A little more info on winterizing, please.

gdenby

Although the Egg so far has sneered at the developing cold, and its more a matter of winterizing me, and the plate that brings the food back indoors, I've noticed that it seems to take longer to get up to temp.[p]I recall fishlessman saying he has a hard time getting the Egg really hot after rain. This weekend, after several cold grey drizzly days, I fired up the Egg. It seemed to take forever to break 200, and the smoke didn't clear out as fast as usual. When I finally opened the dome, I found it covered on the inside with condensation. I guess I was seeing steam.[p]So I am wondering, is the vinyl cover a good thing for the winter? Will it keep the Egg drier? Will it just freeze to the Egg. Should I just suppose that the only real problem will be freezing shut from ice storms, and that it will be like getting in my car after a blizzard?
(New eggcessory - the big green ice scraper:))[p]gdenby

fishlessman

gdenby,
my egg up in maine collects a good amount of water when it rains hard, there is no gasket on that egg, and thats probably where the water is coming from. the ash turns into a slurry and the egg doesnt really get hot until the water steams out. the only problem in winter is the felts freezing the lid shut, i dont have that problem anymore. the snow doesnt really effect the egg.

The Naked Whiz

gdenby,
the cover won't freeze to the egg unless there is water under the cover. I recently checked out my two small eggs which haven't been used for 3 months. One was covered with a BGE cover, the other wasn't. The uncovered egg had mold in it. The covered egg was dry and no mold. So, I think it is worth the cover.[p]TNW

billyg

gdenby
I live in the Chicagoland area. I use a cover when it starts to freeze so the gasket doesn't freeze and seal the egg shut. It also seems to keep the condensation down. I really haven't noticed a big lag in the time it takes to heat up, but I do notice it cools down quicker so I can put the cover after a couple of hours after I am done using it. I have a large piece of circular heating duct that bends to a little less than 45 degrees for starting the lump in the chimney in the rain and I have a rain cap (from Menards) that fits perfectly over the top vent to keep rain out. The egg seems impervious to weather (and functions well), it is just me that has the problem braving the elements. Cold and snow I don't mind, but the rain is tough.
billyg

Essex County

gdenby,[p]The only winter problem I've heard of is when the egg freezes shut. The cover is supposed to take care of this. But as TNW suggests, you can still get your cover frozen to the egg. This is the perfect time of year for this in New England. Warm during the day and below freezing at night (at least it will be soon). Any condensation under the cover and uh-oh.[p]Paul

RRP

gdenby,
I'm one of these guys who was brought with the idea of buying the best tool you could afford to buy and then take care of it and it will last a long time. Consequently I keep my eggs covered year around to protect them. I use the standard BGE covers except for the winter months. Then I use a silver colored vinyl coated fabric tarp for high UVL which we do get in the winter months. They are inexpensive at under $10 at any of the big box stores like orange or blue. Even at 20 below when I remove them they remain flexible except for ice that may have coated them but that just falls off.

Dos Huevos

RRP,[p]I keep mine covered year round as well. [p]

gdenby

RRP,[p]as you wrote:[p]>Then I use a silver colored vinyl coated fabric tarp for >high UVL which we do get in the winter months. [p]I think I'll be on the lookout for those. The prices I'm seeing for the BGE cover are a little more than I want to pay right now. Have to save up for a large for next spring, and a little shelter for both.[p]gdenby