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I am having problems getting egg to 600 degrees

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Unknown
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edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I checked everything everyone suggested with no luck. The highest I can get the temperture is 500 degrees. It took me 1 hour to get it up to 500 degrees. How long should it take the egg to heat to 600 degrees? I also filled the egg with green egg charcoal about 2" from the grill with both dampers open. I wonder if I could have a bad bag of charcoal? I also checked temperture gauge in boiling water and it was correct. Any other suggestions?[p]Thanks[p]
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Comments

  • GriffinGaDawg
    GriffinGaDawg Posts: 332
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    to get to 700 plus. I think you may be using too much charcoal. i filled it about 2/3's full, if that, with big chunks and she wasa roarin'...flames shooting out the chimney.
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  • EGGlomaniac
    EGGlomaniac Posts: 27
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    a couple things to remember:
    1. did you sift throught the old charcoal to make sure the air holes were not clogged up? did you fill with larger chunks of new lump?
    2. did you make sure the ashes were cleaned out of the bottom and the bottom vent was not clogged in any way?
    3. after getting the lump lit, did you have the bottom vent wide open and the top vent completely off?? just having the vent holes in the top daisy wheel lined up and open will not get the temps. much above 500 deg.[p] let us know....
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  • Flashback Bob
    Flashback Bob Posts: 519
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    Brad,
    I read your earlier post with great interest as I had the opposite problem. When my egg was new, I had no problems getting it hot, the thing I had trouble with was getting the temp BELOW 400![p]If you have the daisy completely off so the top vent is literally wide open, and you have the bottom vent wide open, your temp should be screaming past 700 in about 15 minutes (estimated- I've never timed it). Once it hits 400 it should continue to climb pretty rapidly with the vents wide open.
    * NOTE- don't leave the Egg unattended for long periods of time with the vents wide open. That's how I fused my gasket the first week I had the Egg.[p]If you have
    1- made sure your airflow is unobstructed - no clogged holes in the firebox and ash not piled up in front of your lower vent
    2- You have the top cap completely off and the bottom vent wide open
    3- Plenty of lump[p]and you still have trouble reaching 500, I'd call the Mothership. Maybe you got an imperfect Egg?
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
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    Brad,[p]One other thing. Are you cooking in a wet/cold climate? With the onset of winter, I find that my Egg, which doesn't have a roof over it, and occassionally isn't covered, takes a long time to come up to temperature. This weekend, it took nearly 35 minutes to break 400, and that was after lighting the lump in 4 places, and having the bottom open wide, and the daisy off. In warmer weather, I'd expect 400 at about 20 minutes, and 700 at about 22 minutes.[p]gdenby

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  • mikeb6109
    mikeb6109 Posts: 2,067
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    gdenby,
    as far as weather it should not make a sugnificant difference! i have been cooking here now in the negative 30's and it heats up as fast the only thing is it uses a bit more lump to maintain the temps!and i never covered my egg yet still out there in the direct enviroment! i beleive that the key for high temps is lump brand,quantity and air flow you must make sure that your hole are not plugged and that you clean the egg regularly.ash gets behind the fire pot and that does restrict the air flow alot!!
    just my two sense hope this helps out!!
    mike
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  • RobMonctonNB
    RobMonctonNB Posts: 50
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    Wow...I don't know what you guys are doing wrong but on my new large BGE in very cold weather (-18 C)...I can get the Egg up to 700-800 degrees in less than 10 minutes or so....I use BGE charcoal and an electric starter....and if I let it go any longer...the egg goes nuclear....[p]How are you igniting the charcoal....are you leaving the heat source in place long enough??? Also, leave the screen open too...I find that it blocks alot of air when closed.

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  • Roudy
    Roudy Posts: 431
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    Brad,[p]I agree with the comments of Flashback about an unobstructed airflow. I have also had difficulties in the past getting to 600 F. This past Saturday night I was going to cook 1 1/2 inch ribeyes, and for the first time I used a hairdryer to blow into the vent during warmup. I hit 650 F without difficulty. The results were amazing.[p]Roudy

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  • RobMonctonNB
    RobMonctonNB Posts: 50
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    Ohhhh yes!!! That works very well too!!!! You'll reach 1000 degrees with a hairdryer with no problem!!!!

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