Cleaning out the Egg

zen_cooker · September 2012

I find that the Egg is the best appliance for cooking and the WORST for cleaning. I have tried various methods throughout the years and haven't found one better than using a combination of the L-shaped Egg tool and my hands. It's a messy and time-consuming process. Does anybody have a method for cleaning their Egg that is better than that: quick and easy?

bigphil · September 2012

Do mine the same way but even pulling the fire ring and box it only takes about ten minutes

nolaegghead · September 2012

You're supposed to clean it? I vacuum out the ashes about every 20 pounds of lump and use a leaf blower to clean the outside....

Baysidebob · September 2012

bigphil said:

Do mine the same way but even pulling the fire ring and box it only takes about ten minutes

What he said. Pulled the fire ring and box out today and pushed out the ash out with my gook gloves. 15 minutes tops, maybe less. I've heard of a guy that has a tube for his shop vac to reach around the back so no need to pull the ring and box but I hate cleaning my shop vac of ashes worse so I'll pass on that one. Just remember, cleaning is simple and total sobriety is not required. That makes it easier.

nolaegghead · September 2012

I use a shop vac for the ash. Leaf blower to clean the filter.

EggerinLA · September 2012

My brother has had his Egg for 6 years and only takes out the firebox and ring once a year. He never had any problems or major buildup. I think people over think this. The thing cleans itself and one in a while I will scrap out the ashes into a metal bucket. Takes 2 minutes.

Duganboy · September 2012

Other than taking out the ash in the bottom, why would you clean it? I've had an egg for 15 years and I've never done anything but clean out the ashes and about twice a year take out the firebox to get the areas in behind the holes.

Fred19Flintstone · September 2012

I think it depends on the size of your egg. I have a large I use the ash tool to clean every 2-3 cooks. I'll pull the fire ring & box every 2-3 low & slows.

I clean the small very frequently. There's a big distance between the fire box & the outside of the Egg so lots of ash gets in there. I take the small tailgating and cooking away from home so the last thing I need is air flow problems. I dump the hot coals & ash to facilitate cooling so we can get moving and of course that cleans it out too.

ChokeOnSmoke · September 2012

I have an XL. Only thing I clean out is the ash. I remove the charcoal grate and use a mini shovel and scoop out the majority of the ash -- maybe twice a year. It might take me one minute.

Cowdogs · September 2012

ChokeOnSmoke said:

I have an XL. Only thing I clean out is the ash. I remove the charcoal grate and use a mini shovel and scoop out the majority of the ash -- maybe twice a year. It might take me one minute.

x2. I would say the XL has an ash pit 6x larger than a large.

As for the large ... I think people get too worried about cleaning all the ash out. You only need to get enough ash out to enable good airflow. Even if the ash pit is 1/2 full ... airflow is not impeded. 2-3 swipes with the ash tool into a bucket and you're good to go.

EggerinLA · September 2012

Wow. Face in palm of hand just laughing.

DonWW · October 2012

If I could create the Beavis and Butthead laugh, it would go right here....

Focker · October 2012

An empty bleach container works great at flexing to the shape of the egg and removing the ash when the internals are removed.

nolaegghead · October 2012

Reminds me of cleaning out the (blechk) cat litter.....great idea on the scoop

double · October 2012

I shop vac it then chuck it in the yard.

michigan_jason · October 2012

I have an XL and a large, soon a medium. Only way I do it is every couple cooks or so, I get the shop vac and suck it all out. No need to do much more if you take care of it and keep it covered and vented.

Rzeancak · October 2012

L-shaped Egg tool daily and on Sunday night i remove the firebox use the L-shape tool along with a bannister brush to sweep the inside. Half a glass of Scotch and a 1/2 a Cigar is all the time it takes.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · October 2012

I take out the guts and use an old paint brush and the BGE ash bin. I can clean it down to the ceramic and put it back together in well under 5 minutes. Super easy

SWVABeanCounter · October 2012

I've read somwhere about using a drywall bag on the shop vac to save the filter. Haven't tried it yet, but I've got the bags on my Lowe's shopping list.

michigan_jason · October 2012

SWVABeanCounter said:

I've read somwhere about using a drywall bag on the shop vac to save the filter. Haven't tried it yet, but I've got the bags on my Lowe's shopping list.

Mine has a dust filter option that I use when cleaning, however I have actually all in all removed the filter and been fine. No ashed shooting out of the exhaust at all.

henapple · October 2012

When we vac dust at work we run no filter with some water in the vac...dump and rinse.

Smokin_Good · October 2012

nolaegghead said:

I use a shop vac for the ash. Leaf blower to clean the filter.

+1 The leaf blower also works to get everything out from behind the fire bowl and ring but I've been thinking about getting one of these:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-203023753/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=ash+vac&storeId=10051#.UGsyA67Z2So

Smoker_Guru · October 2012

Shop Vac with a dry wall bag. Works great, replace the bag about every 7 or 8 cleanings. No mess, no dirty filter, just drop the bag in the trash and put a new one in the vac.

midwestsmoker · October 2012

Smokin_Good said:

nolaegghead said:

I use a shop vac for the ash. Leaf blower to clean the filter.

+1 The leaf blower also works to get everything out from behind the fire bowl and ring but I've been thinking about getting one of these:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-203023753/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=ash+vac&storeId=10051#.UGsyA67Z2So

Smokin Good, I have that ash vacuum and it works great, you won't be sorry. $80 + - at Menards

bodski · October 2012

On a side note, wood ash is good in asparagus beds, unless you already have alkiline soil. I'm guessing that the egg ash (eggscrement ) would be great since it's pure lump and wood. Does anybody have any thoughts or experience here?

nolaegghead · October 2012

Asparagus growers used to use salt to weed the beds. It handles extremely saline soil. The downside is you can't grow anything else in that soil. It would take a lot of "eggscrement" to make it too salty for other plants, the alkalinity issue - guess it depends on what you plant, but ash is loaded with minerals.

bodski · October 2012

Thanks, nolaegghead. I was thinking more about fortifying the soil than weeding, although i'll have to look into the salt. The weeds are a pain.

nolaegghead · October 2012

You can always adjust the pH - make it more acidic with peat moss, phosphoric acid, sawdust, etc. I think dumping the ash as fertilizer in soil is a good idea - it's been done for centuries.

jlsm · October 2012

I've learned that I get best results if I completely clean out the mini every time I use it. Of course, because it's so small, it just takes a few minutes. I do a full clean on my large once every 20-lb bag, usually before a brisket or butt cook.

SamFerrise · October 2012

I made a small scoop with a 5 inch radius on the front edge. It fits right down into the ash pit and I can clean right to the edges. Then I fire up the shop vac and finish the job. I also made an ash chute for easy dumping into my trash bucket.

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