Cleaning Tips

Trailblazer1229

Anyone have any good ideas or tricks for cleaning the ash out of the bottom of the egg? Besides buying the tools from the mothership, I figured some of you all had some neat tricks. I have been using a bent coat hanger to clean out the holes of the fire grate through the vent hole, in an attempt to get temps higher. I used a large cooking spoon, but got yelled at for using it, plus it took a while. Any suggestions would be great. :sick:

DynaGreaseball

try a 1 inch paint brush.

Fidel

Shop vac.

Spend $25 and get the small one - like 2.5 or 3 gallon. Dedicate it to ash only. Use bags to protect the vac.

Trailblazer1229

Interesting. I have a 5 gallon one. But I have and old bagless vacuum I don't use anymore. I guess the bags could catch fire at some point. I think I just found a use for the old dirt devil I ruined doing drywall. FYI bagless vac + :side: drywall dust = bad juju

Fidel

Yea, important tip - don't vac until the next day or longer. Hot ash + bags = bad juju

Stanley

The ash raking "tool from the mother ship" is pretty darned effective, though it would be pretty easy to jury rig something that would work as well. I rake mine into a small steel bucket with lid and let it set days before I dump it anywhere. The bent coat hanger is the only other thing I need.

Eggtucky

ditto the shop vac..just make sure everything is good and cool...I usually vac mine out completely once a week or so depending on amount of cooking I do...

FearlessGrill

I tend to be pretty low tech with most add ons, and try and use things I already have. For example, my tongs are perfectly capable of lifting a hot grid - I don't need a separate tool, which the damn dog will just run off with anyway.

For ash, I stir up any lump still in there to get out the ash and small pieces. I had a scrap of wood I used for this that fit in the holes in the grate to get any blockages out. The dog ate it, so now I just use my finger.

Once I do that, I lift out the fire ring and then the firebox with the grate and lump still in it, by putting a finger through the vent holes on opposite sides. I then use either my hand or a small garden shovel I already had to scoop the ash into the green ceramic cap for the Egg, which I use to dump the ash into my garden. I do this about every 3 cooks.

Total time - less than 5 minutes. Total cost - $0

-John

Grandpas Grub

I got the ash cleaning tool packaged with the egg. I like it.

Someone suggested a curtin rod, the 'L' shapped ends. RRP built a neet angled one, I think from brass, that was pretty simple and cheap.

GG

Broc

I clean more often than most others... part of my OCD syndrome, I guess. :side:

I used to use the ash tool to scrape out ashes. Bleh! Too hard to bend over that low! :angry:

About every third of fourth cook I simply remove the guts and vacuum with shop vac. In between times, I just lift the bottom grate out, wipe it off, gather the ash at the bottom of the firebox and pick it up with my fingers. It really is easy, and less dirty/messy than loading lump. No big deal! B)

Going into a clean, I burn up the remaining lump at high temp -- works like a self-cleaning oven. Use a scrunched up hunk-a al-foil... make a loose ball and wipe down the inside of the dome and side walls. The dried black goop falls to the bottom of the beast -- then vacuum.

Cleaning the Egg takes less than 5 minutes.

Simple -- easy peasey --

And guarantees two things -- you're getting rid of old stinkies with the hot burn, and keeping air-flow open by removing ash from anywhere it can block the air.

Have fun!

~ Broc

:laugh: :laugh: :woohoo: :laugh: :laugh:

civil eggineer

I remove all the inside components from the egg and use a couple plastic putty knives to clean out all the ash. It gives me a chance to check out all the air holes in the firebox. A made a little ash scoop but find a complete ash removal prior to using works the best.