Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Ash pan underneath XL fire grate?

Options
hogsfan
hogsfan Posts: 128
edited March 2012 in EggHead Forum
Has anyone tried putting an ash pan underneath the fire grate in the XL and lifting it out the top instead of using the ash tool to fish the ash out the lower damper? The fire grate is so wide that I find using the tool is kind of a drag. It takes forever And doesn't really work as well on the left side because of the way the tool is built. It seem like it would be easier to come out the top since I need to pull the fire grate anyways if I want to get to get the ash well anyways. Has anybody done this? I tried searching but did not find a discussion on this.
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    Options
    I use a giant shop vac. Takes about 15 seconds to clean my xl.
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • PlanoPokes79
    PlanoPokes79 Posts: 207
    Options

    Just like Travis stated, shop vac, just be sure no hot coals inside before sucking them up. Nuff said.

    Joe

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • xraypat23
    xraypat23 Posts: 421
    Options
    +1 on the shop vac. After I burn thru a load of coals I take out whatevers still usable, pull out the bottom grate and takes about 5 seconds to clean out my large.  I have the ash tool but never use it.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
    Options
    I use a shop vac with a Drywall bag in it. Easy and way less messy. The ash tool is still a must have. I stir the ash out of the lump before adding new charcoal. I also use it to stir the coals once the egg has been lit before closing the dome.
    Mark Annville, PA
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    Options
    I like the shop vac idea, but what I do might be just as easy.  I pull the fire grate off and use a short shovel and just scoop the ash and dump it into my ash can next to my EGG.  I only have to do it every couple months and the whole process might take me all of a minute or two.
    Packerland, Wisconsin

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
    Options
    I've cleaned my egg 2 times in 2 months. The second time it wasn't even ready for a cleaning. I had it apart so I figured I would do it anyway.
    Mark Annville, PA
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • woody's wood pit
    woody's wood pit Posts: 237
    Options
    maybe im missing something here, but all i do is turn the ash tool over...hasnt been a problem..use what ever is easy...Im a firm believer in easy...

    Rockwall Texas, just east of Dallas where the humidity and heat meet! Life is too short to get caught in the fast lane behind somebody slow!

    XL, LG, Sm, Mini and Weber for drink holder

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • stevesails
    stevesails Posts: 990
    Options

    shop vac every 50 or 60 pounds of lump

     

    XL   Walled Lake, MI

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • hogsfan
    hogsfan Posts: 128
    Options
    maybe im missing something here, but all i do is turn the ash tool over...hasnt been a problem..use what ever is easy...Im a firm believer in easy...
    That's my point, I don't think the ash tool is easy to use. Look at the ash tool. It's designed to work one way. The handle is attached at a corner of the flat piece (not a side...an actual corner) which allows you to scrape the ash up the lip and out the damper like a rake. But because it's on a corner, when you flip it around, it's like trying to work an upside down rake. Anyways if you scrape the right side of the egg, you cant get the junk out of the cooker...it just stays at the door. 
     (Earlier I said it works better on the right side, but I really meant the left. My fault.) If they would have attached the handle to the flat piece in the middle of either the long side or even the thin side of the flat piece, it would have been great and easy to use. 
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Smoker_Guru
    Smoker_Guru Posts: 372
    Options
    I use a giant shop vac. Takes about 15 seconds to clean my xl.
    Travis, do you have a problem with the vac filter clogging up?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    Options
    Nope but, its one of the biggest sears carries. I only knock the filter off when I empty the thing. It may be an issue if you had a smaller one. 
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Smoker_Guru
    Smoker_Guru Posts: 372
    Options

    That could be it. I have a small 8 gal shop vac and my filter really plugs up after just a couple of egg cleanings. I may try using the Drywall Bags in mine like Cortguitarman suggested. Thanks.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • centex99
    centex99 Posts: 231
    Options

    I have a rigid shopvac that works great for this.  Am going to look at those dust filters though, as I use this in my garage for woodworking too and I'm always getting the nice/expensive filter clogged and looking at the dust bag reviews, it seems to reduce all of that drastically and the bag works in combination with the filter, and you don't have to clean/replace either very frequently... though, we'll see, but worth a try nonetheless...

    But for cleaning out, the shop vac works great... just a pain to haul from the garage to the back porch...

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    Options
    I just looked. Its a 16gal 6hp and can suck a golf ball through a garden hose. 
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Smoker_Guru
    Smoker_Guru Posts: 372
    Options
    A 16 gal would be nice but like Centex99 said, its a pain dragging everything from the garage through the house to the back pourch. I,m hoping the bag thing works.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • tazcrash
    tazcrash Posts: 1,852
    edited March 2012
    Options
    They make a water filter for drywall dust. The basic idea is like a similar product I "saw" in HS once or twice...maybe. 
    The bucket is filled 1/2 way with water. the side that hooks up to the vac has a hose above the water line, the hose that is sucking in the dust ends below the water line. As a result, all the dust gets caught in the water. 

    Of course this may be making a mountain out of the simple act of cleaning an egg. 

    I do that.  
    :-/                  <--Needs Help
    Bx - > NJ ->TX!!! 
    All to get cheaper brisket! 
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Smoker_Guru
    Smoker_Guru Posts: 372
    Options
    Ya, I'm a thinkin that just might be a little over the edge :-)
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    Options
    Or, we could all hire someone to clean it for us. I think that would work best. 
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Smoker_Guru
    Smoker_Guru Posts: 372
    Options
    Good idea Travis, but I think I'll go ahead and try the bag thing...
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • hogsfan
    hogsfan Posts: 128
    Options
    Good idea Travis, but I think I'll go ahead and try the bag thing...
    And I the ash pan thing. Farming it out will be my next move though. My kids almost of that age where he can help out around here.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • FlyingTivo
    FlyingTivo Posts: 352
    Options
    That is why you need a Rainbow vacuum cleaner, no bags just water to catch everything!
    Men, easier fed than understood!!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • stevesails
    stevesails Posts: 990
    Options

    but that egg looks like it has never been cooked in.

     

    XL   Walled Lake, MI

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Flamethrower
    Flamethrower Posts: 493
    Options
    Wheres the lid?
    LET'S EAT
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • FlyingTivo
    FlyingTivo Posts: 352
    Options
    LOL! You guys don't let anything pass!! This was the cleaning before assembly but the picture with the vacuum cleaner is to make A point, but you guys are killing me!!! :)

    Felipe
    Men, easier fed than understood!!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories