Help. My Egg went Fukushima

LBH · July 2016

@Bojangles
thanks for posting your $.02. Worth at least a buck

LBH · July 2016

Yes my questions about temp settings and control have been answered and understood.

I must digress about fuel. Lump versus Hardwood. They burn at a different rate... hardwood burns much faster hence it is harder to control. I had too much wood in the center and all of it became engulfed. (Obviously one doesn't want to do this).

Thats all I'm saying and I'm curious if anyone else has made this mistake and couldn't control the fire.

Low and slow. Yes,yes,yes. Got it. This weekend I will also pay attention to the distribution of the hardwood.

LBH · July 2016

In the USFS study the Ambient Temperture of the different woods "varies"

LBH · July 2016

Even the title of the study is telling. ...,."Heat Release"

nolaegghead · July 2016

The temperature of the fire doesn't matter for indirect cooks. The temperature of the system is what matters, and the system is a fuel-rich, oxygen-starved environment, where you control the air (oxygen) and regulate the amount of combustion.

Methane (natural gas) has less BTUs than ethane, which is less than butane, which is less than propane, which is less than acetylene. The flame on all these have different temperatures, but when used to heat an oven, you regulate the rate of energy you add to the system to control the temperature. That's what the dampers are for and what the stoker is for.

The temperature of the actual burning wood or lump or briquettes doesn't matter because all that's doing is adding heat to a system, which is regulated.

When you open the egg and look in, all the fires flare up and you're not seeing what's happening to the system when it's closed. It's like Schrodinger's cat - you change it's nature when you observe it.

Sure, in an unlimited air fire, like what we see with stick burners, some fuel burns hotter than others. More fuel, more fire, more heat. But that's not how the egg works. There's an excess of fuel, and we control the amount of combustion by regulating the air.

You can heat a room in your house with a radiant floor heater at 100F or a wood burning stove at 900F, but you regulate the amount of heat into the room, the room being a system, and can control the temperature to a set point that is comfortable.

NorthPilot06 · July 2016

LBH said:

Darby_Crenshaw said:

the amount of fuel in the egg do not control the temperature of the egg.....

your car does not go faster just because it has a full tank of gas. and so the large chunk of smoke wood isn't causing runaway temps.......
for whatever reason, the egg was getting too much air.

@Darby_Crenshaw
I've been thinking about your post for some time and while a your post made sense, it didn't jibe with my observation when I lifted the lid of the egg. The large chunks of hardwood were burning significantly faster and "more intense" than the lump coal. To use your gasoline analogy a cup of gasoline would burn much faster than coal.

After Googling "burn rate" I respectfully disagree.

I found the attached US Forrest Service paper "Burn Rate of Solid Wood Measured in a Heat Release Rate Calorimeter" interesting.

At the risk of continuing to discuss something that has already been resolved....

Darby was not inferring that different fuel sources do not burn at different rates. What he was suggesting is the amount and/or type of fuel is less pertinent than whether the conditions are hospitable to combustion.

So, in a nutshell, if you close off your airflow, the environment becomes too "rich" to sustain combustion and your egg will cool. Conversely, if you allow oxygen to flow freely into [and out of] the egg, combustion will run rampant.

If interested, look up topics on LEL and UEL (lower explosive limits and upper explosive limits)...it's all based upon how lean or rich the mixture of fuel & oxygen is.

And yes, you're right. The burn rate of wood may well be in excess of that of charcoal (can't say why, perhaps pyrolysis occurs at a lower temperature) but this is a moot point if air flow is controlled.

lousubcap · July 2016

Departed with my last outboard motor powered boat over 40 years ago and carbureted automobile engine around 15 years ago. But the lean vs rich mixture analogy works. Oh to be young and...again

SmokingPiney · July 2016

@LBH..................as you can see, every opportunity to turn simple Egg operation into high level rocket science will be exploited here.

The solution is at hand, and more Egg adventures await you. Just keep in mind that as much as some of us here want to turn Egg cooking into theoretical particle physics, it isn't.

Enjoy the ride.............the Egg will reward you.

northGAcock · July 2016

D@mn.....the smart ones are on fire this afternoon. Pun intended

nolaegghead · July 2016

It's as simple as this - the air flow controls the temperature. Period.

LBH · July 2016

Correct. And.... Different fuels require different air flows to maintain the same temperature.

nolaegghead · July 2016

LBH said:

Correct. And.... Different fuels require different air flows to maintain the same temperature.

Not really enough to notice. You adjust the airflow to get your system temperature. Feedback - you and the temp and the airflow. Same with the stoker, except it's electronic. Calorimeters and the btu measurements of energy density, etc are not in play here because you have a reducing, oxygen poor environment. Unless you're burning a fuel with an oxygenate, which you aren't, it's insignificant in this application. I'll get into the stoichiometry of combustion if you want.

CountryBoy · July 2016

I don't use a pit controller so I'm not much help on that end but I do run heat treat furnaces for a living. I'm sure this thread already has enough information but hey what's .02 gonna hurt. As far as the wood chunks burning hotter vs just charcoal; yes they will initially burn hotter due to the energy it takes to evaporate the moisture and burn off the by products from the wood like sap and what not. Therefore creating the higher flames and faster burn rate. But in a controlled environment like the egg you have an oxygen reduced environment . Esp with a vary limited air supply at 250 degrees. But when o2 is introduced the wood will combust/flame. when done closed very small if any flames. Open up and feed the fire air you flames. Have you checked to see if your dome sits flush with the base on the gasket? I wonder if there is an air leak causing more air to get in? Anyways hope your next cook yields better results. Probe placement on the grate in relation to how close to the edge or the center of the indirect piece may be a factor as well. Happy egging and just sharing my thoughts!

