325 to 350 degree vent opening

Jail egger · July 2008

I know it will differ with location, but in general what is the position of the vent and Ms. Daisy for this cooking temp?

BENTE · July 2008

here is a link that might help on the 350

http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=474658&catid=1

it will differ if you have a small med or mini

Jeffersonian · July 2008

For that, I'd leave my lower open about 3/4" and the petals of the daisy open all the way, with the flapper just cracked. Your mileage may vary.

Zippylip · July 2008

It depends on whether or not you put the food on right away or not, but I generally leave the bottom wide open and the lid off after the fire is started, let it get going, then as the temp starts going up to the target, start backing off on the bottom vent to slow it down, this will take longer if your food is already on (it soaks up some heat...) - even if it surges past your target temp, you can cool it down pretty fast by closing off the air. In the end, you'll get the hang of it pretty fast

FlaPoolman · July 2008

May sound funny but have 2 larges that are as different as kids. One 1 I can leave the bottom vent wide open and control with the dome but the other needs top and bottom adjustments to stabilize.

Bacchus · July 2008

Brad, interesting reply. I might do it the same.
It is kinda like the gears on a modern bicycle. There is redundancy in the many different combinations of gears on the front and rear. As with the DFMT, you could have the small vents closed but the "flapper" open more for the same result. I'm sure all of us do it different. Thanks for making me think.

Grandpas Grub · July 2008

When lighting, bottom open full & DFMT off. As the egg gets to temp I close the bottom vent down. Then the top vent lower cook temps damper closed petals about 1/2 open.

My thinking on using the lower vent for major adjustment is that should the Daisy get moved the egg will not get to far off my target temp.

On my large.

250° - 350° Bottom vent 1/16" to 1/8" open DFMT slider closed petals form 1/4 to full open. Once in a while I might have to open the slider 1/8" and full on the petals.

400° - 550° will depend on the lump and how I loaded the fire box. Generally bottom vent 1/4 to 5/8" open. DFMT slider 1/4 to 3/4 petals full.

Get your temp stabilized before putting food on. When you open the dome or put anything inside the egg the temp will drop but will come back to the stabilized tempeture. If the egg isn't stabilized you will probably end up chasing the temp for a long time.

Good cooking. GG

Stoneseller · July 2008

Well I'm about as inexperienced as they come, but what works for me so far:

Load charcoal and point a quality propane torch at the coal center through the full open lower vent. Look from above to aid in getting the torch pointed just right. After about 90 seconds, switch to pointing the torch from the top down, smack dead center, for another 60 seconds. Then I leave the lid open about 5 minutes to assure the coal has caught. Close lid, put the daisy on, and slide it wide open. After another 3-4 minutes, slide daisy lid over & open the small daisy vents wide. Close the bottom vent to about 1 1/2" wide. Allow a couple minutes to verify temps, then add meat.
I've been tweaking the bottom opening mostly, & leaving the top small holes completely open. So far it's worked well for me.

David in MD

Jersey Doug · July 2008

How good a seal you have at the gasket changes things too. What we're trying to control is airflow though the burning lump. With a good seal at the gasket this can be done with either the draft door or the daisy wheel. If the seal at the gasket is not so good - as was the case with our Small until I replaced the gasket this week - it's a lot easier to control the temperature by adjusting the draft door.

Bacchus · July 2008

Never heard of anyone using propane to light an egg through the lower vent hole. Oh well, if it works, it works.

[Deleted User] · July 2008

It also depends on the lump you're using.

usually, I can leave the DFMT off altogether and leave the bottom vent open about 1/8" to 1/4", depending on how hot the lump burns.

If I'm baking pie or bread I don't want to retain smoke so I leave the chimney wide open rather than using the DFMT.

Jersey Doug · July 2008

Someone here posted some time ago that they use the draft door to control the temperature and the daisy wheel to control the amount of smoke in the Egg. I switch back and forth between doing that and using the daisy wheel to help control the temperature. I'm not sure it makes a lot of difference either way.

Eggecutioner · July 2008

I agree with Bente. I learned the 350 degree thing from someone on this forum. As well as the nickel thickness on this forum. The others have just come from my experience.

250 dome degrees = Lower Vent Open the thickness of a nickel, Slider closed, pedals open.

275 dome degrees = Lower Vent open the thickness of a nickel, slider open about 1/8th of an inch, Pedals open.

350 dome degrees = Lower Vent wide open, Slider Closed, Pedals Open.

However when you open the dome, say to flip your chicken, the increased air flow you will get some flare ups!

550 dome degrees = Lower Vent Wide open, Slider open to the stop, Pedals Open.

I do this when I am trying to get the temp up while I'm inside preparing other things. Without the daisy in place your temp will go nuclear! If I want the temp higher to sear, I remove the Daisy all together when I am ready to put the meat on. If you have a good fire going with lots of lump you can watch the temp rise to 750 very quickly.

stike · July 2008

i think the interesting thing here is that there is no one way to hit a temp on the egg.

you can control it with the top alone, the bottom alone, or a combo of both.

my habit is to adjust both as equally as i can. i use the bottom for general control, the daisy for fine tuning.

for 400, i have the bottom open and the daisy slider open, petals shut. 350 would mean i'd have the slider maybe 75% open (petals shut).

325 to 350 degree vent opening

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