Daisy wheel Question

Newbbqer · October 2012

So far I really have not had to use the daisy wheel. I'm getting ready to do a low and slow Boston butt. I'm assuming that the daisy wheel will come into play in controlling low temps. Anybody have any tips on setting the DW for long cooks and low temps?

Fred19Flintstone · October 2012

Try this:

http://eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=746823&catid=1

I hope I did that right.

Ragtop99 · October 2012

For around 250*, I find that that the openings on my daisy wheel are about 1/2 way and the bottom vent is about 1/3" open. If the bottom vent is set right, the DW openings can be 100% open and it still holds the temp. I'll generally set the bottom vent to where I think it will be close (but not too small to kill the fire) and slowly close down the DW opening to get it where I want.

Air has to get in and air has to get out. Temp can be controlled by restricting entry or exit.

Doc_Eggerton · October 2012

I have to say, I don't get it. You are not the first to post this kind of comment. If I left my DW off I would be up to 1K in temp within 30 minutes. I have to control with both the top and bottom vents.

Tjcoley · October 2012

+1 Doc. I've tried controlling with DW off and just using bottom vent and temp was all over the place. I can dial in 225, 275, 350, 550 very easily using both top and bottom vents consistently. Maybe in how I learned or its Egg specific. For me it's both vents.

brentsee · October 2012

Doc_Eggerton said:

I have to say, I don't get it. You are not the first to post this kind of comment. If I left my DW off I would be up to 1K in temp within 30 minutes. I have to control with both the top and bottom vents.

+1 Doc

I agree, - for 250 my bottom is closed to about a dime width, and the top is closed, with the small holes between 1/2 to fully open

Onegrecook · October 2012

This gets me 260*

Skiddymarker · October 2012

Doc_Eggerton said:

I have to say, I don't get it. You are not the first to post this kind of comment. If I left my DW off I would be up to 1K in temp within 30 minutes. I have to control with both the top and bottom vents.

I agree with Doc.I must admit I have never just closed the daisy wheel with the bottom wide open and watched what the temp did. I do most of my temp control with the daisy.

nolaegghead · October 2012

From Stike:

only truly need one damper to control the egg.
but i use it by making gross adjustments with the bottom, kicking it open or closed with my foot, and the fine tuning by dialing in at the top. my egg sits on the ground, so my daisy is easier than bending and fiddling with the bottom
it's exactly analogous to a garden hose.
just like cranking the faucet wide open, but fine tuning the water at the nozzle end.
or you can take the nozzle off and switch your attention to how open the faucet is
originally, the egg was sold with no daisy, and folks used the ceramic top (or the bottom solo, too)
one of the vents is always truly the 'one' in control.
the top is (too me) more visually easy to see and recreate settings. a while ago i got an aftermarket lower vent that was just like the daisy. for low and slow cooks i just open it two and a half holes, as it equates to almost a hundred degrees per open hole.

jrog74 · October 2012

Do you guys ever mark on your bottom vent with a sharpie to show where to close it to to obtain certain temps? Or do other factors change the placement of the vent and therefor you never know exactly where to open or close it to? I am getting my first egg this Saturday at the Texarkana Eggfest and just trying to learn as much as I can before I get it.

Eggdam · October 2012

I don't mark the bottom as it will fluctuate abit with size and brand of lump. On my weber gold at the cottage I marked closed, half way and fully open as u can't see the bottom vent position while cooking.

Ragtop99 · October 2012

nolaegghead said:

From Stike:

only truly need one damper to control the egg.
but i use it by making gross adjustments with the bottom, kicking it open or closed with my foot, and the fine tuning by dialing in at the top.

This is what I do for most cooks that are an hour or less such as a chicken. I'll leave the bottom vent 1/4 to 1/2 way open (depending on desired temp) and control from the DW. With the DW on and the DW holes fully open, its very hard to reach 400* no matter how large the bottom vent is open, so long as I'm not constantly opening the lid. If I open the lid frequently, a large bottom vent opening will heat up more quickly than a small bottom vent opening.

