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Top vent vs bottom vent

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exspo
exspo Posts: 51
edited January 2012 in EggHead Forum
Hi all,
Wondering what the relationship is between the daisy wheel on top and the bottom vent is in relation to changing the temperature. Say I need to raise or lower the temp 50 deg. Should I open the top and bottom equally? I've noticed that opening the bottom vent makes a bigger move in temp for me.
Is there a practical difference between opening the top all the way and leaving the lower nearly shut, or vise versa?
Thanks everyone!
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    edited January 2012
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    Use either. Either can limit airflow, and airflow limits temp

    I use the bottom for gross adjustment, like at startup. And the daisy for fine tuning. I dont need to bend, and the size of the openings is abundantly clear

    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • Tank_NZ
    Tank_NZ Posts: 53
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    I believe that it is best to use the bottom for the main settings and the top for fine tuning only.

    Reason:  If you have the bottom wide open, but the top primary closed, more air can gets into the base / lump and doesn't release well, thus it can get too smokey.

    I could be wrong (and probably am), but thats the logic I use - and I seem to be able to get temps working OK.

    ~Tank


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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    edited January 2012
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    Think of the egg as being filled with water instead of air. You can't let in (or out) more than you let out (or in)
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,674
    edited January 2012
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    On cooks over 325 I do not have the daisy wheel on at all.
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

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  • Hillbilly-Hightech
    Hillbilly-Hightech Posts: 966
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    You've gotten some good advice, and, as Mickey says, some folks don't even use the Daisy Wheel at all for higher temp cooks. 

    If there's anything I could add, it would be the way that I view the 2 vents.  I view the top vent (the daisy wheel) as the "exhaust" and the bottom vent as the "intake." 

    Much like on a vehicle, both have to be working in order for the car to function (for instance, if your air cleaner is plugged up, your intake won't work properly, and likewise, if a mischievous neighbor kid sticks a banana in your tailpipe, your exhaust won't work properly). 

    Ever since I started viewing the 2 vents in that manner, it's been a lot easier for me to control temps. 

    And I also tend to do what Stike does, which is to use the bottom for wide temp variances, whereas I use the top vent (daisy wheel) for "fine tuning" (say, if I'm shooting for 350, and I can get it to 330, then I'll use the daisy wheel to get the extra 20 degrees). 

    Anyway, you should Egg-speriment w/ different settings, using the top only, the bottom only, and both, in order to see how each way affects your temp!!

    HTH,
    Rob
    Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup... Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. - Bruce Lee
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  • tfoutch
    tfoutch Posts: 76
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    For higher temp cooks, I have stopped using the DMFT as well.  One less thing to monkey with.  Think of the top as a drain in this instance.  A 4" drain can handle all of the water that you can flow through your sink plumbing, so no need to restrict the drain - control the faucet.

    That is the same - the top hole will exhaust all of the air that the bottom vent will supply if it is wide open.  If you restrict the supply, that is the flow - period.

     

    TFOUTCH Algood, Tennessee
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
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    tfoutch: good point.  i used to always drag out the garden hose analogy.  you can crank the nozzle end wide open, but if the hose-bib is only a t a trickle, that's all that can come out.

    conversely, you can crank the hose-bib open and fine tune with the nozzle .

    it all works, and comes down to personal preference.  bottom only, top only, bottom initially followed by the daisy to fine tune.  end of the day, whatever works
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • fairchase
    fairchase Posts: 312
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    Having the slider part of the daisy wheel closed , and the holes completely open regulates the heat to 390-400 on my XL.
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  • Flamethrower
    Flamethrower Posts: 493
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    These are my vents for Ribs. No Guru or nothing. This is an XL bought in Nov.last year and have over 200 hrs. of cooking on it already
    LET'S EAT
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  • stevesails
    stevesails Posts: 990
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    my xl looks the same for 250
    XL   Walled Lake, MI

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  • exspo
    exspo Posts: 51
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    @Flamethrower- thanks for the pics. I too had my lower vent open a slit for 200 and was worried that it would go out. So I opened that vent then closed the top some and then basically changed vents for the rest of the day. So it seems from your photo and everyone else's comments that I can leave the lower vent closed down pretty far and still not have the fire go out.
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  • Flamethrower
    Flamethrower Posts: 493
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    Like stated before many times, It's easier to catch the temp on the way up instead of tryin to get it back down
    LET'S EAT
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