There are plenty of reasons your charcoal grill won’t stay lit. For instance, you might not fire it up properly, added too much charcoal, your grill might have some moisture, or it isn’t well-cleaned.
In this guide, we will check in details why won’t my charcoal stay lit.
The function of your charcoal is very simple. If you’re using briquettes or hardwood lump charcoal, you need to monitor the airflow to ensure that the charcoal doesn’t go out. Insufficient airflow from the underneath of the grill causes a charcoal grill to go out.
Page Contents
Starting the Fire Properly:
Properly starting the fire is key to a good grilling experience. It is dangerous to burn and damage your charcoal if you don’t keep it lit. Your charcoal will end up burning out quickly or will not give heat properly if you haven’t fired it up properly initially.
Chimney Starter: You can easily start the fire by operating a chimney starter with little effort. Put the paper in the chimney’s bottom and then put in your charcoal; light up the paper in the fire. The paper’s fire will heat the charcoal, which will ignite a fire.
Lighter Fluid: This method removes the cooking grate and opens the vents. Remove the lid as well, as you will need as much airflow as possible. Make a charcoal pyramid with a glimpse inside the grill’s center.
Again, squirt some lighter fluid here and there in the charcoal pyramid. A lighter can be used to start the charcoal on fire. And you’re good to go.
What Are the Reasons a Charcoal Grill Won’t Stay Lit?
Here are the possible reasons your charcoal grill won’t stay lit for long.
- Dryness of your Charcoal
- Charcoal is too damp
- Ventilation Problem
- Cleaning the Grill
- Making a stake of charcoal
- It’s too humid and windy weather
- Adding extra coal
Let’s discuss these in-depth:
Dryness of your Charcoal:
Is your charcoal dry?
If not, then it could be the exact reason your charcoal will not stay lit. And charcoal naturally absorbs or holds moisture. Charcoal may not operate as effectively if it is kept in a damp environment. Damp charcoal does not light up or keep lit.
It is very important to have your charcoal dry for grilling. If it’s not dry, then your charcoal grill will never stay lit.
When you are storing charcoal for later, make sure the space is dry enough that it will not affect the charcoal.
Charcoal is too Damp:
In the same manner that you can’t cook with damp charcoal, you can’t cook with damp wood. Charcoal collects water vapor from the air through its pores, so it’s likely to be moist if it’s been stored in damp conditions. Protect your charcoal from getting moisture by keeping it in well-airtight storage and storing it in a dry place.
It’s still salvageable if it’s only slightly damp. Wait for a sunny, dry day. Place your charcoal on a cloth in a light, but not direct, area. After two to eight hours, your charcoal will have dehydrated, and you can use it for the next cook.
Ventilation Problem:
Here, the best thing is that oxygen is necessary for fire. You might also think that charcoal is used as fuel here, but it’s the air. However, you have noticed vents in your grill. They caused combustion by allowing air to reach the burning embers. And here, the problem is that vents are small that they can get blocked by ash, briquettes, or smaller pieces of lump charcoal.
If you notice that your charcoal does not stay lit, understand that there is a ventilation problem. And the good thing is that you must only allow some ventilation before trying again. As a result, you will easily light your charcoal, particularly if you have a firelighter.
Cleaning the Grill:
Keeping your grill clean is the key to starting a fire. The ash in your charcoal barbecue collects at the bottom and becomes excessively moist if you don’t remove it after you have put it out. If you don’t wipe the ash off your grill, your next barbecue will be a disaster.
Grease might also clog the vents and obstruct airflow inside the grill or smoker.
And if your ashtray is loaded with ashes, the bottom damper becomes partially worthless. Cleaning the ashes ensures not only better grilling, but also increases the durability of your grill.
Related: How to SEASON a Charcoal Grill EFFECTIVELY
Making Stake of Charcoal:
Having the best charcoal and keeping it dry is crucial. It’s good practice to hold your charcoal vertically as well. If you cannot put charcoal sticks in the ground vertically or you turn them into the ground horizontally, some of them might not stay lit.
Even worse, they won’t reach the right temperature before they burn out. So, put them on vertical stakes if you want your charcoal to stay lit.
It’s too Humid and windy weather:
If you want to grill in a humid place, the coal might go out faster. Coal absorbs moisture that can result in coals not staying lit for long. It’s difficult to light charcoal under humid or windy conditions.
So use a light cover to regulate your heat.
If you intend to barbecue on a windy day, take some precautions. A breeze or wind can extinguish your fire, so cover the grill with a lid.
Adding extra Coal:
Adding the extra coal helps to keep your charcoal lit. If you like to last in the heat longer, you will need to add more cool. Otherwise, you may manipulate yourself into difficulties with grilling.
Make sure that you have burned half of the charcoal and never wait until the last. The time interval should be thirty minutes for adding coal from the beginning.
Right Wood for Right Taste:
How would you feel when you find a wooden smell from your charcoal grill?
For this reason, it is very much annoying and very much frustrating. It occurs when you add low-quality or wet cooking wood to charcoal grilling.
Again, adding seasoned cooking wood might ruin the flavor of charcoal grilling. You have learned how to get a charcoal grill to stay lit. Now it’s your chance to master the grill.
Related Questions How do you get a Charcoal Grill to Stay Lit? (FAQs)
What’s the furthest idea from lighting a charcoal barbecue?
When you start lighting it up, place a dry and quick-to-burn thing under the charcoal. It can be a piece of cloth or paper.
The paper will burn and light the charcoal in front of it and later that charcoal piece burns the neighbor one. It is an easy and traditional way to start a fire.
What is the most useful method for maintaining a grill fire?
To keep the fire, you need proper air. If there is proper airflow, then there isn’t any need to worry about it. But, if there isn’t any proper airflow, blow the air with your mouth after a while.
See, when the charcoal is stopping burning, blow the air so that it can get enough oxygen.
Do you close a charcoal vent?
Only when then there is enough heat inside. But if the charcoal is just started burning, I will keep it open so that it can get some air.