For low and slow, I pay more attention to the bottom vent since I don't want to monitor the temp and use of the DW helps with control in windy conditions and reduces rain entry if storms pop up during the cook.

gdenby · October 2012

jrog74 said:

Do you guys ever mark on your bottom vent with a sharpie to show where to close it to to obtain certain temps? Or do other factors change the placement of the vent and therefor you never know exactly where to open or close it to? I am getting my first egg this Saturday at the Texarkana Eggfest and just trying to learn as much as I can before I get it.

Vents settings are approximate.You'll get used to certain positions, and those will get you into a place where some finer adjustments will do. My bottom vents have become slightly sticky at near my most often used dome temps (250-350-450).

Length of cook also seems to be a variable. Often, during long lo-n-slo, I shut the vents farther and farther till they are barely open at all. But, sometimes, I find I need to open them more, which alerts me to either ash build-up (common) or a fire that is starting to die.

nolaegghead · October 2012

gdenby said:

jrog74 said:

Do you guys ever mark on your bottom vent with a sharpie to show where to close it to to obtain certain temps? Or do other factors change the placement of the vent and therefor you never know exactly where to open or close it to? I am getting my first egg this Saturday at the Texarkana Eggfest and just trying to learn as much as I can before I get it.

Vents settings are approximate.You'll get used to certain positions, and those will get you into a place where some finer adjustments will do. My bottom vents have become slightly sticky at near my most often used dome temps (250-350-450).

Length of cook also seems to be a variable. Often, during long lo-n-slo, I shut the vents farther and farther till they are barely open at all. But, sometimes, I find I need to open them more, which alerts me to either ash build-up (common) or a fire that is starting to die.

+1

And the ambient temperature, humidity, precipitation (weather) as well as the heat load in the egg (4 cold pork butts versus a plank of salmon) all factor in to where the egg settles on temp at a given vent/DW opening.

Mickey · October 2012

Only use the bottom vent on Large or Minis. If it would make a difference between 250 and 256, so what.

thetrim · October 2012

@nolaegghead Are you using your French Quarter Voodoo Magic to channel @stike 's spirit? If so, very nice.

nolaegghead · October 2012

thetrim said:

@nolaegghead Are you using your French Quarter Voodoo Magic to channel @stike 's spirit? If so, very nice.

Me likey the Stikey! Marie Laveau gave me some voodoo lump that lets me search for grillin' wisdom and snarkyness and channel it through this forum.... :)

twlangan · October 2012

jrog74 said:

Do you guys ever mark on your bottom vent with a sharpie to show where to close it to to obtain certain temps? Or do other factors change the placement of the vent and therefor you never know exactly where to open or close it to? I am getting my first egg this Saturday at the Texarkana Eggfest and just trying to learn as much as I can before I get it.

No. I have found too much variability in conditions that result in different vent/DW settings to achieve the same temps on different cooks. Variations in wind, outside temps, humidity, weather leading up to the cook, etc will result in different settings. I have found that rainy weather in days prior to a cook will lead to needing more air flow to keep any given temp. The Egg seems to "soak up" some amount of moisture (as well as leftover lump) and it takes more energy to cook this moisture off.

nolaegghead · October 2012

twlangan said:

jrog74 said:

Do you guys ever mark on your bottom vent with a sharpie to show where to close it to to obtain certain temps? Or do other factors change the placement of the vent and therefor you never know exactly where to open or close it to? I am getting my first egg this Saturday at the Texarkana Eggfest and just trying to learn as much as I can before I get it.

No. I have found too much variability in conditions that result in different vent/DW settings to achieve the same temps on different cooks. Variations in wind, outside temps, humidity, weather leading up to the cook, etc will result in different settings. I have found that rainy weather in days prior to a cook will lead to needing more air flow to keep any given temp. The Egg seems to "soak up" some amount of moisture (as well as leftover lump) and it takes more energy to cook this moisture off.

That's what I'm talking about. Dome thermometer is the feedback mechanism with you, the operator, as the integral part of that thermostat. You compensate.

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