low temps

Jimbob

can you guys share with me how much you open the bottom door and daisy wheel to get 200°. i always seem to get somewhere between 240°-260°. seems my fire always goes out if i close her down anymore than im doin. [p]thanks for your help!
jimbob[p]

Mark Backer

jimbob,[p]You're not alone, man. I have the same problem. As my gasket has deteriorated, it's gotten worse. [p]The thing you have to remember is, if the dome temp is 240, the grid temp is probably 210-220, so you're pretty close already. I have found that if I hit 250 in the dome, it's 225ish at the grid, and that's an easily maintainable fire for me. Others have a gift, but until I re-gasketize old humpty, I think 250's gonna be my mark. [p]

Car Wash Mike

Mark Backer,[p]Give RRP a shout out. He just sent me great instructions and rutland gaskets, I'm going to wait till spring to install but nice to have around. I go threw the regular gaskets once a year. These hold up 4-5 years or longer.[p]CWM

bigarms

Mark Backer,[p]What are you referring to as the grid?

Mark Backer

bigarms,[p]The cooking surface. It's always hotter up in the dome than it is at the cooking surface.

bigarms

Mark Backer,

The law of physics doesn't work that way on my Egg...

Jimbob

Mark Backer,
what i was looking for was how close to closing the bottom and daisy can you get without fire going out. i have been leaving the bottom door open about 1/4 inch and the daisy wheel about 1/4 open. how bout ya'll. [p]thanks again
jimbob

Borders

jimbob and Mark,
A few thoughts. As you probably know, once you get past 200, there's no turning back. you have to ease into 200.[p]Last year I bought a set of MickeyT's temperature rings which are 11 wooden discs with holes of graduating size in them. I actually wanted my egg to stabilize below 200 for cooler smoking. I get the rings and I call Mickey and say, Ok, how wide do you open the bottom vent? And Mickey says, "all the way". I was confused, but listened.[p]This really works and it is based on the idea that the top vent, whether a ring or daisy is truly controlling the air flow. (there are other good reasons for using the bottom vent to control air flow, but that's a diff matter)[p]So, on my cooler cooks, I get a good fire established, with the lid open, so the egg doesn't heat up. I put my chips or chunks in, plate setter, and grate in. I put ring number 1, 2 or 3 on top and shut the egg, with the bottom vent wide open. When I shut tthe lid, the egg is only 100 degrees because none of the ceramic has heated up. I let the fire stabilize in this new setting so no dark smoke is pouring out, Then I put my meat on.[p]The coals are getting enough air because the bottom vent is wide open, but the temp is not shooting up, because of the restriction at the top. When the thing really warms up to 170 or 180, I close the bottom vent to 1/3 or so before going to bed, just for safety, and to slow the speed of increase.[p]I'm sure you can get similar results with your daisy. The rings are nice because you can refer back to the ring number, rather than try and remember what your daisy looked like at 1 a.m. on Saturday night. My ring number one generally levels out around 190-200, depending on ambient temps.[p]One final thought. Kamado extruded coconut lump is the perfect lump for this situation. I have never had a low n slow go out w/this stuff. It creeps up in temp, lasts forever, and you cant put it out with a fire hose.[p]Scott

Mark Backer

bigarms,[p]Really? When cooking indirect, yours is hotter at the meat level than it is up in the dome?

WessB

jimbob,
You may want to check your thermometer calibration, I personally dont have mine open anywhere near that far for low temps..honestly couldn`t tell ya how far closed you can go and keep it burning...if a long cook isn`t what you are doing you could always put in a lot less lump for lower temps but shorter cook time..HTH[p]Wess

Mark Backer

jimbob,[p]I believe it was woo-doggy who came up with the wiggle rod method. That is to say if you leave the daisy wheel closed but open the slider about the width of a coathanger and the bottom vent about the same width, you should find 220 or so just fine. [p]If I have mis-spoken, I know someone will correct me, but I believe that's who it was...

