Burn problem

So, I just did my second smoke with my BPS drum kit. The first was a brisket. After 7 hours, my charcoal completely burned out. My second was a Boston Butt. After 7 hours, my charcoal completely burned out. Both cooks were the same, a full basket of KBB, started the basket with 15 lit coals from a chimney starter, ran at temps between 240-260. From reading this forum, I was under the impression that a basket of coal would last 10-12 hours. It's a pain in the a$$ to have to re light another basket of coals to finish your cook. Any advice for getting longer burn times would be appreciated as I'm already getting a little discouraged.

Everyone's drum runs a bit different. I need to re-fuel when I do briskets and butts. I know approx. when I need to re-charge and do it before the fire starts to taper off. It takes less than a minute to pull the grill, re-fuel, put the grill back on and get the cover back on. Your meat won't even know it's been yanked. Also, you might try KBB Competition briquettes. It's got red on the bag. Costco carries it usually.

How long of burn do you get?


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With K blue bag, about 7 hr. @275F. If I mound up the basket, another hr. or so. With good quality lump, about the same. (still experimenting with brands). With K red bag, 9-10 hrs. Burn time also depends on the weather conditions. Cold and windy, consumption goes up. When it's warm or hot and the sun is beating on the barrel, I can maintain temp. with one draw hole barely cracked open. Burn time really extends under those conditions.