 22:34:49 GMT wrote:


>a lot of aggravation requires a Klose or a Tejas or a LazyQ custom built
>cooker. Use lump charcoal in your Chargriller and you'll be much happier. I
>cook

I've finally had some time to get the grill together and start seasoning
it. I hadn't looked yet for sizeable quantities of hardwood, so I went to
Lowes and bought a box of the CharGrill lump. Almost 1/2 the bag was
nothing but tiny bits and powder. The rest burned real fast. I ended up
using the entire $15 box just to season the grill.

With the coals in the main chamber I had a nice hot internal temperature
(no surprises there). I then cooled it all out and put in two chimney's
worth into the SFB and I barely made 150 in the main chamber, all buttoned
up.

Are the pitfalls of buying lump a bag of dust? I was surprised too with the
inability to heat the main chamber, especially with no load.

OT now since this was originally about wood fires.
__________________________________________________ _______________
JG... Jeff Givens


"My hovercraft is full of eels."

In alt.food.barbecue, Jeff Givens > wrote:

> Are the pitfalls of buying lump a bag of dust?

It depends where you buy, and what you buy. If it is handled roughly, or
if it is not-so-good quality, it can crumble. I sometimes turn the bag
over and listen for dust when selecting a bag.

--
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.
--Edward R. Murrow

In article >, Jeff Givens wrote:
> On Mon, 17 Apr 2006 22:34:49 GMT wrote:
>
> Are the pitfalls of buying lump a bag of dust? I was surprised too with the
> inability to heat the main chamber, especially with no load.

If you have a Trader Joe's around your area, they carry (at least they do in my area)
Cowboy lump which is not too bad and I've not really found too much dust-n-crud in the
bottom of most bags -- which really depends on how it was handled. YMMV!