Put a lid on it!

Jeepster47

The daisy wheel is just too complicated for my feeble mind.  Why would anyone design a flow dampener with two different control mechanisms.  One can achieve an infinite (or at least a lot of finite) combinations between the petals and the sliding lid for the same flow restriction.  The original Japanese Hibachi had a much simpler, more intuitive control mechanism. Does anyone know why Ed Fisher didn't copy the original? So, based on what I see on the forum, one can master the zen of the daisy wheel, throw it away and run wide open, or install the Smokeware Cap.

Stopped in last week at my local dealer - our town is rather small, so he's also a neighbor - to ask if he personally used the Smokeware Cap.  To shorten a long story, he produced the one and only cap that he's had in the store and sent me on my way with it.  Three cooks later and I'm in love ... ugly daisy is now hidden in the bottom of the storage box.  The Smokeware Cap looks like it belongs on the egg ... not only does it look good and keep the wet elements off the food, the functionality is more along the line of the original Habachi.  Slide the SINGLE CONTROL LEVER one way and more air exits, slide it the other way and less air exits.  Even I can get my arms around that concept.

The only negative aspect of the Smokeware Cap is that it doesn't shut down the fire as well as the BGE ceramic cap.  That, like the ugly daisy, is due to clearances in the sliding mechanism ... can't easily change the design to overcome that short coming.  Don't want to change the Smokeware Cap for the ceramic cap each time the BGE is shut down so folks either live with the extra charcoal usage or stick with ugly daisy and the ceramic cap.

What if you didn't have to trade off?  Would you be willing to simply lift the lid on the Smokeware Cap, insert something, and replace the cap?  Not as easy as simply rotating the cap, but a reasonable trade off ... I think.  Here's what I did.

Stopped by my local welding shop and bought a piece of 1/4" scrap aluminum. Then stopped by Menards for a bargain-table kitchen door pull.  Total investment was $6.  A 5-3/8 inch circle was cut from the aluminum plate and the handle attached ... simple.  The handle was just wide enough that the screw heads touched the inside edge of the egg, so I had to buy some flat head screws and countersink the heads.  The center screw serves no purpose ... it fills the hole that I used to make the circle.  Should have bought a knob and used the center hole to mount it ... would have been simpler and would work just as well.

Had to move the gasket on the cap down a little bit ... it was sticking up above the ceramic a little bit. 

Here's a picture of the finished lid being inserted into the Smokeware Cap:




And, here's the lid in position:





The top of the Smokeware Cap can now be reinstalled.

I've run two shut down cycles from about 420 degrees to off the bottom of the scale.  There is a noticeable difference in the shut down time ... the lid was worth the work.

Comments or suggestions?

Mickey

I ditched all four Daisy Wheels and do 100% control by the lower vent. To put out the fire I use the Ceramic Cap.

UncleFred

Jeepster47 said:
I've run two shut down cycles from about 420 degrees to off the bottom of the scale.  There is a noticeable difference in the shut down time ... the lid was worth the work.

Comments or suggestions?

Ooooh I like your idea!   Mind if I steal it?  ...or you could start making/selling them.  I'd pay $15 for one.

You might pass this idea on to Matt at SmokeWare...

Grillin_beers

I don't really think the daisy wheel is that hard to use..... I'm glad you found something that works for you though!

GATABITES

Ingenuity. Nice work. Did you cut the lid or did you have it cut to size.

Eggcelsior

Patent that junks and license it Pronto!

Carolina Q

Mickey said:

I ditched all four Daisy Wheels and do 100% control by the lower vent. To put out the fire I use the Ceramic Cap.

Same here, except I still use the dfmt for lo n slow... Mickey does turbo only. Gotta try a lo n slo without the daisy, but I only do a couple of those cooks a year so just never bothered. When I break my ceramic cap (and you KNOW it's gonna happen), not sure what I'll do. Probably just buy a new one.  

Clever idea with the al billet, but don't forget the welders gloves when you start messin' with the smokeware cap.

Jeepster47

GATABITES said:

... Did you cut the lid or did you have it cut to size.

Center punched the aluminum, scribed a circle, and cut it with a metal blade in a saber saw.  Then drilled out the center hole and mounted it over a pin on the table of a disc sander.  Slowly fed the aluminum into the disk sander while rotating it to clean up the saw marks a keep it round.  The final sanding wasn't really necessary ... I just like to futz.