Nature Boy

jimbob,
It depends on the size of your initial fire, weather conditions, humidity, windspeed and all that stuff, but to maintain really low temps the bottom vent can be almost closed....say 1/8 inch or even 1/16th, and the daisy can be nearly closed (like 1/8 of the holes open). WIth real humid air you need a bit more.[p]Hope it helps.
Cheers
Chris

mad max beyond eggdome

WessB,
i can't remember who it was that said it, but i've subscribed to opening the bottom vent about wide enough to get a credit card stuck in it....and then control the temp with the daisy wheel. . .usually keeps me right around 220.. .[p]i really liked what borders said about starting up with the lid open though so that the fire gets going good, but that the ceramics don't heat up... i'd never heard, or thought of that before. ..but it sure does make sense. ...

Jimbob

WessB,
i am monitoring the temp with a maverick et-73. the smoker probe is at the grid level in its clip. so do you eyeball the daisy wheel opening or do you have something you close it on to stay consistent? [p]jimbob

bigarms

Mark Backer,[p]Yes for some unknown reason it it always higher than the dome level. I used a several different thermometers and borrowed a digital infared gun from work. I haven't come up with why this is happening.....may be a worn gasket. But I did find that the heat escaping out of the daisy wheel was at the same temperature as the dome thermometer.

WessB

mad max beyond eggdome,
I thought the same thing when I read Borders post....may have to give that a go one of these times...and I have also heard the credit card sized opening, which is more inline with the opening I set...[p]Wess

WessB

jimbob,
I just eyeball it...lower vent around the credit card size mentioned by others....as Chris said, weather conditions play a big part in vent settings, 200° is tough to maintain unless it`s fairly cold outside..then again, most low and slo`s aim for a meat temp ine the 200° range, and you will basically never get there with a cooking temp of 200°...there have been others that cold smoke things like cheese`s, salmon, again these are not long cooks so you can get away with a partial load of lump....[p]Wess

Sigmore

Mark Backer, That's what works for me too. You have to have a good fire established before it will work though. Or that's the way it works for me. My 2¢.

WessB

bigarms,
I personally experience the same phenomenon Backer is mentioning...this is however on an indirect "stabilized" cook...using the Guru also creates the same affect, in my experience.[p]Wess

StumpBaby

jimbob,[p]For me..it seems to depend on which egg I'm cooking on. I'll tell you what I tend to do..but remember..it's a little unusual apparently..but then again, I'm a Stump..but honestly..this is what works for me.[p]In my medium, I start the fire in the center, a full load of lump, bottom and top open all the way, use a single fire starter, build a little pyramid of big lump around the lit firestarter, then cloe the dome. I let this get up to say, 250 - 300 ish, then I open up, spread the lit lump around, drop in my smoking wood chunks, the plate setter, the drip pan (usually empty), and the grid, then put the meat in (sometimes I hug it first..never kiss it..if you do..don't let anybody see..unless it's somebody you don't want kissing you anyway..then by all means french kiss the thing if it makes your day..life is just too damned short)then I close the top and bottom down to about a half of an inch..now..at this point, the fire has dropped because I added all that mass..the meat..the plate setter, the drip pan..so I'm usually just under 200 at this point..slowly..over the next 20 minutes to half an hour..that temp will climb up again..when it gets close to 225 (I actually shoot for a little bit higher, just under 250 if I can) I start closing the top and bottom vents down till I settle in at somwhere near 250. For my medium egg...it's as other folks stated here..just about an eigth of an inch..but for some doggonned reason I can't figure out (remember I'm a Stump) my small egg has the top and bottom vents open about a quarter of an inch..maybe a bit more top and bottom to stay at that time..no idea why...never really thought about it, whatever works.[p]simple is as simple does.[p]StumpBaby

Sundown

StumpBaby,
That may just be one of the best descriptions I've read on this subject. Who said you odd circus folks are't articulate?
Well done Stump.

Jimbob

StumpBaby,[p]thanks for your help,stump. went to bed last night and didnt want "maverick" to wake me up so i didnt set him. temp at 10 pm was 210° woke up @ 7am to 195° i have been trying to find something to close the daisy wheel on to stay consistent. i found that my meat thermometer probe works great! (it looks to be about an 1/8 inch in diameter)
i have been having problems with the maverick et-73 working in sub freezing temps so i wrapped the thing up in a kitchen towel and kind of leaned it against the egg. towel was warm this morning and maverick worked all nite. [p]ps
i never kiss my meat, but i have been known to hug my egg (but only during a low and sloooow) [p]jimbob

Mark Backer

jimbob,[p]And you should only hug your chiminea when it's not lit. Otherwise, you'll be hugging it forever...