DIY Big Green Egg Chimney, not chimney starter

hotwheels · July 2013

Just a few pics, if anybody was interested. I've not been completely happy with the time it took to get the lump up to temperature. I seen something like this in the internet and thought I'd try it. I put a 5 inch vent pipe on a 6 to 5 inch reducer. I cut it off at 23 inches. I bent the sharp edge at the top over like you would see on a rolled over rim on a paper coffee cup, using a few rocks in place of anvil and hammer so there are no cut hands. In theory there should be an increase in draw, etc.

Ragtop99 · July 2013

Interesting.

How did you determine the 23" length was optimal?

Are you going to try some before and after measurement of times to reach a certain temp to see how well it works?

Eggcelsior · July 2013

There is an egg blocking my view in the first picture. Can you move it?

vidalia1 · July 2013

So 10-15 minutes to get the lump up to temp isn't good for you? BTW making alterations to the BGE may void the warranty...also this is a first...good luck.

TexanOfTheNorth · July 2013

That's a beautiful view you've got there. How long is it taking your egg to come to temp and what are you hoping for with the improved draw?

@vidalial... why would this create a warranty issue?

Foghorn · July 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPsRJCJTf0M

Hokie_Smoker · July 2013

If that was my view I'd slow down the process sip on some Maker's and listen to a couple more Jimmy Buffett songs.

hotwheels · July 2013

To Ragtop99. Nope, I just cut it off at a random point after having the wind blow it over when it was about 4 feet high. My thought was just to increase the draw. I don't think I could get measurable differences in start up times due to variables like wind, moisture, etc. I'll just take whatever improvement I can get.

To TexanOfThe North: I did not measure the time it took for the lump to come up to temperature, but there seemed to be a lot of time where the egg was choked with white smoke as it slowly came up to temperature. I just knew I wanted it faster and I think there is an improvement, but it's certainly still not lightning fast.

To Foghorn; The chimney starter is the real time saver, not the chimney. My egg still takes quite a while to get going.

Thanks Hokie_Smoker

To Vildalia 1: Believe me, the temperature is not coming up fast enough to break anything. For that I might need a weed burner

Ragtop99 · July 2013

I've been using my side burner to lite the chimney, but normal do a complete load unless I'm doing a low and slow.

I would have liked a peak inside the egg of that video posted by @Foghorn. Had the fire spread to all the coals, or did it just create a narrow jet stream of hot air?

hotwheels · July 2013

I don't have a side burner on my Webber, but I did just learn something watching the video. The burner runs about two minutes firing up the charcoal. I don't spend near that amount of time with my propane torch, so I need to use a little more propane and it will greatly decrease my wait times. hopefully. Perhaps I need a chimney starter of some kind. I'd like to see how fast the guys are with the weed burners.