my egg is white again!

Canugghead

I seldom do high heat cook,  decided it's time for a clean burn, loaded the firebox with some off brand (Starlight?) Indonesian lump charcoal. It's very dense, doesn't smell good fresh (leftover lump smell is okay though), but pound for pound it has the highest BTU of all charcoals I've tried.  The Tel Tru needle wrapped around when everything was wide open, so I shut down top and bottom vents 50% and let it ripped for few hours at controlled 700'ish F. The old stock gasket on the dome melted but it was redundant because the base has the Cotronics gasket and there was no significant smoke leak even at the super heated temp.

edit: fwiw, there was no oozing.  I also just noticed the front of the dome has some black streaks so there must be a heat loss, I should re-seat the dome.

tulocay

Mine hasn't looked like that in over 2 years! Nice burn.

FATC1TY

Man.. That cleaned up!

Canugghead

It's my first real clean burn in six years  ">

NPHuskerFL

Ooh awww! Purdy creamy white egg :-) Now go & do a L&S. ;-)

Tjcoley

Looks like new. Now you need to smoke it up.

Philly35

Holy crap. That thing is white! Dang

caliking

Wow! You cleaned that egg up nicely.

Canugghead

Guess I should write down the serial number!

Eggbertsdad

Question....I have some cheap Tru Cue lump I pick up from the Home Depot for $2 per bag and am thinking of doing a burn-out. My plate setter is also black and nasty. What's the best way to clean the fire box, ring, plate setter and dome?

Canugghead

I didn't bother cleaning my platesetter.  I think adding p/s will block the heat and it'll take much longer to whiten the dome.  Try it in three steps:

1) omit the p/s and your dome, fire ring and firebox should be clean like mine,

2) add p/s, doesn't matter legs up or down, the underside should be whiten,

3) flip the p/s over to clean the other side.

Cautions:

1) DO NOT burn without the fire ring and firebox, i.e. don't try to whiten the green base!

2) as a precaution, I lined the bottom of the egg with two fire bricks flat, i.e. the firebox sits on the bricks, to 'protect' the bottom, not sure if it's really necessary.

3) if you still have the stock gasket, be prepared to see it disintegrate!

Eggbertsdad

Thanks for responding. I have a Rutland gasket on my egg. I want to do this now because I have my egg out of my table (cleaning). 

I'll crank it up tomorrow. Will the plate setter crack if I put it hot?

Canugghead

Good question, to be safe, after the dome is clean, reduce the vent openings and add some fresh lump (don't dump too much fresh lump and choke the fire though!) to bring the temp down before you throw in the p/s?  Remember to wear gloves and burp before you open each time, and no kids in the vicinity please!

Eggbertsdad

No kids! I'm a victim of burping every time. I have no arm hair left and my neighbors think I'm making pork cracklings every other weekend.

nolaegghead

Wow, that's white.  So does your food taste better now?

Skiddymarker

Welcome, when an egg looks like that clean you must be new, I suggest a spatchcock chicken for one of your first cooks.....

Enjoy!

PNWFoodie

Thermal shock shouldn't be a problem going from ambient temp to hot. It's hot to cold that causes problems.

nolaegghead

PNWFoodie said:

Thermal shock shouldn't be a problem going from ambient temp to hot. It's hot to cold that causes problems.

It certainly can happen a lot faster and more uneven going from hot to cold with some water spilled on the ceramics. 

jhl192

A good time to bake something.  Looks great. 

Big_Green_Craig

My Eggs were only that clean the day they came out of the box. Wow!!

nealcr1

Even after clean burns i can never get mine that white.  

pantsypants

good work !!!

NPHuskerFL

For sure plan on pulling the Tel-Tru thermometer.

mark11

I made my first cobbler the other day and while delicious,it was smokey tasting so I figured it was time to burn it. After I finished cooking the chicken I made for dinner I pulled the thermo (very carefully done in a 375 degree Egg, and opened the vent. When the smoke and the stank was over I was amazed at how clean the Egg was. I think my biggest problem was doing chicken indirect and letting it drip on a bare platesetter, I learned I should use a drip pan in the future.

NDG

Nice Clean & Good Tips.  You closed your Original Post by saying " I should re-seat the dome."  can you walk me through that process?  

I have never touched the bolts/screws/etc. and I have had my Large for 3+ years.  Thanks.

westernbbq

the first time I did a clean burn, it was by accident. it was about 6 mos after I got the XL (my first BGE) and I just let it burn hot after a pizza party.  the za's were awesome, the dome didn't get as clean since I had the platesetter in but the fire ring, fire box and platesetter looked new the next day.  when that happened, I was humbled at how incredible the Big Green Egg really is.  I've NEVER had a an outdoor cooker that was so easy to clean.  All sorts of metal parts to scrape off, take apart and clean up where the BGE just burns everything off.

 

I did burn leftover pork grease in it one time and while it was burning, the BGE got pretty hot and it took a long time to burn off the animal fat (it was maybe about 2 cups) so I will always remove the drip pan in the future! 

 

Canugghead

@NDG  It helps if you have someone to assist you, just loosen the top and bottom bands, juggle the dome to make sure it sits nice and even ... to tighten, make sure the bands are evenly spaced and pushed away from the gasket as far as possible, tighten top and bottom nuts gradually in rotation, some folks torque the nuts to specs but I just do it by sight/feel, the bolts are supposed to be bent slightly but you don't always get that. 

quote: I have never touched the bolts/screws/etc. and I have had my Large for 3+ years.

- you got lucky, it's recommended that you check/tighten the nuts and bands occasionally as preventative maintenance,to minimise the chance of the dome slipping off!

NDG

@canugghead . . thank you.  I just printed this off to reference later.  I know I am due for some P.M. on my egg, but didnt want to mess-up a good thing!

EagleIII

Sparkling!

westernbbq

I almost found out the hard way the importance of ongoing maintenance and hinge lubrication and band tightening.  See the attached that came directly from BGE.

 

Good luck!

Eggbertsdad

I'm disappointed in my clean burn effort today. I vacuumed it out and filled it to the top of the fire box with new lump. it just never seemed to get that hot...maybe 650 with everything wide open. After a few hours I dumped the rest of the 8.8 lb bag and let it rip again...550 range. 

I gave up, threw the plate setter on, and grilled some corn for the wife.