Can't get the Primo grill to get hot, stay hot

[Sea Six]

At first I had no problem getting the grill temperature up to 425 and keeping it there, with the bottom vent open around an inch to an inch and a quarter, and the top vent about 1/3 to 1/2 open.

I've had an ever-increasing problem with my Primo grill. At first I thought the issue was insufficient airflow, due to too much ash buildup.

For each one of the past five cooks, I've resigned myself to completely disassembling the grill (except for separating the top and bottom shell pieces), and removing all traces of ash before reassembling it.

I'm using only the medium and large size pieces of lump charcoal, thinking that the smaller chips were choking off the airflow due to the reduced amount of airspace of them vs the larger pieces.

To light each fire, I'm using my propane torch for three full minutes now instead of the two minutes that seemed to work fine when I first got the grill. Today I left the top open in a good breeze for about five minutes to ensure the coals were really going... I had two to three inch flames coming off the coals when I closed the top lid (with all vents wide open) to heat the dome up to 425.

This afternoon I opened both of them up completely for the duration of the cook, and turned the grill to face the bottom vent into a 6-8 mph steady breeze. Before I turned the grill, the temp would not go above 375. With the grill facing into the wind, the temp maxed out at just over 400 degrees and then steadily dropped over the next hour and a half, finally finishing the chicken at 350 degrees dome temp.

WTF is wrong with this thing??

I'm about ready to throw it in the Sound and watch it sink.

[vetteman9368]

You have to light it

[Blademaker]

Shoulda bought a green egg..........

[jaxgator]

Bump for Cyber and syf.

[vtelvr]

I was having that issue on very "still" days...I used a tower floor fan to stoke the coals, and before long, I was tickling 650*! Sometimes, just to give a quick bump in temp, a few shots of blown air will stoke it pretty good.

[VITE1]

Originally Posted by Blademaker

Shoulda bought a green egg..........

[Cybercowboy]

Fuel and airflow, that's all there is to getting a fire. If you have the fuel there, and it's not getting hot, you're not getting airflow. I can have my Primo all clogged up, I never do more than stir the leftover coals around some, tap on the bottom grate, and scrape the ashes out of the bottom with the ash tool, and not really being all that thorough about that. Then I dump in more lump, light it good with my Luftlighter, close the lid, and open both vents up all the way. I like the smallish pieces mixed in with the rest. I use the whole bag every time, and don't sort ever.

If I get distracted and forget to close them down after a few minutes it will quickly get to 500+. Every. Single. Time. I can easily maintain 425 or 350 or 250 or 210, without doing anything other than adjusting the top and bottom vents. As a matter of fact, I can set the bottom vent to about 1" open and adjust from 450 down to about 300 just by moving the top vent.

There is a hole in the bottom of the firebox that should align with the bottom vent. Make sure that is aligned. I've heard of people having the firebox installed 180 degrees from what it is supposed to be, but surely that's not the case here.

When you light the lump, try using a blow dryer to really get it going good in two spots. If you have enough of a fire going, it will naturally create a draft that will feed on itself. My Luftlighter is like a heat gun/blow dryer combo. You can also use a propane torch or MAPP torch to really get them going good.

Other than this, you can ask this question on the Primo Forum, it's been asked (and answered) before.

[WalkerInTN]

Rich people problems.

Never had an issue with my cheapo Weber.

[Cybercowboy]

Oh, also if using the firebox divider, the coals go on the left.

[Cybercowboy]

Oh, and if you are just full on retard about setting the vents, just get a pit controller setup. The DigiQ or PartyQ would be fine for you. Light the coals close the lid, plug in the fan and controller, stick the pit probe inside, set the temp, and let it do the rest. Just don't set the pit probe or wire directly over hot coals. I do all high temp cooks using probes with the firebox divider, so that the probes are measuring the right side and don't come into contact with direct flame. I don't ever use my controller for cooks over 275 or so because, for me, there's no point. But sounds like you might want to, who knows? But they are money for overnight low and slow cooks (brisket or pork butts.) Low temp cooks with a full firebox is no problem, just put some foil down on the racks to catch the grease and that will also protect the probe.

