I've been grilling on a simple charcoal grill for the first time this summer. It's losing heat too early every time. It's a struggle to get a burger cooked all the way through before the coals start cooling off and my coals look like this after, they're nowhere near burned down. I have the vents open and I usually close the lid while cooking. Should I leave it open for more airflow? It has to be an airflow problem, right?
by FeedMePizzaPlease
43 Comments
Did you have all the vents closed? The coals go out if you don’t feed it oxygen. You also don’t have to wait till they’re completely gray to start cooking.
Yeah, looks like they are getting snuffed out.
I have a similar setup. My advice is buy lump charcoal, and tumbleweed starters. (Use a chimney if you have one, if not this combination will do.) Move all the charcoal to the right or left side. That way you have cool side and a hot side. When you start it, keep your bottom vents about halfway open and your top all the way and adjust as needed.
Edit: forgot to mention, yes close the lid while cooking.
After you dump the chimney, leave the lid open for a few minutes before you close it. Blow on the fire a little or stoke it to get a visible flame going.
Then close the lid and adjust your vents to bring the coal temp down to where you want it for cooking.
Also Try some different kinds of charcoal. Lump instead of briquettes.
You’re probably waiting longer than you need to to put the burgers on… the charcoals don’t need to be all white before you start to cook on them… get a chimney and some tumbleweeds, once the white smoke stops your good to go. The charcoals will be maybe 10% white, but once you dump and spread the coals, and get your meat one they will be nice and hot. Usually takes 7-10 minutes to be ready in a chimney …
The vents will control the heat, but can play into how fast the coals burn out. The more open the hotter and faster they burn. For burgers I usually open my vents all the way to get it nice and hot. Slow cooking chicken or ribs you want them damn near closed.
I’ve done this a million times. Get your coals started. Put the meat on & only close the lid if you have a grease flare up. This only works for fast cook meats like burgers or steak. If you want to make ribs it’s a whole different method.
Those grills suck. If there isn’t an air vent on the bottom it won’t work well. Drill 4 quarter size holes in the middle of the bottom.
Sounds like they’ve burned down too long. I use a chimney and dump the coals once they’re lit or red hot. I don’t wait for them to completely ash over. I let the grill preheat for 10 mins and they burn for a couple hours before dying out.
I’ve had to use this exact grill while visiting relatives, same color even, not my favorite grill.
What works for me is to keep the pile deep and stuffed in the back by the airholes. This will give you two zones to work with, which, important for burgers, gives you a safe area to rest food if there are flare ups.
Charcoal works best in a pile because they keep each other ‘warm’, if you spread them out too much, like the picture, they’re going to go out.
So: get your coals going, make a nice, deep, 3-4 briquettes high, pile along the back, add some more charcoal, then put the grate on. Clean the grate, drop your burgers in the front and shut the lid, flip and turn as needed, when the burgers are getting close put them over the coals to get a nice sear, then flip them back to the front and put the cheese on, if you’re doing that, then take them off.
This is purely an airflow problem. It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but is there any air under the coals? If not, you need to elevate the coals on some kind of rack to get some air below them.
Those grills just suck. Nothing you do will give you the performance you want. The hot coals are basically choking themselves. The hot air from the coal rises. The cool air coming from the side vents follows the up draft. Even with the lid open the hot air will keep fresh air from the coals.
In a Weber Kettle you will notice the air flows from beneath and through the coals. The fresh air avoids the hot air and thus is able to burn.
I’ve had some success with those grills cooking indirectly. Stack a small amount of lit coals on the vent side.
Are you opening your vents?
Looks like your vent is closed. Right below the handle, those holes look to be blocked 🤔
Are the coals still hard and solid or are do they poof into dust when you press on them?
This will tell you if your coals are going out due to a lack of oxygen or because they’re burning up too fast.
Drill holes on each side for air flow and the charcoal won’t smother out.
I would drill like 5 3/8 size holes on both lower sides
Top and bottom vents should be open. Your top vent appears to be closed but I could be wrong it could just be the way I’m seeing the picture. But these grills inherently suck ass. Do yourself a favor and get a Weber kettle. Even the low end model is heads and tails above that grill.
