# How do you load your charcoal and wood in Primo Oval?



## mbeavers1 (Apr 8, 2012)

I purchased a Primo Oval XL 6 months ago and have been working to teach myself the art of smoking.  My biggest issue is how to keep the smoke from my wood chips going for the duration of the smoke.  Unfortunately, I live in Malaysia and am not able to get wood chunks, only chips here.  I soak the chips and add them to the top of the charcoal, but these burn out too quickly and dont produce smoke for the duration.

I am curious how others with this grill load their charcoal/wood chips.  Do you fill the firebox full and spread chips throughout the charcoal or would it be easier to use the firebox divider?  Also, I have trouble keeping my charcoal lit.  I end up having to light too much charcoal and it becomes difficult to keep the heat down below 250F.

I haven't tried yet, but I think the firebox divider may be the way to go so I could use less lit coals and keep it in contact with the most unlit fuel (plus it will be easier to spread the wood chips throughout half the firebox).


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## boykjo (Apr 8, 2012)

First off Welcome to SMF.....I would recommend a smoker box . Soak the chips for an hr and place them in the smokerbox and place it in the coals and refill accordingly








Good luck and happy smoking

Joe


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## mbeavers1 (Apr 8, 2012)

Thanks for the welcome.  Please forgive my ignorance...I assume this just sits on top of the coals after you have them lit. Is that correct?  This is basically the same as the foil bag trick that I used on my previous gas grill.  Any idea how long the wood chips would last in this (and how much to use)?  Currently, I don't think I use enough chips and they burn out fast (30-40 min).  With the Oval and the indirect plates, this makes it a horrible task to add more because I have to dismantle everything.  This then leads to temperature control issues because when I open it all up the rush of oxygen causes the coals to burn hotter.  Its a downward spiral from there for me ;)


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## boykjo (Apr 8, 2012)

Theres a place in singapore that sells fire wood... call and see if they have some

*nalno.com outdoor and camping equipment*

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&b...code_result&ct=image&resnum=7&ved=0CGIQ8gEwBg

just throwing some ideas out there for ya

Joe


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