Temp issues

Squarehook · January 2015

Hey guys having issues with my egg. I have had it for about 3 months...

I can light it no problem but I have trouble getting the temp to take off...

I think I may be overfilling it with lump. I was originally using BGE lump when I got the egg but I recently switched to Wicked. The first try with Wicked it lit great! I DID have the charcoal level lower though. Will less charcoal light faster and easier? I have ordered a High Q to see if the fire grate is part of my issue.

Last night I filled it past the fire box and it lit really easy (thanks to the MAPP) but took a long time to get to temp (almost an hour to get to 400 dome). Once I had it lit I put the plate setter on legs up, a drippings pan with some water in it, and then the grill. The grill temp was stalled reading 240 and dome was slowly climbing... key word SLOWLY! I gave it another 15 mins and it all evened out to 300 grill and 400 dome which I figured was ok because the chicken was somewhere in the middle of that but I cheated and used a hair dryer to give it that boost to get to 300 grill… (by the time I started cooking form lighting it was an hour which may be just some of the lump burning down and allowing more air in from the sides...

I still think im filling it too much so next time ill try less... how important is is to keep it below the fire box? Is the firebox the MAX you can fill it to for proper use?

Any help is appreciated...

Squarehook.

Tjcoley · January 2015

Too much lump should not be an issue. I often fill to the top of the fire RING above the fire box. Are you adding to used lump? Have you stirred the old lump to clear the grate? What are your vent settings? How much ash in in the bottom? What size Egg? Sounds like an air flow issue.

Tinyfish · January 2015

Do you dump your charcoal in or do you arrange larger pieces on the bottom working your way to small pieces at the top. For higher temp cooks you can light in more then one place try three. Have you checked your thermometer in boiling water for 212 degrees.

theyolksonyou · January 2015

@Tjcoley‌ yep. And have you calibrated your thermo.

also, you can leave out the water. Not needed.

runningman · January 2015

I agree with the comments above, check airflow and your thermometer.

Try the following:

1) Clean the egg out and make sure there are no small pieces of charcoal are stuck in the air holes. A Shop Vac works great for cleaning an Egg. I pull the fire ring and fire box out each time I clean, which is about every three uses of the Egg.

2) It takes about an hour to regulate the heat to a specific temp. Also dome temp and grill temp will always be different, I do most smoking at 250 degrees (dome temp) using a Large Green Egg.

My process is below:

a) Doing a four hour smoke or less (Ribs, Chicken and Pork Loin) I fill the charcoal to the top of the firebox. I use Royal Oak, burns clean and hot and not too expensive.

b) Save some of the medium and larger pieces and start in a chimney starter.

c) Once the charcoal in the chimney starter is glowing red, I dump it in the center of the Egg and mix it around.

d) I lave the bottom air vent wide open , I leave the dome up an keep it this way for about 3-5 minutes then close the dome leaving the cap off.

e) I let the dome temperature get to 400 degrees, then move the bottom vent to half way open, put the metal top on with daisy wheel open. I then see where the temperature rests and close the bottom vent a little more and and slight close the daisy wheel trying to get the temperature to 300 degrees.

f) I leave the Egg for 15 minutes at 300 degrees, then add wood if I am smoking, plate setter and meat.

g) The dome temperature usually crashes to about 200 degrees, but within 15 to 20 minutes will recover to 250 degrees.

h) On my Egg I maintain 250 degrees with lower vent open about a half an inch or so and set the daisy wheel on the cap about a quarter of the way open. I adjust as needed.

Every Egg and day is different and use over time will help you understand the correct settings on your Egg for the temperature you desire.

BTW, what size Egg are you using?

Squarehook · January 2015

Thanks so much guys !

Using a large bge.

I use a mapp torch to light it in three places ... I will check my thermometer to make sure ! Would the water tray that was under thermometer have affected it ?

I have seen the chimneys to start it burns figured a mapp torch is better ....

I have cleaned out my egg and I out a couple really big pieces in the very bottom but there was a mix of really small stuff that could be a problem.

