Low Temp control can be Soooo Irritating!

BigBadger

I am making baby Backs for my Mom for her 71st birthday and of course the !@#$%# Temp will not stabilize. It's constantly going up or down.... It seems never to stay at 250°-ish. I've not had any failures of cooks but damned if this one aspect of the egg doesn't irritate me and it's the one reason I have not done a long low an slow yet... it simply cannot be trusted.

This time I had decided to clean out the whole egg while checking the bolt tightness, etc. Firebox and ring out vacuumed out the piles of ash that my ash rake couldn't reach, etc. it took forever for the temp to get to 250° even after poking out the holes from underneath. I couldn't wait any longer and put the ribs on but then the temp just kept climbing even with the daisy wheel almost shut and the lower vent closed down to about 2". I figured it was going ok so we went for a walk and of course we came back an hour later to 130°... WTF!! It just seems that I'm always having to diddle around with the venting to re-adjust.

It is cold outside but I've cooked in the winter temps (usually hotter cooks) without too much issue. I guess it may be time to reconsider the Stoker. I would have preferred to wait until they offered a wireless version. Any thoughts on my conundrum would be appreciated.

FlaPoolman

The egg doesn't act it reacts. Patience is the key and fiddeling with the vents (chasing temps) is usually the result of micro managing.

ResQue

I am not trying to be an @ss, but it is sounds like operator error. Temp control takes practice...more for some than others. Have you looked at the temp control guides? The naked whiz has one as well as GG. Also a stoker is not the answer either. I have one to use on overnighters but I always stabilize manually first.

Carolina Q

Lower vent open 2"??!!!!!! Mine is usually about 1/8". Or less.

Light the lump, don't put the DFMT on yet, Open the bottom all the way. Add whatever accessories you're going to use (Platesetter, etc.). Close the dome after five minutes or so.

Pay attention.

When it gets to about 230° or so (you were paying attention, weren't you? ), put the DFMT on so that the petals are open about 1/16-1/8" and close the bottom to about 1/8". Let it come up to 250°.

That should get you close and with some minor tweaking once you're in the neighborhood, you'll be good to go.

Let it sit there at 250° for 45 minutes or so before you add the food. Don't let it get away from you or you'll be right back where you started.

Add the meat. The temp will drop, but don't touch anything as it will come back up by itself.

And yes, it CAN be trusted.

BigBadger

I agree with your @ss-essment... However, when the temp keeps climbing or falling, something must be done .....no? I don't think a 50° swing is a comfortable place to be as 100° or more is really a lot for a low temp cook. For pizza or steak sear it's not going to matter that much

ResQue

I am not sure why you are chasing temps to stabilize. Read Michael's (Carolina Q) post...good info. Even if you smoke at 300* it's not a big deal, the temp around your grate would only be 275, maybe less. 250* is the goal for most but to know what you are doing wrong I would have to be there or see some pics. I agree with Car Q about 2" is far too wide for achieving 250. Have you seen the temp control guides?

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead

What everybody else have already said....
Patience is a virtue, and everything will stabilize at some point. DO NOT try to adjust the "draft and damper" to often to keep a temp. Let it swing a bit. It will settle in.
Have a beer, glass of wine or a bit of whiskey...Relax.
OTOH, I have trouble keeping a fire under 250 F.
SOOO...I don't do that any more! My low fire is now 250 F. as I can maintain that with out any problem.

BigBadger

1/8"....wow, mine has gone out even close to that. Yes, my grate holes are clear.

The way you mentioned to start it is very close to what I do... the difference being when I'm close to happy with the temp my petals are open about 1/4 of the way and my bottom vent was about 1 1/2" - 2" and even open that far it would have gone out if we had not come home. (I think it actually had gone almost completely out)

I should have said about the charcoal though, in case it matters. I am using that Natures Grilling lump which seems to be considerably denser than the RO that I usually use. I do find the RO to be less dense, much faster lighting and somewhat easier to control.

BigBadger

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead wrote:

.....OTOH, I have trouble keeping a fire under 250 F.

That is good to know. Thanks

Carolina Q

Not sure what the problem is. I use RO and Wicked Good - two very different lumps. Usually WG for lo n slo, but I get 250° the same way with both of them. No trouble lighting either. I've never heard of Nature's Grilling, so I can't comment on that.

Apparently, not all eggs are the same as far as settings are concerned, but they shouldn't be THAT far off.

BigBadger

Jagermeister wrote:

I am not sure why you are chasing temps to stabilize. Read Michael's (Carolina Q) post...good info. Even if you smoke at 300* it's not a big deal, the temp around your grate would only be 275, maybe less. 250* is the goal for most but to know what you are doing wrong I would have to be there or see some pics. I agree with Car Q about 2" is far too wide for achieving 250. Have you seen the temp control guides?

Actually my biggest concern was that it went (or was going) out, not that it got too hot.

BigBadger

Jagermeister wrote:

.....I would have to be there or see some pics....

