Help please

TDogg46

I am constantly getting small chunks of charcoal stuck in the fire grate and constantly reaching through the draft door trying to poke them out. I think the reason I am getting so many is because I always reuse the charcoal that was left-over from the previous cook and these chunks tend to be small bc they have burnt down and easily get stuck. When you guys add charcoal to start your cook, do you just pour new charcoal on top of the coal that's already in there? Before I add, I normally use my ash tool to scrape around the bottom and let all the ash fall through, but all that does is allow even more small chunks to lodge in the holes of the fire grate. Tips?

PhilsGrill

Clean out all the old small coals and save. Clean out the egg and all holes. Put in new charcoal and dump the smaller stuff all on top. Done.

TDogg46

Good tip...but surely you don't do that every time you cook.

BENTE

i just add to the egg. when you stir your lump if you do it too hard then it will break the chunks in to smaller peices. i am guessing you are stirring to hard. and i say this because i don't have that problem on a regular basis

gdenby

I can usually get 3 cooks out of a load of lump before the leftover bits become so small they are a nuisance. When most of the lump bits are small enough to clog the grate, they are also likely to prevent airflow just by themselves.

At that point, I save some to add to a new load of lump. The rest get mashed up, and added to the garden, because I have acidic soil, and the charcoal makes a good soil amendment.

DMurf

When my lump gets that low I gather it on one side of my Egg, typically the back, and add my fresh lump. I really have not had any issues in using this method.

Amy S.

Perhaps it is the type of lump that you are using. ???

Egg Man Bowling Green

I took a steak hook and straightened it out with a vice and
if the holes get plugged up then I insert it in the bottom vent and poke the
holes to get air in. I use the lump until it falls through the grate. I hope
this helps.

wolfsburg18

Personally I don't worry about those chunks for my everyday cooks, they seem to burn up and fall through just fine.  I clean out everything prior to long cooks of 12+ hours which I seem to be doing almost every weekend.  If needed for during a long cook I purchased a steel rod about a half inch in diameter, 3 feet long and bent the last 4 inches on one side about 60 degrees and the other end I bent about 2 inches, but really I only use it on long cooks of 12+ hours where I  need to push the charcoal to the center or poke at the fire grate holes.

BrunDog

Add more lump and use a wiggle stick.

-BD

4Runner

Yea....only time I make sure I'm totally clear is when I'm preparing for an overnight smoke.  Otherwise, I just wiggle a bit, maybe poor a bit of fresh lump on top and go.