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Wind vs BGE

Vent and top open and I could not get the temp past 300 on windy Thanksgiving.  Does wind affect the temp?

Comments

  • Sounds like the biggest culprit may be a lack of air-flow.  When was the last time you cleaned out the ash?

     

    -SMITTY     

    from SANTA CLARA, CA

  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    edited November 2013
    I'd bet money the charcoal grate was clogged with charcoal bits/ash.
    Packerland, Wisconsin

  • Actually wind is your friend. It gets that temp up very fast with all that air flow
    Jefferson .GA.  
    Been egging since 1985 on a medium egg
  • Yeah, unless you are cooking with way to little charcoal wind makes it harder to maintain lower temps as opposed to getting the temp up. 
    I raise my kids, cook and golf.  When work gets in the way I'm pissed, I'm pissed off 48 weeks a year.
    Inbetween Iowa and Colorado, not close to anything remotely entertaining outside of football season. 
  • Tjcoley
    Tjcoley Posts: 3,551
    Wind causes me the opposite issue, can't keep temps down. +1 on airflow issue.
    __________________________________________
    It's not a science, it's an art. And it's flawed.
    - Camp Hill, PA
  • I had the same issue on TG day. Cleaned the ash etc out and was back to normal for yesterday's cook.
    Bronxville, New York. XLBGE, MBGE
  • Contrary to what a lot of folks here do, I clean out the entire firebox before every cook. Otherwise, I can always bet on uneven results.
    In the  Hinterlands between Cumming and Gainesville, GA
    Med BGE, Weber Kettle, Weber Smokey Joe, Brinkman Dual Zone, Weber Genesis Gas Grill and portable gasser for boating
  • The best advice I ever read on the Forum was to clean out the firebox on a regular basis. I used to poke holes in the grate, thinking that was good enough, and forgot I had them around the edge of the firebox itself. Couldn't figure why all of a sudden every cook I had to have the door wide open for every cook until I cleaned it! 

    Large, Medium & Mini-Max - Seattle & a Puget Sound Island


  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    A shop vacuum is your BGE's best friend. Makes airflow a breeze...literally.
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • jfm0830
    jfm0830 Posts: 987
    edited November 2013
    I agree it sounds like an airflow issue. I use the High-Que grates in both my Eggs and it has solved much of the airflow issues. The only time I really give it a thorough clean out where I take out the charcoal and vacuum it out, is when I need to go over 450 or 500° for my cooks. Thanksgiving morning I went out early and swirled the Ash Tool all around to help stir out the small pieces of lump.

    It was in the high 20s and wicked windy here on Thanksgiving and I had no trouble getting one egg up to 400° and the other one to 325. That was after I got them lit. My biggest problem was the wind kept blowing out the butane lighter that I normally use to light the fire starters. A couple of times a firestarter would light and then the wind would blow them out before the flame had caught on very much. Once I got them lit both Eggs ran from around 11 AM to 4 PM. Other than my initial trips out to light it and another to put the metal cap on top and set the damper opening I wanted, no additional trips out were required. A couple times when I rotated the food or flipped the food, I gave the daisywheel a slight tap to correct a 5 or 10° temperature variation. Other than that they stayed at the correct temperature the entire time. It is so nice not having to run outside and tweak the grills when you're in the middle of something else. The only thing that ran cold outside this day was me-I kept leaving my jacket inside.

    Jim
    Website: www.grillinsmokin.net
    3 LBGE & More Eggcessories than I care to think about.
  • Thank you everyone!  I only stirred the "pot" but never really cleaned the grate.  Air circulation was the problem!  Maybe I'll try a roast beef on it today.
  • CANMAN1976
    CANMAN1976 Posts: 1,593
    jfm0830 said:
    I agree it sounds like an airflow issue. I use the High-Que grates in both my Eggs and it has solved much of the airflow issues. The only time I really give it a thorough clean out where I take out the charcoal and vacuum it out, is when I need to go over 450 or 500° for my cooks. Thanksgiving morning I went out early and swirled the Ash Tool all around to help stir out the small pieces of lump.

    It was in the high 20s and wicked windy here on Thanksgiving and I had no trouble getting one egg up to 400° and the other one to 325. That was after I got them lit. My biggest problem was the wind kept blowing out the butane lighter that I normally use to light the fire starters. A couple of times a firestarter would light and then the wind would blow them out before the flame had caught on very much. Once I got them lit both Eggs ran from around 11 AM to 4 PM. Other than my initial trips out to light it and another to put the metal cap on top and set the damper opening I wanted, no additional trips out were required. A couple times when I rotated the food or flipped the food, I gave the daisywheel a slight tap to correct a 5 or 10° temperature variation. Other than that they stayed at the correct temperature the entire time. It is so nice not having to run outside and tweak the grills when you're in the middle of something else. The only thing that ran cold outside this day was me-I kept leaving my jacket inside.

    Jim
    Im interested in a high cue too...do you loose much lump through the slots? I find I get alot of small pieces of lump and dont want it to just fall through before being burned?
    Hows ya gettin' on, me ol ****



    Kippens.Newfoundland and Labrador. (Canada).
  • jaydub58
    jaydub58 Posts: 2,167
    I have high-cues on both my large and mini.  Never any air flow or temp issues.  Sure, small pieces of lump do fall through, but they just sit there and burn, adding to the cook fire.  I'm convinced high-cue is the way to go.
    John in the Willamette Valley of Oregon

  • Im interested in a high cue too...do you loose much lump through the slots? I find I get alot of small pieces of lump and dont want it to just fall through before being burned?
    It is Ok if it falls through onto the floor of the egg. It will burn as soon as hot embers fall through the grate during the cook. In fact, being Scot, I throw all the little stuff back into the bottom when I clean out the ash. 
    The High-Q was the best add on I purchased for my MBGE. Low and slows are much more consistent with no need to wiggle. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
  • CANMAN1976
    CANMAN1976 Posts: 1,593
    Just ordered the high cue for my large...hope i like it!!
    Hows ya gettin' on, me ol ****



    Kippens.Newfoundland and Labrador. (Canada).
  • jaydub58
    jaydub58 Posts: 2,167
    You will!
    John in the Willamette Valley of Oregon