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Cant get below 320 ish

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laserdoc85
laserdoc85 Posts: 577
in EggHead Forum
Ok every since I did a clean burn Im having to learn these vents all over again,
The daisy wheel is open about an 1/8 inch and the bottom is open about the width of a pencil. I cant seem to get anything lower than 310 -320 with out almost closing the top and bottom all the way.Then I think the coals are going out. I open the dome and cant see them glowing so I figure it is shut down then I open it to what I said above. How can I get down around 250 without it going out? It is a medium egg.
Jefferson .GA.  
Been egging since 1985 on a medium egg
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  • GreenhawK
    GreenhawK Posts: 398
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    I have had trouble keeping mine down low since getting the Hi Que fire grate.  That's the only negative of that grate that I can find.

    Large BGE Decatur, AL
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,336
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    If you really don't see any lump burning and are still having trouble, I would calibrate your dome thermo.  Something doesn't seem right...FWIW-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • Hoov
    Hoov Posts: 264
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    Are you catching the temp on the way up? I think the temperature would take a while to come back down if you overshot your target temp and then closed the vents. For a low and slow, I will close the bottom to about a quarter inch and the daisy pedals half way closed when the temp gets to about 230. It seems like my egg magically settles in at 250 everytime. Best to you.
    - Proud owner of a Large BGE
    - Norman, OK
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  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
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    lousubcap said:
    If you really don't see any lump burning and are still having trouble, I would calibrate your dome thermo.  Something doesn't seem right...FWIW-
    I agree- I think that is the first thing to check.  Does it seem hot when you put your hand over the daisy wheel?  If the fire is going out then it has to be cooling down below 310! 

    Also- do you have a gasket in place after the clean burn?  You don't necessarily need a gasket...but if the dome is not aligned then you might be sucking in air.  

    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

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  • Cookinbob
    Cookinbob Posts: 1,691
    edited December 2013
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    My guess is you got a large fire burning and are trying to come back down.  +1 with @Hoov.  Work your way up, and close down as you approach target temp, also check the cal on the dome thermometer
    XLBGE, Small BGE, Homebrew and Guitars
    Rochester, NY
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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
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    Clean burn can change the way the gasket seats and if you didn't remove the dome thermo, it may (probably) need to be re-calibrated. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    If he's had it for thirteen years a hot burn will knock the old bge thermos out with one shot

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
    edited December 2013
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    GreenhawK said:
    I have had trouble keeping mine down low since getting the Hi Que fire grate.  That's the only negative of that grate that I can find.

    Just noticed this, with the OME grate there are three points of air flow restriction, the bottom slider, the grate and the DFMT. The High-Q grate means there are only two points of air flow restriction, the bottom and top vents. Yes you will have to learn all over again what good vent settings are, the good news is the cooks will be much more consistent. 
    To me that is not a negative, it is just different because it actually works. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    I don't remember the medium all that well, it's been years since I cooked on mine. The lower vent should be open the tip of a pencil I think. Maybe the crud you had was blocking airflow.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • deekortiz3
    deekortiz3 Posts: 60
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    I'd suggest three things...
    1. Check the calibration of your dome thermometer in case the clean burn threw it off.
    2. Inspect your gasket. Look for areas where it may have loosened or come unglued. 
    3. Readjust your dome. Loosen the bands and re-seat it. Make sure the grip is good all around by using a business card.
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  • laserdoc85
    laserdoc85 Posts: 577
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    Ok. I started this about 1 Pm it is know 9 Pm. We had to run out to find a xmas tree then ate dinner. Just got back and my new 733 maverick reads 205 my new dome therm which is Tel-Tru reads 110. Coals are still lit but my lump is almost gone. Maybe have a few more hours on it..
    Lets recap
    1. this is a medium size egg and the lump was to the bottom of the fire ring.
    2. It has a new gasket on it and a business card is a tight fit all the way around. I have to really pull to get it out. So my seal is good.
    3. When I was up around 350 I compared the dome therm to the 733 and I have another older Maverick,not sure which model it is but it is about 4 years old and is small and white. The number on the back is 693101 The two mavericks read with in 5 or 7 degrees from each other so these are good. The dome thermometer was about 20 or 30 higher so I loosened the nut on the back and adjusted it so it read the same as the two mavericks.They would all three read the same temp to within 5 to 10 degrees so that is good.
    4. this was a dry run with no meat inside. I wanted to mess with my vents and check the temps on the thermometers.

