Could a worn gasket be the cause??

Smoked Signals

I did a 6 butt cook last night. 4 in the large and 2 in my medium .. problem is that the butts in the medium finished faster then the ones in the large - by more then 4 hours! By comparison I would say they were both more then full. Also, the butts in the medium looked really really dry on the outside compared to the large. [p]All butts were between 6.89 and 7.14 lbs. The only difference between the large and the medium, other then the cooker size, is the gaskets. My medium is about 2 years old with many mnay cooks on it and the gasket is very thin and flat. Do you think I'm loosing all the moisture through the gasket? Or is it something else? I plan on replacing the gasket but I thought I would ask the question anyway.[p]Inquiring minds want to know.

The Naked Whiz

Smoked Signals,
I don't think so. Presumably, a worn gasket would allow airflow, right? So if there were increased airflow, your fire would be hotter. If the fire were hotter, you would have adjusted the vents to cut down on the airflow to get the temperature back down. So, you would then have the same amount of airflow as you would have had if the gasket were brand new and the vents were opened up a little more. Since the only way moisture could escape is by being carried out on the airflow, presumably the amount of moisture escaping in both cases should be the same. I would think that if you had a seriously leaky gasket, you would have trouble keeping the temperature down. So, that's my theory![p]TNW

Smoked Signals

The Naked Whiz,
Hmmmm ... Master of Fire & Smoke - What do you think caused my dry butts? (Down Stump) I understand your explanation of gasket theory and I am in agreement ... that is why I am confused. The medium did require more adjustment then the large but I stayed on top of both of them ... never touched 275 on either cooker.[p]I do all my T-Rexing in the medium .. perhaps the ceramics are drier then the large? I don't think I have ever done anything over 400 in it.[p]Grasshopper
(Trying to understand the cosmic theory of ceramic cooking and possibly win some cash at the same time)

BucsFanJim

Smoked Signals,
Seems if your gasket was shot, you'd notice smoke leaking from around the lid. That's how I know if I've toasted a gasket.

Sandbagger

Smoked Signals, Here are a couple thoughts. Side wall thickness medium vs. large, (heat loss), what did you use to go indirect, same in both (heat transfer through and around it), distance from butt to indirect shield and butt to fire (heat intensity) and how the fire burned in both, similar lump burns (directness to heat) and if all else fails, are the temp. gauges accurate. [p]I have not clue to the answer but my tilted logic suggests that 275 dome temp in a medium and 275 dome temp in a large do not generate identical temps at both grate levels because of the factors mentioned above. tom

tach18k

The Naked Whiz, I would think that the bad gasket would allow more cooler air flow into the Egg from the grate level,(being sucked in) thus causing the therometer to register lower, which would increase the amout of bottom draft gate to be open to offset this cooler air flow, which would burn more lump. this is based on the fact that the hot air is rising in the egg and not being sucked down to the lump. I think this is called convection heating or cooling as the case may be. My bad gasket has bee around a year now and I dont seem to use more lump.

TRex

Smoked Signals,[p]I agree with the Whiz - your gasket or lack thereof is not the issue.[p]My guess is this: if your setup looked like what I'm imagining, then the butts in your Medium were closer to the dome than the butts in your Large. In other words, the surface of the Medium butts were closer to the radiative heat source a.k.a. dome and the heat transfer is thus more efficient to your Medium butts than your Large butts b/c of this dome proximity. [p]In my opinion, this could explain why the Medium butts finished faster and were somewhat drier.[p]Now, if the distance from the top of your butts to the inside surface of your dome in both your Medium and Large was the same for the setup you used, then my theory goes out the window.[p]Just my thoughts . . .[p]TRex

Smoked Signals

TRex,
The set up was probably very similar to your thoughts. Medium egg butts were on edge (long edge) to stay centered over drip pan. Large egg was stacked 2 x 2 cris-crossed for maximum drippage (is that a word?). I understand your theory as well but then the 2nd layer on the large egg should also be dry .. but they were not. [p]Could be related to the temperature difference between a medium dome and a large dome vs. grids. 20 or 30 degrees I would geuss with both domes reading 250. It would be an interesting experiment.[p]It's a puzzlement ... I appreciate everyone's 2cents.

Smoked Signals

Sandbagger,
You might be on to something here ... I smell an experiment with my Mavrick.

Unknown

Here's a refinement of TRex's theory, and it's pure physics.[p]The larger the egg, the more efficient the fire. This is due to the fact that volume increases by a cube, while surface area increases by a square. Therefore, a large BGE will hold a certain temperature with less fuel "by volume" than a medium, thereby running less air through the cooker for the same temp. This means that the large should make moister cooks because it's the airflow through that dries out meat. It takes greater airflow through the cooker to keep a smaller egg hot.[p]Add to this, the fact that the butts are closer to the dome top in a medium, which means the grate temp is closer to the dome temp than the large. For instance, if you held 250 in both, the medium's grate temp was probably 240 vs. 220 on the large.[p]