So, What Went Wrong?

FlashkaBob · February 11

I tried cooking another pizza a couple of days ago, and no matter what I tried, I could not get the LBGE up to temp. It was cold that night but shouldn't make a difference. I had the platesetter in, legs up, using WGWW lump, draft door wide open and no daisy wheel. The SS grid was at felt level and the 1 thing I did different was to use 2 firebricks on top of the grid to raise the pizza stone up into the dome. As far as air goes, I even tried using a hair dryer at the draft door. I know I had plenty of heat because the platesetter came out as clean as the day I bought it (almost). The highest dome temp I got was about 410. After about an hour and a half, I decided to cook the pizza anyway. The tel-tru thermometer must have been close to being accurate because it took about 32 minutes to cook the pizza and it was not the slightest bit burnt. Could the fire bricks be the cause of the problem? They were full sized bricks weighing about 5 lbs each. I first had them standing on edge to bring the pizza stone about 4 1/2" up into the dome. Temp only went to 375. When I layed them flat the temp got to 410. Too much mass to heat?

SWVABeanCounter · February 11

Sounds to me like an airflow problem. How long has it been since you've cleaned her out?

FlashkaBob · February 11

SWVABeanCounter said:

Sounds to me like an airflow problem. How long has it been since you've cleaned her out?

It was cleaned out recently. Last night I did a couple of steaks. No clean-out between these two cooks and I had the temp at 525*

nashbama · February 11

That was my first thought as well. If you're only hitting 410 after using a hair dryer, sounds like something is clogged up.

I would pull all the charcoal out of it and make sure all the holes in the bottom are clear. Then clean out all the ash and try again. That should fix it.

Chubbs · February 11

Only two things it could be. Fuel or airflow problems. If you were not low in lump and it was not damp then it had to be an airflow problem. When it is nit coming to temp like that take a flashlight and look up through bottom vent. If you don't see red burning lump, you are clogged. Take a hanger or something and clear these holes. Or, do what a lot ( including myself) and get a high que. Ever since I put that in I have never had a problem.

jlsm · February 11

I had one of those mystery cooks a few weeks back. I KNOW my fire was really hot; I could see the roaring coals along the edge of the platesetter and I experienced flashes, but I just couldn't get the temp much above 300 on the grate. My platesetter came out mighty clean, too. Just couldn't figure it out.

Solson005 · February 11

How many spots do you light your lump? I had that problem when I first got my egg, now for pizzas I clean the ash out every time and light in three spots. I've used fire bricks to get it high in the dome and didn't like the results for the crust. This is the best method I've used platesetter legs down little green feet then the pizza stone.

Now I use my CGW Swing Rack and start on the bottom and finish on the top for just 2-3 mins.

Chubbs · February 11

I had one of those mystery cooks a few weeks back. I KNOW my fire was really hot; I could see the roaring coals along the edge of the platesetter and I experienced flashes, but I just couldn't get the temp much above 300 on the grate. My platesetter came out mighty clean, too. Just couldn't figure it out.

Calibrate dome thermometer?

FlashkaBob · February 11

Like I've said, the fire was hot. The platesetter came out as clean as a whistle. I still think the large firebricks had something to do with it. If the holes were plugged up in the grate, the coals would not have been as bright re as they were. I went through a lot of lump on that cook. The higher up in the dome I went with the pizza, the lower the temp was. I never thought of using the platesetter legs down and small spacers between it and the pizza stone. I will have to give that a try next time.

MikeP624 · February 11

With the plate setter, pizza stone and two full fire bricks it will absorb alot of heat. How long did you let everything heat up before the pizza went on. I would guess you need a full hour with that much extra thermal mass in the egg.

FlashkaBob · February 11

Ya, that's what I think as well. The fire was going for about an hour and a half. Inside of egg was plenty hot. I thought that by using the fire brick, I found a cheapo way of not having to buy an A.R. If I end up spending a pile on lump and have to start 2 hours early to heat up the bricks, then I'm not really cooking smart.

tgkleman · February 11

You think the fire was hot, but I bet you had a lot of medium to small pieces and you were not getting air flow through the stack. With large chunks of charcoal, filled to the top of the fire box, you should be at 600 - 700 dome, no matter what you have in the egg: plate setter, fire bricks, etc. I have had the same problem you have had several times, when I am trying to conserve, or reuse small pieces of lump. You just don't get the same amount of heat with a densely packed pile of lump

FlashkaBob · February 11

I guess that could be a possibility

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