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Re starting the lump

muttin
muttin Posts: 45
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
This might be a dumb question. After using the egg and shutting it down. The next day I go to use it and there is plenty of lump left in there but there is the hollow spots were the lump has burned. Do I stir the pot and get all the ash and lump to settle down or just relight just the way it is? I use the fire starters to light the fire

Comments

  • restir, causes the ash to fall throught the grate and the lumps of charcoal really need to be touching each other to spread fire.
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
     
    You are going to get answers both ways. Stir, stir and load more, don't stir.

    My thinking and method if there is plenty of lump for the next cook don't stir. The lump was stable on the last cook, nothing changed and those air paths up through the lump bed were established well. I use oil & paper towelm, alcohol or MAPP and relight in several places wait to get to temperature and stable and go on to the next cook.

    I have done this for up to 5 cooks on the large and 3 to 4 cooks on the mini. The mini cooks are usually shorter.

    The exceptions is a long cook or a high temperature cook. I then stir well, move the useable lump to one side. Locate some large pieces and place on the fire grate making sure the air holes in the fire grate and fire box are not blocked or completly covered. I then move the old lump over those larger pieces, clean any blocked holes, a few more larger pieces and then spread that old lump over the surface. I then just dump in the new load and start the egg.

    You can try the different ways and decide which you like.

    On the shorter cooks, less than 3 hours I don't bother cleaning the ash out from under the fire grate either. I usually do that on 5 to 8 cooks and on every long cook or high temperature cook.

    I haven't removed the fire box from my large in over 3 years now. I use the ash tool to reach as far back as I can on either side next to the egg wall and leave it at that.

    GG

    GG
  • I stir the coals with the theory that I want to knock the ash down in to the bottom of the grill, When I do this I can make sure the air holes in the side of the firebox are clear as well as make sure no small lumps of coal are blocking the grate holes. I take my Egg completely apart every spring and use shop vac to clean it out. The other 364 days a year I clean out the bottom with the ash tool.
  • muttin
    muttin Posts: 45
    I stir mine every time i cook in that same theory that the coals will fall done down. but the last few times i have thought is this right or is this just making the coals closer together causing bad air flow ?