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How long to cool EGG?

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crawdad
crawdad Posts: 115
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I cooked Sunday and had the temps around 350. Finished cooking at shut the both top and bottom vents down. It went down to around 250 degrees fairly quick. But 4.5 hours later it was still 200 degrees in the EGG.

I don't have a leaking gasket because I still had a ton of lump left. But I'm curious if this is typical or not. What a great way to keep foiled goodies hot until you need them! Of course when you open it to get them out, that fire can't wait to start again. :S
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Comments

  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
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    yep it's normal..
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  • Mainegg
    Mainegg Posts: 7,787
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    Air temp plays a big part too. In Jan and Feb here in Maine they cool down a lot faster than in July. B)
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  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
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    In July down here we don't need lump too cook!!
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  • Bacchus
    Bacchus Posts: 6,019
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    LOL C.W.
    My temp gauge read 130 the other day before I took a lit match anywhere near it.
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  • Hitch
    Hitch Posts: 402
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    I love to utilize the "warm" shut down egg for keeping food at a nice temp later. Foiled bread is perfect, and my wife loves to throw store bought cookies in there any time we have been using a pizza stone.

    That makes me think...were you cooking indirect? If a platesetter in involved, it takes longer for the dome to cool back down. Your fire went out for the most part pretty quick, but she really will stay warm for a while. This is also one of the benefits of having a gasket. I don't cook with one, so I think mine cools down a bit quicker.

    Kind Regards,
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  • HungryNephew
    HungryNephew Posts: 267
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    There was a guy here a few weeks ago that could not get his egg below 80 degrees no matter how long he waited. LOL
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  • East Cobb Eggy
    East Cobb Eggy Posts: 1,162
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    Hmm.. it never really takes me that long to get the EGG cool.

    Usually when cooking at 350, the EGG will be cool enough for my cover in about 2-3 hours.

    Are you using the raincap or the daisy wheel on the top?

    Greg
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  • Bacchus
    Bacchus Posts: 6,019
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    Excellent idea.
    I think I will keep a package of that ready to bake cookie dough squares in the fridge in my egg barn along with disposable aluminum pans & tin foil so I can throw on a couple for the kids (ok, me 2) after a cook. Might as well use the hot egg.

    I guess I need to crank up my exercise routine a notch.
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  • WileECoyote
    WileECoyote Posts: 516
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    The egg will take longer to cool down when you have been cooking for a longer time. The cooking temp is a factor but the duration is more important. So if you run the egg at 350 for 30 minutes then it will not be as hot as if you ran the egg at 350 for 4 hours. This is especially true if you have it in a table or confined area. Basically the ceramic and support base absorb a lot more heat over time and then hold it longer. If you have poor air circulation around and under the egg then it will hold it longer as well. In my recent post about the T-rex heat test you can see in the graphs that the egg was still plenty warm several hours after I shut it down tight.
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  • dls2122
    dls2122 Posts: 66
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    This brings up a question I haven't had a chance to ask - I have the cover that came with the complete set-up (no vent) - at what temp of the egg is it okay to put the cover on?
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  • Bacchus
    Bacchus Posts: 6,019
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    The general consensus is 200deg to cover. I might be over cautious, but that seems pretty darn hot to me when you lay your hand on the shell. Mine seems to sit at 200deg for a long time on the way down, so I usually end up covering the next day.
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  • dls2122
    dls2122 Posts: 66
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    Thanks, next day had been what I've been doing - but I'm using it everynight so I'm only covering for a short time and I'm up and going again. Seems like I'm losing the benefits of the cover! I agree however, 200 seems too hot to cover and 150 takes too long to get down to each night (which is a good thing for many other reasons I guess)

    Don
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  • WileECoyote
    WileECoyote Posts: 516
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    Most grill covers are made of PVC (basic vinyl). PVC has a melting point of 176F. They mix plasticizers with PVC to soften the vinyl for products like shower curtains and grill covers, and this will often reduce the melting point below that of normal PVC unless they add a special heat barrier.

    So I wouldn't put a grill cover on anything hotter than 110F just to be safe. By covering a hot egg you are reducing the airflow which would otherwise cool the egg and thus it will take longer for the egg to cool down. Plus the egg can sometimes get hotter after you shut it down especially if you had a short duration cook where the exterior of the egg didn't get up to full temp yet. Why take a chance? The egg isn't going to rust or deteriorate so just cover it the next day.
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