Wiggle Rod Technique

howmeisterg

For those of you that use a wiggle rod, how do you use it?

Do you use it from underneath the lump, or from the top down?

How many holes in the fire grate do you work through?

Any other useful method info?

Thanks!

Chris in Gwinnett

I use a bent coat hanger and poke it through as many holes as I can. I can't really see but I try to get then all. I also bang on the fire grate from the bottom several times as well with the ash tool. I am not sure which one works better, but I don't seem to have any problems.

Good Luck!

Shiff

You insert it through the bottom vent and push it up through as many holes as you can. I usually spend less than a minute doing this after I fill the BGE up with lump. Makes a big difference on how quickly the fire gets up to temperature.

thirdeye

The easiest way to figure out how wiggling affects the lump is to test your technique with a load of unlit lump, the lid on your Egg open, and the cooking grate removed. (If you have a large Egg, make the length of the "L" end of the rod 3-1/8" long).

So, work the L up and into the unlit lump from the underside of the charcoal grate, then gently wiggle it back and forth. While you're doing this, look into the cooker and notice how the lump is moving. It doesn't take much and you want to be gentle, (if you get too western... you can cause the charcoal grate to shift which can spill lump into the bottom of the cooker). Then feel for 4 or 5 more holes and repeat the procedure. Now you're all set when it comes to working with a live fire.

Then.... when you've had a fire going for awhile, and it's time to wiggle the lump, repeat this procedure. Only this time the lid on your cooker will be closed, so watch the top vent. You can clearly see an increase in smoke as you are wiggling and clearing ash. If you look into the lower vent you can also see ash and sparks falling into the bottom of the cooker, but it's easier to just watch the top vent.

BigBadger

I stir the remaining lump with the flat "L" part of the rod against the grate until there is no ash remaining in the fire box. Then I clean out the ash area if there is enough to warrant it. Light it and if I see the fire is not going well or if there is no orange glow underneath from the ash area then I wiggle up through the holes. Since I started this routine I haven't had any problem. BTW this isn't necessarily the best method for a low and slow as you don't want a lot of 'glow' with those.

The wiggle Rod is a great little tool and am thankful for it's invention. I made mine of a 5/32" S.S. welding rod.

Ironhorse

Looking for a good lamb chop recipe