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Lighting Egg

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photolew
photolew Posts: 12
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Im a fairly new egghead. The first night I got my grill I put some charcoal in teh grill, lit it and BAM within maybe 20 min I was up to 700+ degrees.

Now it seems like I light it and I have to blow air into the bottom vent to get it above 250 degrees....what am I missing?
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  • ResQue
    ResQue Posts: 1,045
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    Probably some sort of air blockage. Have you cleaned it? If not check the alignment of your fire box with the draft door. Check and make sure your fire grate holes are clear as well as the holes in your fire box.

    Edit: Also check the calibration of your temp gauge.
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  • milesofsmiles
    milesofsmiles Posts: 1,377
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    Sounds like your Egg Dealer did not give you any Egg lighting / cooking instructions, or you did not watch the dvd. Did your seller give you any lessons while he was selling you the Egg? Mayhaps he was just a sales oriented dude, dudette and not a Egg cooker. Call your sales person. :)
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  • Jai-Bo
    Jai-Bo Posts: 584
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    Heck my dealer didn't tell me how, but I faired at it purty well.
    I would suggest watching video's on any ???'s you have. Youtube has SEVERAL VIDEOS on any subject about the E/gg you want.....

    Like mentioned before, check fer vent holes clogged, alignment of your firebox to your door, and clean the ashes out if not after every cook, every other cook. Good luck! ;)
    Hunting-Fishing-Cookin' on my EGG! Nothing else compares!
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  • photolew
    photolew Posts: 12
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    milesofsmiles wrote:
    Sounds like your Egg Dealer did not give you any Egg lighting / cooking instructions, or you did not watch the dvd. Did your seller give you any lessons while he was selling you the Egg? Mayhaps he was just a sales oriented dude, dudette and not a Egg cooker. Call your sales person. :)

    ZERO instructions.....I just knew I wanted one and found the nearest dealer. To give some idea how little this guys knows he didn't even know there was such a think as lump wood for smoking (even the dude at Lowes' knew that much)

    Anywho thanks for the anwers. I've watched every video I can find and all i see is "light....gets hot"....so far mine is light and work like crazy to get it up to temp.

    Now I've got some things to check out. thanks ya'll
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  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
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    I had the same experience- my very first light "nothing to it" and then I had to battle it a few times after that. I'm going to assume you are using starters to light.

    A few tips:
    -Give the old lump a good stir to remove the ash. You really want to rake them over the fire grate. Careful not to catch the edge of the grate and knock it out of place or lift it.

    -Mix in new lump with old.

    -If there are lots of small pieces, try to move them around and put some big pieces on the bottom.

    -Set aside a few big pieces of lump. Push the starters in and light, then build a teepee or bridge over the starters. The idea is to get the lump burning without smothering the starter.

    -Wait until they burn completely before closing the dome.

    -clean out the ash from the bottom regularly (I usually do this after I light the starters- gives me something to do while I wait for it to get burning).

    If all this fails and it still takes a long time to start a fire, just remember before your next cook to remove all the old lump and really give the egg a good cleaning. Consider removing the fire ring/box to clean her out. You can re-use some of the old lump but leave out the "gravel".

    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

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  • photolew
    photolew Posts: 12
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    thanks for the other tips. Last time I cooked I just let the fire burn so it should be all ash now. Going to give it a good cleaning today and start over
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  • tsbrady
    tsbrady Posts: 101
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    about every 2nd or 3rd cook I take out all the lump and put new large pieces on the bottom and layer it up in the firebox with the smaller pieces of the used lump on top. The only time I have temp problems is when I have done a few cooks and not cleaned the firebox out
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  • GregM
    GregM Posts: 18
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    You don't need to burn all the lump out.

    I grabbed two galvanized buckets at the hardware store for around $10. Every so often I pull out the remaining lump and put it in one bucket, scrap all the ash out (including lifting the grate off the fire box) and put it in the other (smaller bucket). Then you can put back the lump instead of just burning it all up. A pair of leather gloves helps as well.

    The buckets are also helpful if you are switching up what you are cooking. For example, I had hardwood chunks in from doing a few chickens - and some dripped chicken grease on the lump. Prior to a big pizza cook, I pulled the lump with chunks/dripping out and kept it in the bucket to use later. That way my pizza did not get the overly smoked taste (which my family does not like). A few days later I tossed the used chicken lump back in before doing some burgers.

    Occasionally I will pull everything out (firebox, fire ring) and shop vac if I have an important cook (Thanksgiving, Pizza parties etc.), but the basic cleaning keeps it running very smoothly. My wife says I just enjoy taking the thing apart.
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  • photolew
    photolew Posts: 12
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    GregM wrote:
    My wife says I just enjoy taking the thing apart.

    Too funny
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