First cook tonight

smoker62

I filled the box just a little over the holes with the biggest pieces from the top of the bag . Not dumped in but hand placed for the most part. Cooked 3 ribeyes with the yellow mustard coating and a little butt rub. 650 degrees and 2 minutes per side dome closed, closed vents and expected to flip back to the first side but probe said 140 . My 18 and 21 year old daughters were kinda skeptical when the saw them sitting with the yellow mustard on them. They sure changed their tune when they ate them. They were without a doubt , the juiciest , best tasting steaks we have ever had. I did burn most of the lump though preheating and playing with temps. How high do you normally fill your box? Is it common to burn that much at these high temps? Cant imagine 20 hours worth of burn even at 230 .My wife was going out to dinner with her friends and saw the steaks come off , she was not happy when she saw and smelled what she was missing. :laugh:

Grand Oeuf Vert

Congrats on your first cook and welcome to the family!
I always fill to the top of the Firebox. At next cook, stir to remove ash them top up if necc. You'll have no problem getting 18-20 hours on a full load of lump in the box at 225.

smoker62

Another question, seemed like I had to have the bottom screen open as well as the outer cover to get the temps up to 650-700. Had the daisy wheel on but open. Is it because I maybe did not have enough lump in the box?

Also my instructions say the top band is spaced by the hinge and it should match all the way around . The bottom is pushed down as far as it can down to the lip. The top band is flush with the felt gasket when opened. Still a good amount of flat before the bup above the band , normal? If it makes sense.

Grand Oeuf Vert

Answer to question one...yes. On a full load of lump, wide open...you can go to 1200 in you aren't paying attention.

Second, you can try loostening the upper band bolt, then try and raise your upper band a bit. But it won't move much if the lower band is flush with the lower flange.

On my Large, the bands actually mate when closed once the gasket has burned up.

smoker62

Thanks for the reply GOF. Sorry for the dumb questions. The bottom band I pushed all the way down as per instructions. The top band is spaced up by the hinge distance. I kept that gap all the way around. Top band is flush with the gasket on the top lid. Cant really raise it without raising the bottom ring if I want to keep the gap equal.

NibbleMeThis

Cooking at 450f and above I go through coal very quickly compared to the 20+ hour cooks I could get at 250f, it must be an exponential thing.

I usually fill my Egg to the top of the fire box/bowl.

smoker62

Thanks for the advice guys. I only have one cook but I love it already.

Grand Oeuf Vert

You'll be OK anyways. OK to leave as is. And BTW, there is never a dumb question. You have a question, just ask away. That's what makes this forum so good!

smoker62

Spatchcock chickens last night. Oh my god this egg is amazing. Why did I use that Genesis for so long. :ohmy: