Help with temp

Richpayne360 · January 2014

Trying to do some ribs and I'm unable to get my temp down below around 300. Daisy wheel almost closed and bottom vent is almost closed as well. Any suggestions?

Richpayne360 · January 2014

Could it be I got to much lump lit initially?

jhl192 · January 2014

How high did the temp get when you started it up? What sized Egg? How long have you waited. Either you have an air leak or you overshot the temp and need to wait longer for the temp to settle down? Please report back once you get it under control. Thanks and good luck.

SoCalTim · January 2014

I did some ribs @ 300 this past week. Once the temp hit about 250, I put the Daisy Wheel on and controlled the temp on the way up. once I hit 300, it never went up a single degree. I remember when I first got my BGE, I would often let the temp get to 500 -600 degrees thinking it would be no problem bring the temp down. How wrong I was.

Thanks to this forum ... and the info provided,I have the temp control nailed.

henapple · January 2014

Always try to work the temp up instead of down. If you're doing 5 hr ribs it'll come back down. Turbo ribs you're right on target.

corey24 · January 2014

jhl192 said:
How high did the temp get when you started it up? What sized Egg? How long have you waited. Either you have an air leak or you overshot the temp and need to wait longer for the temp to settle down? Please report back once you get it under control. Thanks and good luck.

Air leak? Like a leak in the gasket you mean?

Little Steven · January 2014

Try lighting the egg and leaving the dome open till you get a decent amount lit. That way the ceramic won't heat up as much and you should be able to dial in the low temp easily. With a clean egg the vents are barely open.

lousubcap · January 2014

As LS mentions, If going low&slow (<~300*F) I will leave the bottom vent full open and the dome up until I see around a softball or grapefruit sized amount of lump burning. Then shut the dome (DFMT still off) and adjust the lower vent to around 1/2" open. Watch the temp rise and throttle down (including DFMT) when within around 50*F of desired temp. Tweak from there-but don't chase temps-with long duration low&slows +/- 20-30*F doesn't matter. FWIW-

SPRIGS · January 2014

Is your fine thermometer calibrated? Always a good idea to check that on a regular basis. Like has been said, way easier to catch the temp coming up then trying to get all that mass to cool down.

On my low and slows, I usually light the middle, the back, and to the sides. Essentially 12, 9 and 3 o'clock and the middle. I use a loft lighter and just get each spot going pretty well. Leave the lid open for a few minutes and then shut the lid, close the bottom vent to about 1 inch or so. Once I get to around 50 degrees of my target temp, shut the bottom to about half inch or so and put the daisy wheel on with petals open only about a quarter or so. Let it stabilize for a good 45 minutes to an hour so the ceramic gets to your desired temp as well and then start cooking. Once the egg is stabilized, it will recover temp nicely after you open it up and put your food on.

DuNing · January 2014

I too am new to the Egg and have had trouble dialing in low temps. Whenever I light the charcoal and leave the top open for more than a copule of minutes, the temp seems to instantly jump way up to the 500-600 range. So far the only way I've been able to stay on top of things is to light the coals and immediately close the lid and set the lower vent and DFMT and allow the temp to slowly rise. Is this the best way or am I missing something re: leaving the top open after lighting?

Cookinbob · January 2014

I typically start my fire small, and watch the temp. It will rise slowly to a point, then it takes off. If you want to do low temps, like the others say, start smaller, and catch it on the way up. Also, I recommend put your plate setter, grid, stone, etc in place as soon as you light it. That way when you get it stable, you aren't adding a bunch of new variables

jhl192 · January 2014

corey24 said:

Air leak? Like a leak in the gasket you mean?

In order for a fire to continue to burn hot it has to be getting air. If the vents are closed then the air has to be coming in from a gasket leak or crack. In this case, I suspect he overshot the temperature and the EGG is struggling to keep burning. My guess is that if @Richpayne360 waited a little longer, that the temperature would have eventually fallen back to where he needed it to be.

corey24 said:

How high did the temp get when you started it up? What sized Egg? How long have you waited. Either you have an air leak or you overshot the temp and need to wait longer for the temp to settle down? Please report back once you get it under control. Thanks and good luck.
Air leak? Like a leak in the gasket you mean?

Foghorn · January 2014

How closed is "almost closed"? With the top and bottom vents each open about 1/8" my egg settles in at 220 - 240. If it is already at 300 and then you set the vents open 1/8" it takes about an hour to settle down in to that range.

However, if my egg is at 300 and it is time to put some ribs on, I would just put them on and set the vents where I want them. Depending on the weight of the cold meat, your temp will drop 20 - 50 degrees as long as you don't leave the lid open too long and let the fire grow.

saluki2007 · January 2014

corey24 said:

How high did the temp get when you started it up? What sized Egg? How long have you waited. Either you have an air leak or you overshot the temp and need to wait longer for the temp to settle down? Please report back once you get it under control. Thanks and good luck.
Air leak? Like a leak in the gasket you mean?

You can try the dollar bill test. Take a dollar bill or business card and place it on the gasket and close the lid. If you can pull it out without any resistance than your lid is not on properly. Now with this being said, that doesn't being that you can't do l&s. Mine just failed this test, but I can still get down to the 250 mark. I'm going to wait until it warms up to mess with it. I would only mess with the tightening lid if the above suggestion do not work for you.

m011708 · January 2014

Just checking the post and learned a lot as usual, thanks to all who replied with advice.

DuNing · January 2014

I was m077350 once upon a time....

Help with temp

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