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Bad charcoal, cold fire?
The bag had been open but was folded shut and stored in a waterproof box. It has been wet and damp in CA but the box was bone dry. It was slow to light and while eventually the fire spread, it never got past 280 degrees. It also had a snow-white (not usual gray-white) ash on it. I got no heat at all and it took 40 mins to cook a thin salmon fillet.
I've never had this happen before (in 2 years of egg ownership.) I had all the vents open and I'm sure air was getting in there. The stuff would just not burn and produce heat.
Tomorrow I'm going to 'field strip' the egg and clean it out... but I keep the bottom area pretty clean at all times.
Has anyone had this "cold fire" happen to them?
Thanks.
Al
Comments
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Sounds like air flow to me.
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Yah I have experience that with WF lump before my fire never got above 350 .... Never went back good luck finding good lump out here... Just resort to smuggling good lump inHermosa Beach CA
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acegg77 said:Has anyone had this "cold fire" happen to them?
Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Yes, it does sound like air flow. There are a lot of really small pieces in the fire bowl. I'll know more when I clean out the egg tomorrow.
Is there such a thing as 'bad' lump... that just won't burn worth a darn?
Someone here once said that when you clean the egg out to discard any pieces of lump that are smaller than marble (or was it ping-pong ball?) What is the matter with 'pellet' lump? No matter what size, it should burn, right? -
acegg77 said:What is the matter with 'pellet' lump?
Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
acegg77 said:No matter what size, it should burn, right?
Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Yes, that makes sense, but I've never had that happen... I use the BGE 3 or 4 times a week all year round. Maybe I've just been lucky. BTW I usually use Royal Oak Charcoal (in the red bag.)
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acegg77 said:Is there such a thing as 'bad' lump... that just won't burn worth a darn?
Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Someone should invent a charcoal strainer. Every once in a while you scoop all you charcoal out of the BGE and put it in the strainer and jiggle (sift) it and all the small pieces fall through (into a bag) and the big stuff doesn't and is thrown back in to the fire bowl. (The small pieces can go in the garden.)
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SGH said:I usually use Cowboy for all of my clean burn outs.
Thanks.
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acegg77 said:SGH said:I usually use Cowboy for all of my clean burn outs.
Thanks.Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
How much of the lump in the Egg was small? If you load it up with a ton of small stuff it tends to pack tight...severely limiting air flow. Throw in some ash and you have a recipe for a cold fire. If I don't keep the air holes in the firebox clear I have troubles getting a hot fire. Have gotten in the habit of putting gloves on and stirring the lump to get rid of any ash and fines...when I got the gloves on I push the lump away from the air holes and clear them with a screwdriver
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I use the 'pellet' size lump; mainly for low-n-slow. I place them towards the outer area of the firebox.
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acegg77 said:Someone should invent a charcoal strainer. Every once in a while you scoop all you charcoal out of the BGE and put it in the strainer and jiggle (sift) it and all the small pieces fall through (into a bag) and the big stuff doesn't and is thrown back in to the fire bowl. (The small pieces can go in the garden.)
NOLA -
my egg in maine gets wet inside, maine is a snow and mud season state. i light the egg on friday just to dry out the ceramics, it will take an hour or two to punch thru the low temps, then its fine for the weekend. wet lump isnt an issue, wet ceramics and ash thats turned to mud is
fukahwee maineyou can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it -
The "Kick Ash" thing is an interesting idea. Do any of you use it?
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acegg77 said:The "Kick Ash" thing is an interesting idea. Do any of you use it?
http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1190646/kick-ash-bucket-worth-it
NOLA -
Thanks for the link. I'm going to order a KAB today... unless my local BGE carries it.
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I have a whole grocery bag of used lump the size from marbles to ping-pong balls from previous clean outs. Are these so dense that they won’t light and burn at all? Seems to me that wood is wood and should burn? Maybe toss couple of handfuls on top before lighting?
Someone told me to bury some wood chunks at the bottom (on the grate) and it will help the air flow. Any truth to that?
Maybe it is my imagination but out-of-the-bag lump is smaller than it was a couple of years ago?
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I bought a KAB a couple of weeks ago after I ran into the same problem as you. I had friends over for pizza dinner and I could not get the temp above 300. The bottom vent was open and the daisywheel was removed. I took a wire hanger and poked at that fire grate and got it up to 400, but no higher.
With the KAB my BGE gets to 300 almost instantly and then climbs steadily to as hot as I want to let it get. HUGE improvement.
LBGE in PHX
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Rockwood? Please explain.
Are you saying that the small lump is not combustible?
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