    Would no meat have anything to do with the funky temps and my vents?
    Why is it know reading on the 733    200 and the Tel-tru 100.
    which one is right?
    Do I remove the dome thermometer and do the boiling water cal tomorrow and do another dry run?
     Trying to figure out why after I calibrated the Tel-Tru to boiling water about 4 days ago and it was reading higher than my two Mavericks.

    Im sure the crud I had was blocking something but it sure worked like a charm. Always settled in around 300. I used to have my bottom vent open about finger width and my daisy wheel vents were stuck closed so I would just adjust the main door thing to about pencil width.
     I wanted to see with my vents open all the way on the bottom and my wheel vents opened all the way what temps I would get. According to the dome thermometer I was able to get around 400. Then I started closing vents and would check back in 30 min to see where I was. With both top and bottom about 1/8 inch it seemed to hang at 330. Thats when I posted this because I knew something was not right. How many hours will I get out of the medium. I know I would get longer burn times with a large because you are using more lump.
    I installed my new dome thermometer after I did my clean burn.
    Thanks guys!!!
    Jefferson .GA.  
    Been egging since 1985 on a medium egg
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  • Scottborasjr
    Scottborasjr Posts: 3,494
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    The dome temp will be anywhere between 20 and 50 degrees above grid temp unless you are doing a really low and slow. My medium would go nuclear when the gasket was fresh and now that it's a little burnt up does it even easier. Without a indirect piece in the medium that's about as low as I can go is around 320*. With the plate setter or pizza stone on a woo I can maintain 250-275 depending on the wind and ambient air temp. And that's with the bottom vent open as little as possible, about a 1/8th of an inch but maybe even less. 
    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. 
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  • laserdoc85
    laserdoc85 Posts: 577
    edited December 2013
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    Hmmm then maybe I was right to begin with. Cause I had no plate setter in and both probes we're attached to the grate at the very edges. Guess I need to recal my Tru-Tel thermometer with the boiling water. So when using my 733 I guess I really only need to use the food probe and not worry about the pit temp since the dome will be that much higher than the probes attached to the grate.
    How much venting on your daisy wheel if your bottom was 1/8 inch open?
    So what do we look for,,,the dome temp or the temp on the grate. Are most of you only using your mavericks to read the meat temp and that's all ?
    Guesss I will try another dry run today after I recal my tru-tel again to boiling water. This time I will post some pics. Lump is fairly cheap so I have no issues running these dry runs with no meat inside

    How many hours can I get with this medium egg at the lowest temp I can get. A plate setter is coming at Xmas. Will I be able to do a long slow and low like a brisket overnight in it
    Jefferson .GA.  
    Been egging since 1985 on a medium egg
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  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
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    I still like to use the pit probe from the maverick when I am using the mav.  I clip it to the grid and set my targets based on the grid temp, and just don't worry about the fact they are different.  If I am doing butts overnight I try for a temp around 230 grid. The dome might be reading 250-260 but just don't sweat it ;). 

    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

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  • ShadowNick
    ShadowNick Posts: 533
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    On my medium with a high-que grate, to maintain 250 my bottom vent is opened about the thickness of a credit card and my daisy wheel just barely cracked open.
    Pentwater, MI
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  • laserdoc85
    laserdoc85 Posts: 577
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    Ok. Done with my test.
    I calibrated my Tel-Tru. to 212 ish.
    I then made my own plate setter to give me some indirect heat.. I think it worked pretty well by the pics.
    . After 2.5 hours I got it to settle on about 305 on the Maverick and about 310 on the dome.
    Bottom vent the size of a pencil and the daisy wheel vents about 3/4 open. Now I just need to cook something to really try out this set up.
    Also included a pic of the new waterproof probe ,,,,Can you say it !!  MADE IN THE USA !!!
    Jefferson .GA.  
    Been egging since 1985 on a medium egg
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