Anything less than what you see here and the temp tends to drop a lot. It took nearly 3 hrs. from when we got home from our walk for the egg to get to this temp. I am TRYING really hard to not mess with the controls :unsure: as per what everyone said so far.

Fidel

With those vent settings I would expect a higher temp.

What size egg?

Something else seems to be going on here.

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead

Hey...That may just be me! But....
I can maintain 250 F. for hours and hours!
Lower and I seem to lose my fire. Might be the way I load lump, the phase of the moon, where I am geographically, karma, who knows!

BigBadger

Fidel wrote:

With those vent settings I would expect a higher temp.

What size egg?

Something else seems to be going on here.

It's a large, Fidel.

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead

Maybe....
Could be a lump / moisture issue. I've had that happen and have gone close to the edge with: What the Hell is going on here?

WessB

You've gotten some of the best info you can get...short of a totally fried gasket causing you fluctuations..you should be good to go..the egg aint the problem..

Fidel

You've got something else going on. With those vent settings on my large I'd be closer to 350 than 250.

Could be damp lump. You said you just cleaned it out good, so no blockage issues.

What are you using for indirect? Could be an airflow issue, but in reality to get to and maintain 250 you need very little airflow.

Something's out of whack, but the usual suspects can be ruled out here.

smbishop

Maybe you are doing everything correct, but it is the thermometer that isn't working!

ResQue

Have you calibrated your thermo?

BigBadger

Fidel wrote:

You've got something else going on. With those vent settings on my large I'd be closer to 350 than 250.

Could be damp lump. You said you just cleaned it out good, so no blockage issues.

What are you using for indirect? ......

My lump is stored in the garage. We are very humid here in Victoria. The lump is from unopened bags that have been near the door but never moistened. Maybe the months of rainy air?

The method is CWM ribs - Indirect, plate setter legs up. No pan or anything like that but foil wrapped about the plate setter. I can see the lump clearly from the 3 openings.

BigBadger

Jagermeister wrote:

Have you calibrated your thermo?

Yes. I calibrated it before doing the Christmas Turkey. It was bang on... but since then the thermo has definitely seen the rain to the point that you see in the pix. perma-condensation.

I just dropped my Polder through the petal holes and it says 330° while the temp has climbed up on the BGE thermo to 300°

ResQue

Well I agree with Fidel, something else is going on here. Sorry I couldn't be much more help. For me to get to 250* I light, leave the dome open for a about 5min, then close with the daisy at the same setting you showed in your pic but the lower vent is only open maybe an 1/8". My large holds that for a very long time.

FlaPoolman

Do you notice a burn pattern maybe straight down? lighting in multiple places? maybe all large pieces and not getting a cross burn? I'm just fishing here but my settings for 250 dome are about the thickness of a nickle on the bottom vent and 1/8" on the petals. One large will cruise all day between 180 and 200 while the other one prefers to lock in at 250

WessB

If a thermometer moves..it's working....that doesn't mean it's accurate..but it IS working..

Bobbareeno

What everyone else said is great advice. The only thing I can add is.....have you ever considered a digiQ or cyberQ? I have a cyberQ and can maintain any temp by letting it do all the work for me. I can cook a boston butt at 225 for 18 hours if need be. Just my two cents.

Bob

stike

Well. Before they had the digi/gurus, you could cook one at 225 for 18hours anyway. That was the whole idea behind an airtight system with intake and exhaust being controllable

Fires can still go out with powered draft units. When they do though, it's usually a poorly built fire and not the fault of the guru.

Thing is, when the fire goes out WITHOUT a guru, it's also usually a poorly built fire and not the fault of the egg

BigBadger

FlaPoolman wrote:

Do you notice a burn pattern maybe straight down? lighting in multiple places? maybe all large pieces and not getting a cross burn?......

Actually Yes, the burn is centered and straight down. I did light it in 4 spots (not the center)I think it may be from when I restarted it. I cheated and stuck the MAPP torch head into the base and burned upwards while moving it about hoping to get a few holes lit.

The chunk size was quite varied, nothing too small that I noticed.

Ultimately I noticed a 50° difference between my Polder and my Egg Thermo.... Next time I will be starting the burn 2 or more hours prior to the cook rather than 1 hr.

BigBadger

stike wrote:

...it's also usually a poorly built fire and not the fault of the egg

I'm leaning toward this (me) as the most reasonable explanation for my fun today. However, I'm not really sure what I would have done to cause the 'poorly built fire'... or, conversely what I could have done to avoid such. I'm going to re-read the guides, etc and hopefully will find some illuminating nugget of wisdom that will trigger a synapse.

Ripnem

He's right, mine would also be much hotter than than. I'm thinking the opening in the firebox isn't lined up with the lower vent opening.

Ripnem

I'll bet your firebox is spun. Which makes the openings not line up with one another. That's the lower vent opening and the big opening in the front of the firebox.

Just a guess.