CONTROLLING HEAT PLEASE HELP

PALAPA

ALL NEW TO THIS. I HAVE USED IT TWICE AND ONCE I GET COOKING THE HEAT GOES UP TO 350 TO 400 DEGREES AND STAYS THERE. I KEEP ADJUSTING THE OPENINGS AND IT DOES NOT SEEM TO CHANGE ANYTHING. I DON'T KNOW IF THIS MATTERS OR NOT BUT BOTH TIMES I HAVE USED A FOIL DRIP PAN THAT COVERS PRETTY MUCH ALL OF THE PLACESETTER AND IS ALL THE WAY UP TO THE GRILL. ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

jcaspary

First of all welcome.  Help is coming.  More information is needed.  What temp are you trying to hit?  How often are you opening the grill?  What are the settings for the draft door and the daisy wheel?  Are you stabilizing temp before starting to cook?  

Chubbs

Questions:

 

What size egg? what are you cooking? what are your vent settings? Calibrated your thermometer? wealth of knowledge here, but need more info...

SoCalTim

@Palapa ... what you want to do is let the temp come up slowly. If your target is, oh say 300 ... start closing the vents down at about 250 and work your way up.

I've been EXACTLY where you are ... the learning curve for me was about 4 to 5 months and thou I know how to control the temp ... I am still learning with every cook.

Hit the search box (top right) and type in whatever subject you want ... the answer is there, in addition to all the great comments that will soon be posted on this thread.

theyolksonyou

Welcome. Well gladly help just answer some of the above

caliking

Howdy and welcome!

Temps won't change immediately if you make a vent change, so that is one thing to consider. As others have mentioned, some more info would be helpful. Take a deep breath, relax, and folks will be more than happy to help out.

grege345

Yes. Answer some of the questions above. One thing I will add is once you have passed off your target temp by 100° your adjustments in the vent opening will not drop the temp quickly. This will take time. As others have said adjust (close) vents before target temp

PALAPA

IT IS AN XL. I FILLED WITH LUMP AND 3 TO 4 PIECES OF HICKORY. I USED 3 STARTERS TO GET IT GOING. I LET IT HEAT UP TO 300 AND THEN PUT THE RIBS ON. I HAD THE BOTTOM VENT OPENED ABOUT 1/2 INCH AND THE TOP CRACKED ABOUT HALFWAY. IT STAYED THERE FOR A LITTLE BIT AND THEN STARTED CLIMBING TO 375 TO 400. FOR ABOUT THE FIRST 30 TO 45 MINUTES I HAS GOOD SMOKE COMING OUT AND AFTER THAT IT WAS HARDLY NO SMOKE AT ALL. ALSO, LIKE I STATED I DON'T KNOW IF THAT DRIP PAN I USED MADE ANY DIFFERENCE BECAUSE IT WAS PRETTY BIG AND WAS TIGHT BETWEEN THE GRILL AND PLACESETTER. I SURE HOPE I CAN GET THIS FIGURED BECAUSE I AM READY TO GET COOKING AND NOT BE WORRIED THE WHOLE TIME.  

DaveRichardson

From each adjustment, give it 20-30 minutes to settle down.  Items like lump size, ash build-up, air flow, etc will affect air flow which then is directly related to temperature.  I don't use the mesh door.  I just use the solid door.  400degrees is the lower door open about 1/2 inch and the daisy wheel half open in each petal.

jcaspary

When you smoke there will be a lot of white (not good) smoke.  Wait for a little while and you will get blueish (good) smoke.  If you are trying to do low and slow start closing off around 200-225.

theyolksonyou

Sounds like you're not waiting long enough to get stable. Try letting it burn at your desired temp for at least 30 min. Put the meat on and leave it alone. It should come back to temp. You will not get a lot of white smoke. That's good cause the stinky smoke will stink up your food.

henapple

Welcome...as stated, start adjusting the vents prior to the target temp. Be patient and don't fiddle with vents.....it'll come.

Fireman_Joe

I agree with Dave on the adjustments, for ribs I usually only have my bottom vent open about 1/4"-3/8" and the daisy wheel open about 1/4 of the petals also. This puts me right in the 275-300 degree range. I have a deep dish pizza pan as my drip pan and it covers the area with about 1" around it and have never had a problem, as long as heat is getting into the dome you will be fine. Also don't worry about the amount of smoke coming out the the top.

nealmgb

Since we're talking about Temp control, here is my experience with my first cook on a LargeBGE last Saturday.  Cooked (2) 1.5 lb Pork Tenderloins.  I hollowed out a hole in the center of the lump in the firebox.  I added hot coals that I started in the Chimney Starter.  I closed the lid and my temp was at 700.  Lower vent was set at 1/4'' and upper vent was barely open.  After a steady decline in temperature it stabilized at 250 after 20 - 30 minutes.  Never could get it below 250.  I was amazed at how little the vents were open and the fire remained stabilized at 250 for probably 2-3 hours.  The pork turned out great and was incredibly moist.

caliking

When you open and close the lid , make sure your DFMT doesn't slide around and change the top vent settings. If you set the DFMT to where you want it, align the screws perpendicular to the hinge or handle and it should stay put.

nealmgb

Thanks.  I have the DFMT placed with the BGE wording upside down and at the back.  No slipping.  Learned that from reading all the helpful advice on this forum.  One cook down and thinking of meat loaf for the second cook. 

