# Weber Kettle Help



## Geebs (Mar 6, 2019)

Hey all, 

So i have had my weber kettle for about a year now. I have the vortex which I love using. But sometimes I cant get the hot temp that I want 500+. I load the vortex, set 2 lighter cubes on top and wait about 30-45 min, put the grate over it and let it sit for another 5 min before throwing anything on. 

To go along with that when I am not using the vortex I cant get it hot enough either. I do a full chimney of Kingsford blue, and lay those hot coals over unlit coals and it seems to only want to get to 350. I have the vents open all the way. Not sure what my issue is.


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## chopsaw (Mar 6, 2019)

Geebs said:


> I do a full chimney of Kingsford blue, and lay those hot coals over unlit coals and it seems to only want to get to 350.


Have you checked the lid gauge ? Throw a remote therm thru the lid vent . If you're doing like you say that thing should be screamin hot . 






Try changing to Royal Oak , but I don't think that's the whole problem . Check that therm .


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## Geebs (Mar 6, 2019)

Should have said im using digital therms I use for my smokers. The guage and therms are spot on with eachother.


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## chopsaw (Mar 6, 2019)

That's strange . If the vents are open wide , with a full load , I would suspect the KBB . Grab a bag of Royal oak ridge . Is it a one touch vent system ? I had one that came loose once and wasn't opening all the way ,,, just sayin,,, not much else it could be .


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## Geebs (Mar 6, 2019)

Ya I will try, I can confirm that all vents are open, I make sure before it starts. Just really odd. For some reason I think I bought Royal Oak when I first started and had the same issues. I just cant figure out whats going on. Its not like it could be defective.


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## radioguy (Mar 6, 2019)

Try using lump charcoal or some small half fist sized wood chunks.  Definitely check that thermo for accuracy.

RG


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## chopsaw (Mar 6, 2019)

Right , make sure your not burning up to much charcoal before you dump it . I have been guilty of that .


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## Geebs (Mar 6, 2019)

chopsaw said:


> Right , make sure your not burning up to much charcoal before you dump it . I have been guilty of that .


At what point in the chimney do you dump? I usually wait till the top charcial is white on the edges. 

The only way I get the Vortex to exceed 500 is by putting in wood chunks on top of the grate above the vortex.


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## gmc2003 (Mar 6, 2019)

Geebs said:


> So i have had my weber kettle for about a year now. I have the vortex which I love using. But sometimes I cant get the hot temp that I want 500+. I load the vortex, set 2 lighter cubes on top and wait about 30-45 min, put the grate over it and let it sit for another 5 min before throwing anything on.



Geebs,

When I fire up the Vortex I usually either use a chimney starter and dump the lit coals into the Vortex, or I'll put two starter cubes on the charcoal grate, lite them and pour the charcoal on *TOP* of the charcoal. Either way works for me - however the charcoal starter is quicker. All vents wide open all the time.


Chris


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## Geebs (Mar 6, 2019)

gmc2003 said:


> Geebs,
> 
> When I fire up the Vortex I usually either use a chimney starter and dump the lit coals into the Vortex, or I'll put two starter cubes on the charcoal grate, lite them and pour the charcoal on *TOP* of the charcoal. Either way works for me - however the charcoal starter is quicker. All vents wide open all the time.
> 
> ...


When do you know to dump the lit coals from the chimney?


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## yankee2bbq (Mar 6, 2019)

When the charcoal is ashed over. Not completely gray, but at the point to where the charcoal is starting to turn gray.


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## Geebs (Mar 6, 2019)

yankee2bbq said:


> When the charcoal is ashed over. Not completely gray, but at the point to where the charcoal is starting to turn gray.


I think I am waiting too long, its usually pretty grey/white by the time im dumping it, but the tops are still black.


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## chopsaw (Mar 6, 2019)

Geebs said:


> I think I am waiting too long, its usually pretty grey/white by the time im dumping it, but the tops are still black.


I dump mine when the upper part is still black. . I leave it banked up on one side so it finishes lighting.


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## Phil Chart (Mar 6, 2019)

This may be a dumb question but is your charcoal old and been absorbing moisture?


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## Geebs (Mar 6, 2019)

Not unless HD is selling old charcoal. I only buy 2 bags at a time or at the max it sits for like 2-3 months when I buy in bulk.


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## gmc2003 (Mar 6, 2019)

yankee2bbq said:


> When the charcoal is ashed over. Not completely gray, but at the point to where the charcoal is starting to turn gray.



^^^This^^^^

Chris


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## mike243 (Mar 6, 2019)

Start the fire on the bottom for the best high temp if your not using a chimney,the draft is pulling air up so the fire will get pulled up ,it has a hard time burning downward and will be slower


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## noboundaries (Mar 6, 2019)

Phil Chart said:


> This may be a dumb question but is your charcoal old and been absorbing moisture?



I've used charcoal that was years old with no problems. I keep charcoal in loosely covered charcoal buckets in the back yard. They have no problem lighting or staying lit even through a rainy winter.

Air flow is the issue. Once you put the lI'd on, even with all vents full open, 500F is a high temp. 

Do everything the same and offset the lid instead of seating it. You'll get your 500F temp because hot, unrestricted airflow Ridge will burn close to 1000F.


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## Fueling Around (Mar 13, 2019)

My chimney method:
Skip the newspaper, cubes, and use a good hot starter.  I use 1/2 egg carton soaked in bacon grease or wadded up paper towels that sucked the fat on the plate after cooking bacon.
After the chimney gets a nice plume and the starter is mostly burned (maybe 5 minutes), I give it a good shaking to get the well lit briquettes mixed into the semi lit and un lit to even out the process.  A couple minutes (not more than 5), give it another mix shake and dump the chimney.


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## Berettaclayshooter (Mar 15, 2019)

I agree your just waiting too long to dump your coals from the chimney.  I let mine go maybe 15 minutes after lighting using 3-4 pieces of news paper (lump charcoal makes a mess on the side burner of the grill.. ask me how I know this..).  The top section of charcoal should still be black with some nice flames shooting out and the bottom glowing red.  I have switched to lump charcoal from the standard Kingsford briquettes because I burns hotter, longer and cleaner with complete burn (all ash).


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## Geebs (Mar 19, 2019)

So I have been starting thr vortex from the bottom instead of on top, not sure if its been above 30 degrees outside but the vortex has been exceeding 600+ and working great. 



 gmc2003
 chris I am going to try your chicken finger recipe this week. Not sure I want to do buttermilk since we are both trying to lose weight, may have to come up with something else.


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## gmc2003 (Mar 20, 2019)

Geebs
 You can use anything you want. I was trying buttermilk for a change. I've used anything from a basic brine to pickle juice. If some of your coating isn't browning/cooking properly don't be afraid to give it a quick shot of Pam or some similar spray. 

Chris


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## big dawg nc (Mar 28, 2019)

Glad to see that you got the situation under control.  When I use the Vortex in my 26er, I light a small Weber Chimney, when it's going I dump it into the Vortex and then dump another small chimney on top of that.  In fifteen minutes I put my wings on and my grate temp is easily sitting at 450º.  Those two smaller loads are more than enough to cook 40+ wings.





BD


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## Daz (Apr 2, 2019)

put a blower fan on the lower vent and voila! in 20 min it'll shoot over the dome gauge.


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