-squarehook

theyolksonyou · January 2015

I have a large, use torch, no water. As long as I don't have grate holes clogged up and the ash isn't built up around the perimeter, no problems. The only issues I've had was when I dumped a bag end into the egg and clogged the holes with crap.

Squarehook · January 2015

Ok.
No more dumping!!! Got it !

theyolksonyou · January 2015

Oh, no! I dump every time. I'm way too lazy for that Tetris crap. Just the thing is, be careful with the crumbs.

Mattman3969 · January 2015

I struggle to hit I temps on my large if it has set for awhile and has been raining a bunch. Seems like the egg has to dry out before it can reach higher temps.
2 wks ago I got ready to do a pizza on the large that hadn't been used for 2-3 wks and struggled to hit 500. When I open the dome I noticed drips of water hitting my pizza stone. The egg was crazy moist. Has your egg seen a lot of moisture lately?

Squarehook · January 2015

It's a more dry cold up here than a wet cold ... However it is raining in Winnipeg now which is unheard of in January. It should be -40 here this time of year .

When I re loaded the egg I put some bigger pieces in the bottom and all the little junk k dumped on top thinking it would light easy.

It was impressive how a hair dryer really helped the temps which makes me want to look at a party q or something of the sort .... Need something weatherproof though. Are there any other wifi options besides the bbq guru model that maintain temp ?

Squarehook

theyolksonyou · January 2015

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1176218/pit-controller-are-they-weather-proof#latest

Terrebandit · January 2015

Airflow issue. Wait longer before you drop in the PS.

Squarehook · January 2015

Ya I was reading through that all which is what got me thinking ... Seems like there isn't one that does it all yet ... I'll wait until my iPhone is involved on a higher level with a waterproof transceiver.....

runningman · January 2015

I live in Florida, rains a ton and never had problems with moisture in the Egg. I keep the Egg under an over hang which keeps most of the rain off the Egg. If you leave your Egg out in the open uncovered, try getting get a cover of some sort.

GalanteNate_OneEa · January 2015

I have noticed that when I have no water pan my grate and dome temps ate within 12 degrees F but if I use a water pan grate temp is low due to the temp of evaporating water rising up at 212F

Squarehook · January 2015

Yep its in the open, no cover . Building new table next month!

Squarehook · January 2015

Is the fire box as far as you can fill it ? Or can you go higher incase you got a longer cook ? Is there even a need for more than the firebox ?

theyolksonyou · January 2015

Don't get caught up in in the open or not, wet or not, cold or not. There are plenty of folks here cooking in sub zero conditions and pouring rain. The egg can handle it if you have fuel and air flow. Plain and simple. It's not that hard.

NPHuskerFL · January 2015

You're egg is defective. PM me your address and I'll come pick it up.

Sounds like airflow or a lack thereof as several have already advised.

stemc33 · January 2015

@Squarehook‌, the temp will come up faster filling just the firebox as opposed to filling to the top of the fire ring due to increased airflow, but you might not have enough fuel if your doing a longer cook. I like to cook with just a firebox full unless I'm doing a long cook. Even though it took an hour to get to 400°(probably airflow), don't turn your back on it after it 400°. Once it hits somewhere around 400°, the fire gets hungry and will suck air and you'll wrap the thermo in no time. It's amazing how fast it can go from 400° to 800°. Don't blink.

radamo · January 2015

As other have stated, this clearly sounds like airflow. I assume you have your lump stored in a dry area since you said it is lighting easily. You might also (although less critical than the bottom grate) check the side holes in you fire box. Ensure they also have clear path. Sometimes little pieces get caught in there.

Foghorn · January 2015

I have an XL. I dump the charcoal and fill nearly to my platesetter. Then I clear a place in the front to make sure at least one hole in the charcoal grate is completely unobstructed. As long as I do that I have never had a problem with an overnight cook (have done 20 hours and then cranked it up for burgers and still had charcoal left over). With this method I can also get to temps of 700 for pizza with the platesetter and a XL pizza stone in place. This is easy and foolproof.

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