Temperature Control??? Help!

Unknown

Okay, I'm sure for all you experienced eggers and barbecuers in general this is the most basic of all questions, but I was new to this when I bought my egg two years ago and have never been able to fully get a handle on it.

Is there someone who can either post for me a basic rundown of the steps and secrets of good temperature control and long lasting fuel in my big green egg or else direct me to a place where it's already been posted? One of the biggest draws for me when I bought the egg was the idea that I could maintain temperatures in the 250's for six to eight hours for smoking ribs and pulled pork and the like, but I have never been able to keep a low temperature like that for more than three to four hours at a time without adding more lump.

I'm not sure whether the idea is to fill the box with enough lump to get the temperature all the way up to 700 if it was allowed to burn freely, but then keep it low by keeping the vents small, or if I would want to use significantly less charcoal for less heat, and let it breath more. I've tried it both ways, and with less fuel I burn out faster, but with more fuel and smaller vents the charcoal goes out, even though the charcoal clearly has plenty of burn left in it.

Are there vent combinations that will give me different things? Narrow on bottom, wide on top or vice versa, narrow on both? I have looked through all kinds of cooking, grilling, and barbecuing books and have never been able to find a really basic run down of the vents and how to use them correctly.

Again, I apologize for wasting people's time with what I'm sure is a simpleton's question, but any direction on this would be much appreciated. I really feel like I'm not tapping the full potential of my BGE, because I haven't been able to master this very basic concept.

Thanks very much,

Matt

PS How to keep smoking for long periods, when even very wet wood chips seem to burn up and stop smoking within the first couple hours is another questions for another day, but one that I'm equally perplexed over.

The Naked Whiz

Here is a link to my web page on Temperature Control --> Temperature Control

You control temperature by controlling airflow, not by controlling the amount of charcoal. For a 30 hour 225 degree burn, you would fill the Egg up to the top of the fire ring. The fire will burn slowly because you keep the vents almost closed and only let in enough air to maintain a small fire.

The other thing is to let the temperature creep up to your target of say, 250, and start closing vents as you get close. The goal is to not let the Egg get hotter than your target temperature. If you let all the ceramic get hot, you will have to wait for the ceramic to cool down before you will be able to get the air inside the cooker to cool down.

Good luck!

P.S. I just saw your question about smoke. I use chunks, not chips. I put a few around the fire so that they burn/smoke during different times. DrBBQ says he mixes chips throughout the WHOLE load of charcoal so that as the charcoal burns, there are always more chips available to smoke.

stike

think of it this way... your car doesn't run faster because you fill up the gas tank.

fill the egg. FILL it. up to the fire ring.

then, light in one spot, and watch the egg. as temps climb (lid shut), allow it to rise to within 20 to 30degrees BELOW your desired temp. slide the doors almost shut (top and bottom). watch for the thermo to slow. if it doesn't, shut the vents more.

it is NOT possible to choke out the fire if the vents are open, even infinitesimally.

that's it. really. the amount of fuel has NO impact on temps. it only affects the amount of time the fire will burn. it can't get out of control unless there's too much oxygen. no matter what, no matter how "shut" you think the egg is, if it is above your desired temp, you are letting in too much air.

BamaFan

The NW post below is right on. Follow his directions.

Eggtucky

Actually all of the above posts are right on the money..it should NOT have taken you two years to figure this out Matt...go to TNWs site and read the instructions there..this site is an encyclopedia on the subject and many other subjects regarding use of the egg...think air flow air flow air flow..as stike and others said temp is NOT a function of quantity of lump..it is a function of air flow..TIME is a function of lump quantitiy..I have done 24+ hr cooks on a large egg with lump to spare..especially in the 250 degree range..hang in there..this thing works!!

BamaFan

Good Post and you're a good man for Strait Shooting !

Unknown

Thanks very much all. I'm going to try again tomorrow. I've been getting the temp up and trying to bring it back down, so basically completely backwards. Eggtucky, you're right that I should have gotten this sorted out sooner.

Thanks again,

Matt

Eggtucky

Matt..I didnt mean that as a dis in any way..it's late on Friday night and I've prolly had too many drinks...I meant you should have sought help sooner and gotten this sorted out..not that you were in any way remiss other than asking for help!