Clean Burn Questions! Need info!

cdees_1993 · April 2013

Does anyone have any before and after pictures?

Does this hurt your gasket?

What is the purpose other than making it white again?

Do you just take top off and open bottom wide open? Leave guts inside?

How long do you burn? How often should you do this?

Thanks,

Casey

gdenby · April 2013

No pics from me.

The old style gaskets can and will be trashed sooner or later. Hi-temp fires always are a hazard for them.

It won't turn the whole inside white. The fire box and fire ring, yes. After many lo-n-slo cooks, the inside of the Egg is coated with a greasy, smoke permeated soot. Often, there is creosote build-up near the top vent. The clean burn reduces the film to just soot, which can easily be removed w. wadded up foil. This reduces carry over and excess smoke flavors. The cleaned interior also improves air flow slightly.

Yup, top off, bottom open. I've done it w. the standard grill in, and the daisy wheel on it, so as to reduce build up on them to crust. But usually grill out.

I burn away about 1/3 - 1/2 fire bowl of used lump. Typically, at the end of a long cook. Takes 1/2 - 3/4 hour.

I do it if I notice a heavy smoke aroma any time I open the dome before I even start a fire. Or, notice flecks of creosote dropping onto foods. As mentioned above, I did a long series of low temp cooks, and after about 2 months, the inside of that Egg was glistening from grease build-up.

Charlie tuna · April 2013

I have never purposely done a "clean burn", but mine gets cleaned when i do pizza! :((

Fred19Flintstone · April 2013

I did one right before I sold my large. You can depend on toasting the gasket. After the clean burn, the remains of my gasket were super simple to remove with a putty knofe. The new self-adhesive high heat gasket from BGE was a breeze to install. I had to re-align my dome for the added gasket thickness, but that was simple enough too. Happy Egging!

HawkeyeEgghead · April 2013

I just recently did one and it did not get very white\ clean other than the firebox. I had a half load of lump, opened the bottom, removed the daisy wheel and let it go for two or three hours.

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Don't do this unless you want a project that will put your egg of the DL for a few days. The result was a melted gasket where I could not open the egg so I would recommend a short hi temp clean burn of and hour of less.

The upside is I'm installing the hi temp BGE gasket this morning to see how it will perform.

lousubcap · April 2013

Remove your dome thermo before the burn-that way you won't wrap it around the dial.

Dave in Florida · April 2013

lousubcap said:

Remove your dome thermo before the burn-that way you won't wrap it around the dial.

) I learned that the hard way, ruined a thermometer.

dbCooper · April 2013

My suggestions:
If you have the old style ceramic coated grid take it out during the high temp burn. New style SS grid can be left in. Don't put the DFMT inside the egg.

njl · April 2013

I was going to say remove the thermometer...but that's already been covered. I don't even bother with the spring clip on mine...I like it to be easy in/out anytime I want it out.

When I contacted BGE support about this years ago, the advice for a clean burn was load it up with lump, open top/bottom vents completely, light it, and let it burn until it burns itself out.

At least with the older style gaskets, this will ruin the gasket...but it will also reduce anything non-metallic/non-ceramic in the egg to white ash dust.

Skiddymarker · April 2013

Used to do a clean burn every month or so but no longer bother. After a pizza cook, and the egg has cooled (next day) I rub the interior with a wad of foil or use a nylon brush and lots of crud just flakes off. Like @gdenby says, better to brush off the build-up on the dome rather than have it fall on your food.

Clean Burn Questions! Need info!

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