Other things might also work.  The base to a small clay pot ... maybe right side up so that the cone shape goes down in the neck of the vent.  The small clay pot itself.  The lid on a ceramic cookie jar ... I had one that looked like it would work. I wondered about a wooden plug covered with several layers of tin foil ... didn't get around to testing wood though.   

Jeepster47

Carolina Q said:

... don't forget the welders gloves when you start messin' with the smokeware cap.

The cap does get hot.  I used a folded up towel and lifted the top with one hand, inserted the lid with the other, and placed the top back on all in one motion.  Easy to do and I never felt a hint of the heat from the cap or the vent.

But, good advice on the protective equipment ... I should have mentioned that in the write-up.

Jeremiah

Pretty ingenious man. =D>

JohnInCarolina

You should call it The ManLid.

dldawes1

Great idea. I used my SW lid last night to shut down after 500F searing of my rib eye....for the first time doing this after reading so many posts lately.

Mine is about 6 months old so it does have a good grease seal inside it. 

My results...I am not sure about time to cool...I didn.t check that...but as far as lump consumption during shutdown....I can't tell any difference from using the ceramic top with a tin foil lid , shaped exactly like your new and improved version.

Since finding this out this morning, I will probably just continue to shutdown using the SW top only.  It seemed to work perfectly this time.

You might find that after a few months of cooking that you also will not require extra shutdown devices.  Just my observation...no intention of cutting down your idea...I think it is great !!!!

Jeepster47

dldawes1 said:

... Just my observation...no intention of cutting down your idea...

@dldawes1 ... thanks for the observation.  Don't worry about contrary ideas/comments ... they're always welcome.  The only thing off putting is a negative delivery form ... wrapping contrary comments in sand burrs is offensive ... I haven't seen you do that.

Actually, your previous comments about your tin foil plug is what spawned the thought process towards the lid I made.  So, thanks!

Hopefully other folks will try it, or something better, and report back on their observations.

tcracing

I used a lot of lump last night, because I forgot to close down the Egg after a pizza cook.

Dobie

If I have to deal with removing the hot SW cap top I might as well pull the whole unit and apply the ceramic snuffer. Whats needed is a single unit that snuffs completely that doesnt have pieces to swap out. Playing with heated metal isnt on my to do list.

Jeepster47

Dobie said:

.. I might as well pull the whole unit and apply the ceramic snuffer. ...

The SW cap is not as robust as the ugly daisy, and I'd be nervous about it being damaged in storage.  Thus, the desire to move away from rotating it with the ceramic cap.  Maybe after awhile the SW cap will gum up enough that the lid will not be necessary, but in the mean time ...

RRP

Jeepster47 said:

  Maybe after awhile the SW cap will gum up enough that the lid will not be necessary, but in the mean time ...

Tom,

Yes in time your SW cap will gum up and start to look kind of raunchy. Here was mine after a year with the cap pulled off. BTW I like your billet solution, but in my case my SW cap fits quite snug and I have never sensed any leakage...guess I'm lucky that mine must be from an earlier batch that were made with less tolerance.

RRP

BTW the SW cap cleans up with ease using Easy Off Oven cleaner - just use it outside and somewhere when the goop starts to liquidity it won't stain something. Yes it is messy, buy easy to clean with no scrubbing needed!

theyolksonyou

tcracing said:

I used a lot of lump last night, because I forgot to close down the Egg after a pizza cook.

Call it a clean burn.

dldawes1

@ Jeepster47  and  RRP    I posted several days or a week ago that I did not have a gasket on my SW cap. I still do not. But after my first shutdown last night using only the SW cap being a success, I probably am not even going to put one on it.

My SW cap is about 3-4 months old, so about 15-20 cooks, old.  It is oiled/gummed up enough to seal for a very satisfied shutdown.  No problems.

@ Jeepster47..no burrs here my friend !!! I always try my best to be appreciative of others' ideas when posting my little opinions !!! I hope they are always received that way !

uwing

I never touch my ceramic snuff lid... I just close the daisy wheel. Im just lazy and feel the closed daisy snuff just fine. I don't get the need to modify it. Seems the wheel works just fine to mo

Jeepster47

@RRP ...

In addition to posting other pictures this evening, Ron posted this one of a wooden disk being used to control the exit airflow on one of his eggs.
 