NPHuskerFL

Pics of the set-up as it sits would be helpful for better directive advice.

cook861

Welcome its all learning which in turn will make you a better cook  pictures or didn't happen 

jonnymack

Turning the caps lock off is one way to control the temps.

MelSharples

Definitely calibrate your dome thermometer if your using that as your temp gauge.  I calibrated mine after my first cook and found it was 125* off so when I though I was having trouble cracking 300* I was really cranking it at close to 425*. Thankfully I was not cooking low and slow. Calibrating is extremely easy and straight forward and will help to eliminate some guessing.

Jeepster47

To build off what @MelSharples contributed, take the stainless steel clip off the stem end of your thermometer.  Now the thermometer is free to rotate ... you'll be less likely to inadvertently screw up the calibration by turning the face of the thermometer against the resistance of the clip.

Also you can now turn the face of the thermometer so that the temp you're aiming for is straight up.  Easier to simply glance at the face or the thermometer and see where you're at relative to target temp.

wepinsf

Took me a year for the light bulb to come on but I'm not the brightest. It'll come to you with patience. Catching the temp on the way up is key as is giving yourself enough time for the temperature to stabilize. If I want 300 I get it there and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. Amazing how it will go right back to the target even after the lid is opened if you do that.

dstearn

I think you brought up the temp too fast and it overshot your desired temp. Try only 1 starter cube in the center and after about ten minutes close the lid and set your vents. That way you will not overshoot your temp. Let it stablize for 30 minutes to burn off the VOC's, I use the Digiq for low and slows and install the fan in the bottom vent 4 minutes after I light the starter cube. Then I set the DFMT on a quarter and let the fan ramp up the temp.

gpsegg

At dstearn.....When you say you "set the DFMT on a quarter", are you saying the petals are only open 1/4 or the top of the wheel is slid open 1/4? Thanks!

JT_Thomas

PALAPA said:

IT IS AN XL. I FILLED WITH LUMP AND 3 TO 4 PIECES OF HICKORY. I USED 3 STARTERS TO GET IT GOING. I LET IT HEAT UP TO 300 AND THEN PUT THE RIBS ON. I HAD THE BOTTOM VENT OPENED ABOUT 1/2 INCH AND THE TOP CRACKED ABOUT HALFWAY. IT STAYED THERE FOR A LITTLE BIT AND THEN STARTED CLIMBING TO 375 TO 400. FOR ABOUT THE FIRST 30 TO 45 MINUTES I HAS GOOD SMOKE COMING OUT AND AFTER THAT IT WAS HARDLY NO SMOKE AT ALL. ALSO, LIKE I STATED I DON'T KNOW IF THAT DRIP PAN I USED MADE ANY DIFFERENCE BECAUSE IT WAS PRETTY BIG AND WAS TIGHT BETWEEN THE GRILL AND PLACESETTER. I SURE HOPE I CAN GET THIS FIGURED BECAUSE I AM READY TO GET COOKING AND NOT BE WORRIED THE WHOLE TIME.  

This is a common issue, and one that I still struggle w/ at times, particularly if I'm in a bit of a hurry. The key, at least for me, is to get the vents set as quickly as possible, especially if you are trying to keep it under 300.  If you let it get to 250-275 and climbing, too much lump is already lit and it takes a while to get it back down (and sometimes can't get it back down) due to the egg's ability to retain heat.  Once you get it lit, go ahead and set your vents.  You can do a couple quick searches on this forum to find pics of what those vent settings should be, but the key is set it early.  Then let the egg slowly come to temp.  It may take 30-45 minutes to get there, depending on the temp.  But you'll save yourself from getting it too hot, which causes you to fight it during the entire cook.  Hope this helps.

dstearn

gpsegg said:

At dstearn.....When you say you "set the DFMT on a quarter", are you saying the petals are only open 1/4 or the top of the wheel is slid open 1/4? Thanks!

Petals only open a quarter.

Fireman_Joe

PALAPA> how's it going ?

PALAPA

Everything is going good. I feel much better now after reading all of the comments and help on controlling heat. I would like to thank everybody for there input. Sorry about the caplocks, guess I just got excited! I am ready to give it another shot. I will take my time this round.  

GATraveller

=D>

TQB

Don't feel bad @PALAPA‌ I am struggling as well but making headway. Don't give up we will be fine!!

jcaspary

Someone is ALWAYS here to help out at any time of the day.