Stray coals on table

Shelby · April 2001

Have my large egg set in a nice table as per blueprints found here.
I noticed last night a couple of small burn marks where a small piece of coal had landed. Then while waiting for the egg to come to steak-searing temp, I saw small piece come out of the bottom vent.
Any of you have this problem? What's best to prevent this from happening again?

Char-Woody · April 2001

Shelby, yuppers, that do happen and if you have a wooden deck you can put a thin fireproof pad down. Sold in the Lowes home improvement center for grills and round outdoor fireplaces. KennyG has them, as well as others. directly under the vent door opening, I use a round used pie tin or similar that will slide just under the BGE bottom and fill it with sand or pea rock. Or custom bend a piece of aluminum or copper flashing for a pan. This will help...[p]Leaving a small amount of ash on the ash pit floor will act as a shock obsorber and takes the bounce out of the spark as it hits the bottom. That also helps to retain the hot embers.
Good qusstion and work posting..
Cheers to ya..
C~W[p]

Mike Oelrich · April 2001

Shelby,[p] It does happen occasionally. Lowe's (and probably other places) has a fireproof mat you can buy that will keep the coals from getting to the table. However, you want to keep the mat out of the rain (or the table covered). One user reported here that the mat rusted (apparently it contains some metal) when exposed to the elements, staining the table!

Char-Woody · April 2001

MikeO, I remember that..Good point..There is a chemical in the matt that reacts to redwood and cedar and causes a darkening of the wood. So apparently they use a cement type oxident in the material. Whatever it is does the same thing as a non galvanized nail in cedar and redwood. Bad reaction.
On treated pine...no problem.
C~W[p]

MickeyT · April 2001

Shelby,[p]My table looks like it's 10 years old and it's about 8 mo.
I must just be a sloppy cooker. I am constantly dropping stuff on my table. Coals, bbq sauce and all kinds of things.
It's gettin to be just like a worn in saddle. Perfect. [p]Shelby, remember it's an outdoor cooking table and it's gonna get worn.[p]Maybe KennyG could give you some advice on what to do. His cooking area looks sterile. :>)[p]Mick

Tim M · April 2001

Shelby,[p]I toss a glass of water on the deck wood under the Egg when I lite Humptey (which I do from under the grate).[p]Tim

Char-Woody · April 2001

Tim M, :-)....sometimes the simple way is the least obvious. Good idea.
C~W

WessB · April 2001

Shelby,
One of my friends actually burnt a big hole in his table from the same thing...he apparently didnt notice it before going to bed...had to replace a bunch of the boards on the table...his words of warning...."Watch them sparks"[p]Wess

Unknown · April 2001

Shelby,[p]Lots of good suggestions in this thread abot preventing deck and table fires. As an additional warning, I would caution that the spark flying phenomenon can happen not only at steak searing temps but also lower temps. For example, I have noticed that if cooking in the 300-400F range with the dome closed for a while (20 minutes or more), I am not so cautious about opening the dome as I am when searing steaks. The rush of airflow can cause embers to be spit out the vent below. SO watch out at high temps, but don't ignore the medium temps either.[p]Regards,
E1

Shelby · April 2001

MickeyT.,
I understand that, just don't want it to catch fire when I'm not looking!

Bordello · April 2001

Tim M,
Do you remove all of the old lump from the egg in order to start your fire under the grate????? If so, do you have a small amount of lump also under the grate?????? Or do you just use a fire starter cube under the grate with the lump on top????
Thanks,
New Bob

Unknown · April 2001

Shelby,[p]I've got my egg sitting on a concrete paver from Lowe's. When I upgraded to the cast iron trivet grate I noticed a significant increase in hot shooters coming out the bottom vent. Now I've got a couple of firebricks in front of the vent so the shooters can ricochet onto the concrete, not the table. It's not very elegant, but it works. [p]OctoberGlory

ColoradoCook · April 2001

I plan on building a table from the plans from this site as well. I'm considering the use of tile for the top, easier to clean, ember proof and ages well. It appears that I should tile the bottom shelf as well. Has anyone tiled their tables?[p]ColoradoCook

Shelby · April 2001

ColoradoCook,
Yes, I have tiles on the top. Actually leftovers from a friends bathroom and the green is almost a perfect match to the EGG itself! I didn't think to tile the bottom and think it would be a bit overkill. I am now thinking of getting a stainless steel sheet to fit under the egg. For time being, I've placed the ceramic top that comes with the Egg right where the "shooters" have come out. That'll do for the time being.
One thing...you'll need to adjust the level of the table height to account for the thickness of the tile.

Stray coals on table

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