YukonRon · July 2016

Yeah, and what about this "flux capacitor air osmosis inverter" you guys had me install on my BGE? It has never worked, keeps blowing fuses. Y'all were BSing me weren't you? Better air flow my azz.

LBH · July 2016

I'm using the Cyber Q to monitor my BB-Rib cook. I closed the damper to about 25% and its working perfectly maintaining the temp.

Thanks to to all for the help.

Darby_Crenshaw · July 2016

LBH said:

Darby_Crenshaw said:

the amount of fuel in the egg do not control the temperature of the egg.....

your car does not go faster just because it has a full tank of gas. and so the large chunk of smoke wood isn't causing runaway temps.......
for whatever reason, the egg was getting too much air.

@Darby_Crenshaw
I've been thinking about your post for some time and while a your post made sense, it didn't jibe with my observation when I lifted the lid of the egg. The large chunks of hardwood were burning significantly faster and "more intense" than the lump coal. To use your gasoline analogy a cup of gasoline would burn much faster than coal.

After Googling "burn rate" I respectfully disagree.

I found the attached US Forrest Service paper "Burn Rate of Solid Wood Measured in a Heat Release Rate Calorimeter" interesting.

Charcoal burns hotter than wood.

And my point was: adding wood chunks or chips (or more charcoal) does not increase the temperature in the egg

you are regulating the oxygen, throttling it

if your egg runs away on temp, it is never a result of how much fuel is in the egg. It's how much air you are letting in to allow that fuel to burn

LBH · July 2016

I've completed 9 1/2 hours of a planned 12 cook of two 7lb pork shoulders. All is well and the CyberQ is performing great.

Thanks again for for the vent adjustment tip.

westernbbq · February 2017

Be sure to check your probe cables too...might need replacing as the temps you posted are at or above the limits for most coated cable temperature probes....

LBH · February 2017

westernbbq said:

Be sure to check your probe cables too...might need replacing as the temps you posted are at or above the limits for most coated cable temperature probes....

That's a good thought. I'll check the calibration. Things have been going much better except my startups are painful. It fits gets going well then it goes out producing mass quantities of smoke. I never had this problem when I first got the egg. I read up a bit and discovered I should stack the lumps.

LBH · February 2017

I'd also like to apologize for using "Fukushima" in the title of the thread. What those poor people are going through is no joke. I will keep them in my thoughts.

DoubleEgger · February 2017

I fired up the egg yesterday and sat outside browsing the forum for a little while. I got sidetracked for a minute with all of the BS on here. I looked at the egg and wondering why it wasn't getting above 300F. I opened it up to realize 300 was probably close to 1200 as I had wrapped the tel tru. An unexpected but needed clean burn.

FarmerTom · February 2017

DoubleEgger said:

I fired up the egg yesterday and sat outside browsing the forum for a little while. I got sidetracked for a minute with all of the BS on here. I looked at the egg and wondering why it wasn't getting above 300F. I opened it up to realize 300 was probably close to 1200 as I had wrapped the tel tru. An unexpected but needed clean burn.

That is so easy to do. I have sat there many times, watching it get started and not wanting to over shoot my temp, only to get p|$$ed at how slowly it was rising. Decide to go in and do some prep work. Come back to find a roaring inferno and the gauge making its second trip around just as you found.

Jeepster47 · February 2017

I understand the airflow part of temp control, but now I want to know one other thing that this thread has made me curious about. Folks talk about "a penny for your thoughts" and others mention they'd like to contribute "their $0.02 worth" ... where does the penny difference come from?

DoubleEgger · February 2017

Jeepster47 said:

I understand the airflow part of temp control, but now I want to know one other thing that this thread has made me curious about. Folks talk about "a penny for your thoughts" and others mention they'd like to contribute "their $0.02 worth" ... where does the penny difference come from?

Buy low and sell high

HeavyG · February 2017

Jeepster47 said:

I understand the airflow part of temp control, but now I want to know one other thing that this thread has made me curious about. Folks talk about "a penny for your thoughts" and others mention they'd like to contribute "their $0.02 worth" ... where does the penny difference come from?

Inflation.

Legume · February 2017

The perceived value of advice, what you give is always more valuable than what you receive.

GrateEggspectations · February 2017

OT comment here, but I can't help but think "Billy Gibbons" when I see your profile pic. That's a compliment, btw.

FearlessTheEggNoob · February 2017

Ike said:

if your blower as and adjustable dampener, if may be open a little too much

Probably a lot too much. Check the guru adapter and make sure the slide is only 1/4 open for that temp. The idea is to force the fan to run intermittently to supplement air flow.

LBH · February 2017

GrateEggspectations said:

OT comment here, but I can't help but think "Billy Gibbons" when I see your profile pic. That's a compliment, btw.

My reputation pre deceases me

CtTOPGUN · February 2017

Jeepster47 said:

I understand the airflow part of temp control, but now I want to know one other thing that this thread has made me curious about. Folks talk about "a penny for your thoughts" and others mention they'd like to contribute "their $0.02 worth" ... where does the penny difference come from?

I think it is a form of "haggling". Seller trying to offer his advice as .02 worth. Buyer offering "a penny for the thoughts". Not much middle ground there...

As with all sales, the buyer has to believe the product is worth as much or more than the price they will pay. The seller has to know the item is not worth as much as they will accept.

Help. My Egg went Fukushima

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