If it'll work to control airflow when the fire's lit, then it seemed like it would work to snuff out the fire.  I cut a 1/2" thick plywood disk and used it to snuff out the fire starting with a 475 degree cook this evening.  The plywood wasn't even scorched!

So, if your SW cap is brand new clean and seems to leak at shut down like mine, you might consider experimenting with a wooden lid.

RRP

Good idea Tom...I assume your wood disc was made of scrap so cheap and easy to replace in time...but how about adding a disc of aluminum flashing on the bottom side and that wood disc will last forever and never get hot when you add a knob on the wood side.

Jeepster47

A quick check of the internet shows that the ignition temperature of wood is around 500 degrees F.  Although the flashing would add life, the plywood is so cheap and the disk so easy to make that it'd be easier to simply replace it when it starts looking bad.

I'm still looking for the "already made" cheap item that will fit in the cap.  We've giving our son an egg for Christmas, so will need a second lid soon thereafter.

BTW ... have I told you lately how much I love my SW cap?  I think I told my local dealer that too many times ... he said he ordered 18 of them last week.

bboulier

Like Mickey, I basically use the lower vent to control the temperature.  Sometimes, however, I do use the daisy wheel to help clamp down temperatures quickly.

Jeepster47

I made a lid from scrap 1/2" plywood with a wood screw handle as a trial to see if wood would work.  After five shut downs ranging from 400 to 500 degrees, there was no indication of distress ... a little smoke seasoning, but no burn marks.  Don't have a picture 'cuz my dealer stole it from me.

WeberWho

Mickey said:

I ditched all four Daisy Wheels and do 100% control by the lower vent. To put out the fire I use the Ceramic Cap.

Amen!!! Couldn't agree more

Jeepster47

WeberWho? said:

I ditched all four Daisy Wheels and do 100% control by the lower vent. To put out the fire I use the Ceramic Cap.

Amen!!! Couldn't agree more

The more I stare at the egg during cooks, the more I think the folks who control with only one end of the egg are right.  "X" amount of combustion air goes in the bottom vent ... it expands some due to combustion and some due to heat expansion (~20% per 100 degree increase) ... so, "X" plus "Y" goes out the top.  Whichever vent is the most restrictive is controlling the airflow ... yes?  The other vent contributes little or no airflow control.

Several folks have said they do gross temp settings with one of the vents, and then, fine tune with the other.  I don't have enough experience to question that approach, but I do find it easier to simply focus my adjustments on the bottom vent.  I adjust the SmokeWare cap based on target temp ... 1/3, 2/3, and full open.  But, I haven't been able to demonstrate that it has an affect on the temp.

Someone on the forum is an HVAC expert ... maybe s/he can contribute.

scruffee81

love this idea. I think I may have to replicate.

BRush00

Jeepster47 said:

And, here's the lid in position:





The top of the Smokeware Cap can now be reinstalled.

I've run two shut down cycles from about 420 degrees to off the bottom of the scale.  There is a noticeable difference in the shut down time ... the lid was worth the work.

Comments or suggestions?

It's a cool idea for sure, but I'd have one concern that wasn't mentioned up above (grabbing the hot SW Cap being the 1st).... Let's pretend you're shutting down a pizza cook - 800+ degrees.

Does anybody else think there's possibility for the Aluminum plug shown above to expand, and crack the lid of the egg?

 

Edit:  Wait.... the Aluminum plug is just sitting on top of the ceramic isn't it?  Not down inside?

Jeepster47

BRush00 said:

It's a cool idea for sure, but I'd have one concern that wasn't mentioned up above (grabbing the hot SW Cap being the 1st).... Let's pretend you're shutting down a pizza cook - 800+ degrees.

Does anybody else think there's possibility for the Aluminum plug shown above to expand, and crack the lid of the egg?

 

Edit:  Wait.... the Aluminum plug is just sitting on top of the ceramic isn't it?  Not down inside?

@BRush00 ... Carolina Q mentioned the use of welder's gloves ... I use a folded up towel that's always handy.

Yep, the aluminum (or wood) lid is sitting on the vent and not inside it.  The idea was to duplicate the function of the ceramic cap with having to remove the SmokeWare cap assembly.

Several folks have said they get a good seal after the SW cap gathers a little gunk from a few cooks.  They also claim the earlier (unobtainable) caps had closer clearances and never leaked a molecule of air from the git go.