New Drummer Question

[Rub]

Hey guys, I've built 1 BPS drum and the 2nd one comes together this week. The quality of the kit is super, and I like the whole "understated" look of a drum. I used to compete with WSMs so I know this is a winning set up.

So I read that some are getting 12-20 hours of burn time on a load of charcoal. I'm getting about 7 using a BBQ Guru set at 250. Tried lump as well as briquettes. Any tips?

I had a buddy fabricator of mine get me a 3/8" x 21" diameter circle in stainless steel. It fits perfectly on the upper basket mounts and does a great job of giving even temps across the width of the drum. I think it may be too heavy though, think I will try a 1/4" next time. But along with even temps it also helps temp rebound quickly after the lid comes off, and also helps throttle the rush of air to the fire when the lid is off. It heats up quickly and acts as a great heat sink.

So how can I get longer burn times, or do I just need to plan ahead to reload at 7 hours?

Rub
Swamp Boys

 

[Big Poppa]

WElcome Rub! for those who don't know who RUb is he is the legendary Swamp Boys Competition bbq team with over 75 gc's and rgc's

Rub this baffles me as I get 10 hours all the time with Hasty Bake lump (ozark Oak same thing) Others are using blue bag whhich I hate the flavor of and getting 12 you should get more than 7...are you starting with a big fire or just lighting a few coals and giving yourself more time to get to temp? I like the very small start...like a weber starter cube I actually use a little hand held torch to light

 

[Kevinish]

I did a few pork butts a couple weeks ago and I lit about 5-10 coals and put them in the corner of a full basket. I cooked all night, probably a total of 12 hours and has probably another couple hours of fresh coal left to go.

I use Kingsford competition whenever possible, they sell it at Costco around here. It seams to last a long time.

 

[Rub]

Thanks Sterling! I used a weed burner to light it and tried to keep it to a softball sized area. I'm sure it shot down deeper than I wanted but it wasn't a big fire at all. Then I used the Guru to push it up to temp which took about 15 minutes. My lighting method may be part of the problem. I wonder if the Guru speeds up the burn rate? Thanks for the info guys I'll keep at it.

 

[Big Poppa]

probably it doesnt take much or long to get to temp