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Cleaned The Inside of My Egg And Wow!

I gave myself a large BGE and table for Christmas this year. I cook on it two times a week.  I purchased my egg already assembled from my local dealer. I noticed that the gasket on my base was getting charred on the back of the egg. 

I soon realized that the kids that put this together didn't line it up. I decided to fix that tonight. It took about two minutes to loosen, adjust, and tighten everything back down.  

I then decided to go ahead and clean and clean out the entire inside. I took all of the lump out and the removed the fire ring, the fire box, and the fire grate. I always clean my vents prior to a cook, but there was still a decent amount of buildup on them that didn't just fall off. After removing everything I completely removed all of the ash and put it all back together. It took 15 minutes total. 

I put my lump back in and lit it and wow. My egg got to temp in no time. I guess the buildup of ash in the vent holes and underneath was really hindering my air flow. 

I normally leave my base door wide open and adjust my daisy wheel to adjust the temp, but tonight I had to almost close the base door and the daisy wheel in order to keep my temp from going too high.

I also discovered that the dealer had installed my fire grate upside down! I think I will clean mine at least once a month.

Louisville, GA - 2 Large BGE's

Comments

  • jlsm
    jlsm Posts: 1,011
    If you get a HighQue grate, you won't need to clean the egg out that often. In the warmer months, it might not matter to you much, but if it gets cold where you are, you might appreciate the longer wait.
    *******
    Owner of a large and a beloved mini in Philadelphia
  • I use a small shop vac with a flexible hose and vacuum the ashes out every time I use it. Once or twice a year I take her apart and vacuum out then entire inside, but there is rarely ash in between the ring and outside wall.
    My body is in Atlanta but my mind is on a sunny, warm beach..........
  • GQuiz
    GQuiz Posts: 701
    I got a small brush with the dustpan that's dedicated to my Egg. On a similar note, the inside of the dome is getting "sparkly" from all the sweet smoke, what do you use to clean it? I don't want to use a grill brush like I would on a gasser. Suggestions...

    XL BGE; Schertz TX by way of Stow OH. #egghead4life
  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    GQuiz said:
    I got a small brush with the dustpan that's dedicated to my Egg. On a similar note, the inside of the dome is getting "sparkly" from all the sweet smoke, what do you use to clean it? I don't want to use a grill brush like I would on a gasser. Suggestions...
    Lots and lots of heat. You are seeing fat from food polymerize on the dome. Do a clean burn(vent wide open and DMFT off for 30 minutes to an hour. Or cook pizzas.
  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    edited February 2013
    Also, you can ball up some aluminum foil and use it like a scouring pad.
  • I just used a brush in the dome and swept out everything I could get. I didn't take the time to break out my shopvac and get 100% of everything out. 

    My egg is black as smut on the inside. I think I need to clean mine with heat. I may do that this weekend.



    Louisville, GA - 2 Large BGE's
  • BYS1981
    BYS1981 Posts: 2,533
    I only clean my egg out about once a month, but I always stir the lump before lighting fort air flow.
  • GQuiz
    GQuiz Posts: 701
    m
    GQuiz said:
    Lots and lots of heat. You are seeing fat from food polymerize on the dome. Do a clean burn(vent wide open and DMFT off for 30 minutes to an hour. Or cook pizzas.
    So run it WFO (wide flippin' open)? I'll do that. Thank you

    XL BGE; Schertz TX by way of Stow OH. #egghead4life
  • joe@bge
    joe@bge Posts: 394
    I have never cleaned mine in 4 years...smells like BBQ heaven on the inside.   :D

    As for ash cleanup...I do that about every 4 cooks depending on how many of them were low and slow.
  • jbates67
    jbates67 Posts: 168
    I have a small vacuum dedicated to ash removal. I will pull everything out once or twice a year but the vacuum usually gets 95% of the ash and build up. There's a definite difference after cleaning in how long it takes to get to temp, it's very quick.
  • @jbates67 Since it was the first time I had ever cleaned it I was shocked at how fast it got to temp! 

    I plan on cleaning mine about once a month.

    Louisville, GA - 2 Large BGE's
  • I also bought a small shop vac just for my egg, it's great for getting most of the ash out, but it is tough on filters! I take mine apart and clean it about every 2 months
    LBGE
    Go Dawgs! - Marietta, GA
  • I also bought a small shop vac just for my egg, it's great for getting most of the ash out, but it is tough on filters! I take mine apart and clean it about every 2 months

    Get yourself a Drywall bag. Those filters will stay shiny and new. When the bag is full, throw it away and pop in a new one.
    Mark Annville, PA
  • I probably need to clean mine. I'm almost at a year of ownership and only thing I've ever done is stir the old lump before each use and I use ash tool to roughly scrape out bottom. My inside is sticky/thick black everywhere and I'm sure good bit of ash tucked in the proverbial corners. May do next warm weekend.
    Boom
  • If you have cooked a lot you will have a lot of ash that you can't get to without taking the firebox out. 

    It is probably time for a good cleaning.

    Louisville, GA - 2 Large BGE's
  • I also bought a small shop vac just for my egg, it's great for getting most of the ash out, but it is tough on filters! I take mine apart and clean it about every 2 months
    Get yourself a Drywall bag. Those filters will stay shiny and new. When the bag is full, throw it away and pop in a new one.
    Drywall bag? I don't even have a filter in mine. Since my BGE is not in my shop, I allow mother nature to take the ash away for me. This way I don't have to clean out the vacuum as well as the egg. Really annoys the neighbors when their laundry is on the line :-O

    1 large BGE, 2 small BGE, 3 Plate setters, 1 large cast iron grid, 1 pizza stone, 1 Stoker II Wifi, 1 BBQ Guru Digi-Q II, 1 Amaze N pellet smoker and 1 empty wallet.      Seaforth, On. Ca.

  • Plano_JJ
    Plano_JJ Posts: 448
    I'm anal about stuff like that. I clean mine about every 4th or 5th cook. It makes a big difference  in performance from what I can see.
  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    I also bought a small shop vac just for my egg, it's great for getting most of the ash out, but it is tough on filters! I take mine apart and clean it about every 2 months
    Get yourself a Drywall bag. Those filters will stay shiny and new. When the bag is full, throw it away and pop in a new one.
    Drywall bag? I don't even have a filter in mine. Since my BGE is not in my shop, I allow mother nature to take the ash away for me. This way I don't have to clean out the vacuum as well as the egg. Really annoys the neighbors when their laundry is on the line :-O
    It's probably their dog that's been pooping on your lawn....  ;)
  • I've heard from somebody here to not use a drywall bag and just fill with some water.  Haven't tried it yet myself.  Maybe when its warmer.

    Damascus, VA.  Friendliest town on the Appalachian Trail.

    LBGE Aug 2012, SBGE Feb 2014

  • I ran a clean burn this weekend and got the bottom half nice and white.. I put my platesetter and grates in there to clean them as well, so the top half is still charred black.  I'll have to do that later.  Also was a good time, especially after the clean burn, to shopvac out the ashes.
    LBGE
    MS Gulf Coast - Proud member of the Who Dat Nation!
    My Not Frequently Updated Basically Dead Blog: http://datcue.wordpress.com
  • pgprescott
    pgprescott Posts: 14,544
    +1 on the shop vac bags. They make different sizes and it eliminates the "poof" of dust you get with regular filters. No mess at all. They are great.