Temp control - newbie question.

run4jc

Forgive me - I'm sure this question is covered somewhere in this forum already! I just broke down and bought my father's day gift yesterday - a Large BGE with a nest and a few accessories (know I need more accessories now!) Cooked a beef tenderloin roast at about 500 degrees - amazing flavor and juiciness! Decided to go out on a limb a do an overnight pork roast. I tinkered with the temp until I got it to appear to be at 250 - had the draft dampers almost closed - the bottom showing maybe a 1/2 inch and the top almost closed. Lo and behold, the fire had gone out this morning. Roast was cooked and the egg was still warm - meat looks great - that said, where do you typically set the 2 dampers to keep a fire going at around 225-250? Looking forward to spending a lot of time here and learning! The Egg is amazing - everything I read is true.

PhilsGrill

Read here...

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramicfaq.htm
.
.

civil eggineer

Generally speaking the bottom damper controls the temp. The top needs to match or have a little greater open area then the bottom. I have a medium and the bottom can be open anywhere from the thickness of a credit card to 1/4 inch to hold those temps. When the meat is first put on it absorbs a lot of heat for awhile requiring a larger opening. Once stabilized the air needs to be restricted.

As far as going out ... the lump can and will sometimes burn straight down without lighting lump to the sides of it. To avoid this start numerous spots when it is lighted. I would also not trust an overnight cook without some checking temps every 2 or 3 hours just to be safe. Welcome to cooking heaven.

Ross in Ventura

You need a Digi QII it well keep the fire burning at the right temp
Ross
GO LAKERS

Stanley

Ross,

Great cart! Best use of that modular shelving I've ever seen.

stike

whichever of the top or bottom dampers is closed most will control the temps.

i am in the habit though of using the bottom for the gross adjustemnt, and dialing it in with the top (no bending, easier to see, and a little easier to guage visually). i tend to tweak top and bottom vents at the same time. but you could just use the daisy...

truth is though, you can take the daisy totally off and fiddle with the lower damper if you really want to in order to control temps. or you could have the bottom wide open and use the daisy.

air in equals air out, essentially. any combination that limits the air to what you need in order to hold a certain temp will do it.

you don't "need" anything to control temps. it's pretty easy after a while. but powered draft options are good insurance. you can still have the fire go out with those, too, but more rarely.

run4jc

I think you hit the nail on the head with the "straight down" burn - that's what it looked like it did.
Last night I did some grilling and used a lot of the good advice that can be found on this forum (one of the most comprehensive forums I've ever seen!) Started the fire - left the dome up until all the flames were out - stirred the coals around - then closed the dome and watched the temp rise to 375. Closed the dampers down to about a half inch, dropped on marinated ('my'rub, olive oil, red wine vinegar, spicy southwestern mustard) chicken breasts and smoked sausage. 'Rode' the dampers to keep it under 400.

Whoa. The family raved. The smoked sausage was nicely browned on the outside but still unbelievably juicy on the inside. The chicken, too, was juicy with a nice brown exterior and great flavor. Sorry for no photos - they scarfed it up too fast! I think my 8 year old Weber is outta here -

Although the lump (BGE lump - I've yet to explore other brands) starts up easily enough, I'm thinking that the chimney starter might give a more even fire right out of the gate. I've read at least a hundred posts on this site - MAPP flames, weed burners, electric starters - everyone has an opin - but it seems to me that the cheapest, most foolproof method is a chimney starter with 1 piece of newspaper with a squirt of cooking oil on it.

Learnin' and lovin' it!