Those grills kind of suck. They are too shallow, and the air vents are too high on the side. I would strongly recommend getting a better designed grill.
Buy a Weber kettle, the air flow is better and the coals last longer. I’ve had a few of those square ones and they don’t last longer than a year or two.
Its the grill, drill more air holes
I loved this same grill as it was my first. I would raise the lower grid so that the charcoal was closer to the meat. I used rocks, or bricks or whatever… and it was perfect
It’s almost certainly an airflow problem.
You could try raising the rack (the thing that the coals are sitting on) an inch or two, and just leave the lid off for things like burgers.
Also, make sure the coals are completely lit before adding any food.
I have that grill but only used it a couple of times. It does not have the airflow to work as a closed lid, smoker type of grill. This grill only works as an open fire grill for fast-cook items. And really, you don’t want to close the grill for stuff like burgers on this kind of grill because you end up getting the bad kind of smoke. You will have much better success as purely an open grill and use the lid only for a short time when you need to smother flames.
Now I only use this grill to either keep some coals burning for longer cooks on my Weber or for extra direct grill surface for corn, veggies, etc.
Definitely an airflow problem, I have this same grill and end up using a hand fan to fan air into it, it gets ripping hot that way. Also maybe consider the type of charcoal you’re using.
I plan to upgrade to a kettle if I can convince my wife to get it for Christmas lol
Looks like I have the exact same grill. I use a chimney and get all charcoal glowing red. Then I dump it all on one side for a hot side and a cool side. And I could grill for hours like that. I leave all vent open I think that’s also a key. Been grilling for a LONG time. And I always had the same problem you do until I started using a chimney and utilizing the hot side/cool side method. Hope this helps!
Design aside, first off, load it up with charcoal.. If you use a chimney starter, put as much as possible. Second, putting the lid on actually cools the coals. The dome temp may go up, but the grate temp decreases. Take the lid off and let those coals rip in open air for several minutes, then throw the burgers on. You should hear it.
What kind of charcoal? Brand?
It should have a vent under the handle keep it wide open
You’ve got all the vents closed in the first pic. At least want the bottom open.
Look on Facebook marketplace for a Weber kettle man those grills suck. They’re like $20-30 all day usually in decent shape
Buy a weber. They are pocket change.
Definitely the charcoal. Make sure you buy quality charcoal.
Those cheapo grills are garbage. No airflow. Also you aren’t using nearly enough charcoal.
Stack the charcoal in a pyramid
Too much charcoal and vents are closed
Back in the day my dad would use so much lighter fluid it didn’t need air.
I have that exact same grill and I’ve used it for years, it gets plenty hot, the issue is that stupid square thing with the round indents, that the charcoal goes onto, get rid of that thing and get a regular grate, I used one from an old Weber grill, the charcoal grate and it made a world of difference.
As others have said use a Weber chimney starter with a tumbleweed firestarter. I’ve use this combination for a long long time and it’s never failed me.
Good luck.
The air vents should only be open half way
Top and bottom half and half
More coals. Those things burn the fuel inefficiency and don’t get hot unless they have a full basket. Work fine for most things, just a lot of coal.
I have this exact grill. It sucks. Best thing i have found to get even a semi sear is 1 and a half charcoal chimney lit at once…so yea two charcoal chimney are needed. Layer in the back row to where half of the grill is covered with more coals higher up on one side.
Get a Weber kettle grill
haven’t scrolled far enough but recently ive been big on “fanning” my coals. give it a try, grab a piece of cardboard and flap away or point an oscillating fan at it. when they’re glowing that’s your prime time. like others said, bottom ventilation seems to be crucial as well.
Lid always off while doing quick direct heat cooks pretty much only close mine to melt cheese on burgers or chicken by squirting some water in then adding lid for a quick steam.
I have the same grill and I cannot get the coals to stay hot. They’re glowing out of the chimney and instantly lose heat when I dump them in the grill. I also removed the charcoal holding tray. While that helped a little bit the difference was negligible