Lately I've taken to starting my (whole) brisket about 10 PM the night before, pit set to 220, and then at about 8 AM it will be at about 170. I wrap it in several layers of brown butchers paper (like craft paper, similar to what paper grocery store bags are made of but a bit thinner, and not waxed at all), and then let it finish up wrapped in that paper until it hits 198. Let it rest for at least an hour before slicing. Salt and pepper is all I use on brisket.

[Cybercowboy]

Oh, one more thing. Never let grease and drippings drip onto the coals. A couple of burgers or steaks are fine, but it's just never a good thing to let something that renders fat out to drip directly onto the coals.

[Sea Six]

Thanks Brent,

The consensus on my thread on the Primo grill forum is that my lump charcoal is humid.

I have noticed that the fresh, new bags of lump seem to be more successful than when I use the old lump that's been sitting in the (covered) grill outside in the nearly 100% humidity air here in FL for a couple of weeks.

[VITE1]

Originally Posted by Sea Six

Thanks Brent,

The consensus on my thread on the Primo grill forum is that my lump charcoal is humid.

I have noticed that the fresh, new bags of lump seem to be more successful than when I use the old lump that's been sitting in the (covered) grill outside in the nearly 100% humidity air here in FL for a couple of weeks.

Well Duh.

[Cybercowboy]

Originally Posted by Sea Six

Thanks Brent,

The consensus on my thread on the Primo grill forum is that my lump charcoal is humid.

I have noticed that the fresh, new bags of lump seem to be more successful than when I use the old lump that's been sitting in the (covered) grill outside in the nearly 100% humidity air here in FL for a couple of weeks.

Keep your lump indoors and you'll be much better off. Lump charcoal is like a sponge. But even with damp charcoal I don't have a problem getting a hot fire. It just takes it longer to light but once it gets going it seems to dry out pretty fast. I don't know what brand of lump you are using, and perhaps I'm lucky that the top-rated lump (there is some website somewhere I saw that rated dozens of brands of lump) is Ozark Oak and it is quite readily available around here. I've heard of people ordering an entire pallet of it because they liked it so much and wasn't sold in their area.

I like Ozark Oak better than the much more expensive BGE and Primo lump. I had OK luck with Royal Oak, and that Cowboy brand Lowes sells is utter crap. 10# bag of Ozark Oak goes for about $6 around here. Good for about two full fireboxes.

[Bill]

Drizzle a little napalm over the charcoal before lighting. That should take care of that dampness issue.

Seriously, though, it sounds like relocating the charcoal bag inside, maybe on the pantry floor or under the sink would solve the problem.

[Cybercowboy]

Last night I was over at a buddy's house and brought two marinated skirt steaks to cook up on his Weber. I hadn't used a Weber for quite awhile and he said "You're the grill master, go for it." I used way too much charcoal in his fire starter, had about a double layer of coals in the Weber when I dumped it in. But man was that a nice hot fire, perfect for quickly grilling the skirt steaks. Even so, when I do them here on the Primo they are always perfect 4 minutes on each side. I timed it on his and even though I had his grill pretty much as hot as possible it took more like 5-6 minutes on each side to get the skirt steak seared on the outside and medium rare on the inside. Found that a little surprising. Probably had to do with not putting the top on the Weber.

[Cybercowboy]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

Drizzle a little napalm over the charcoal before lighting. That should take care of that dampness issue.

Seriously, though, it sounds like relocating the charcoal bag inside, maybe on the pantry floor or under the sink would solve the problem.

I keep mine in the garage, works fine for me. It's not heated or cooled but is certainly drier than the back patio.

[Sea Six]

I've only found the Cowboy brand of lump charcoal. That may be the problem.

[Jobaka]

Originally Posted by Cybercowboy

Cowboy brand Lowes sells is utter crap.

Originally Posted by Sea Six

I've only found the Cowboy brand of lump charcoal.

Stop cooking your food with utter crap. It will spoil the taste of your dinner.

[Cybercowboy]

Originally Posted by Sea Six

I've only found the Cowboy brand of lump charcoal. That may be the problem.

It's made in South America out of what appears to be balsa wood. You should be able to find Royal Oak lump at Wally World. Honestly, the BTU/unit volume of Cowboy is perhaps half that of real hardwood lump like Ozark Oak.

Check out this link.