Kind of Bummed

DaveRichardson

http://a.co/8natxWo <-- This one fits the XL.

Durangler

DaveRichardson said:

http://a.co/8natxWo <-- This one fits the XL.

Thank you for that.
I wonder if the spot weld is better than the glue.
The tails of the mesh get hung up easily.
Looks like the punched stainless steel would eliminate that issue.

DaveRichardson

don't know for sure.  saw it, though it looked interesting since my screen are starting to roach out....  if you try it, let me know!

bjeans

SmokingPiney said:

I got careless with a kettle on my wood deck about 4 years ago and set fire to my deck. Thankfully, my wife noticed it before it got out of control and I put it out with a garden hose. After that incident, the grills were evicted from the deck. 

My Egg, kettle, and smoker are now set up on a concrete patio with a roof. I don't do overnights on my Egg, but I will on my smoker (temp controlled, not much chance at all on a fire or escaping embers).

I'm a pilot, so I like checklists - When I shut down my Egg, I actually say out loud "bottom off switch engaged" (vent closed), "top off switch engaged" ( cap on) EVERY time I shut down my Egg. It's become habit that has amused some friends - but I know the Egg is shut down. 

Just be observant and vigilant about the Egg: Keep fire safety first and foremost in your mind when you use it.......you'll be fine with the Egg. 

Thanks for the reminder and idea. I like lists, so will make a laminated egg system shut-down card, more for my husband, who will cook far less frequently than I do, but for me too. At this point I'm paranoid enough to carefully check vents, but if I relax some, who knows. And it can come in handy for non-safety items too, like bringing in the thermometer or other items our visiting raccoon mom (now with four babies) might haul away or chomp.

Theophan

I've had the same experience as you, @bjeans.  My wife gave me a Medium Egg, then a year later a Large, both of them in wood tables, and I was having a ball.  But then I read on this forum and the older one about some very scary fires, and all of a sudden it just didn't seem to make a lot of sense to me having a fire burning in a wooden table!

I've become more paranoid than most.  I now have my Eggs in a table built from cinderblocks, firebricks, bluestone, and brick facing, but I STILL won't have a fire lit if I'm not awake and checking on it every one and again to keep an eye on things.  No overnight cooks for me!  And when I go to bed after a cook, every time, and I mean every time, before I head upstairs I go outside and check on the Eggs, make sure no kidding they've cooled down, there's no sign of smoke or embers anywhere, etc..  I try not to fool around with fire.  Just makes sense!

But that said, I think it can be perfectly responsible to cook on a grill, notably including the Big Green Egg, if one is paying attention, and being careful.  I agree with the others who have said that a nest seems like a better idea to me than a wooden table.  A wooden deck doesn't seem ideal to me, anymore, but with one of those fire-resistant mats on the deck, under the Egg, and simply being responsible and vigilant about fire can make it safe, or so it seems to me.

bjeans

Theophan said:

I've had the same experience as you, @bjeans.  My wife gave me a Medium Egg, then a year later a Large, both of them in wood tables, and I was having a ball.  But then I read on this forum and the older one about some very scary fires, and all of a sudden it just didn't seem to make a lot of sense to me having a fire burning in a wooden table!

I've become more paranoid than most.  I now have my Eggs in a table built from cinderblocks, firebricks, bluestone, and brick facing, but I STILL won't have a fire lit if I'm not awake and checking on it every one and again to keep an eye on things.  No overnight cooks for me!  And when I go to bed after a cook, every time, and I mean every time, before I head upstairs I go outside and check on the Eggs, make sure no kidding they've cooled down, there's no sign of smoke or embers anywhere, etc..  I try not to fool around with fire.  Just makes sense!

But that said, I think it can be perfectly responsible to cook on a grill, notably including the Big Green Egg, if one is paying attention, and being careful.  I agree with the others who have said that a nest seems like a better idea to me than a wooden table.  A wooden deck doesn't seem ideal to me, anymore, but with one of those fire-resistant mats on the deck, under the Egg, and simply being responsible and vigilant about fire can make it safe, or so it seems to me.

Yes, just nonchalantly zipping along and then *bam,* reality. Or fear of reality. We also check just before going to sleep to make the temperature has dropped and everything is closed up, even though it was checked when bringing in food. 

I do want to cut screen or find something for the top of the chimney and may switch to the stainless steel vent door - it's not expensive and looks sturdy. And your last paragraph is a good summary for me of how to proceed. Thanks. 

SemolinaPilchard

A way to cut down the risk would be to use lump that does not spark and pop, or at least sparks and pops less than other brands. Mentioning Char Broil center cut lump often start a flame war here, but I have never seen this stuff spark or pop.
https://www.charbroil.com/centercut-lump-charcoal?gdffi=e1085c8ad7a9423dba5a6854163ded82&gdfms=4CBCE43EA92D49A3A28B3B7791BB7018

SemolinaPilchard

Info central on many brands.
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm

bjeans

Thanks, @SemolinaPilchard - I appreciate the idea. Now people might say I'm nuts, but I've seen almost no sparking/popping with BGE lump. Maybe it's because I close the dome so quickly, and haven't done a really high temp cook.

I had been reading reviews and tests on the Naked Whiz and one question was whether manufacturing methods and/or quality of lump ever change over time. I was reading about lump purchased and tested in 2002, with an update (the same 2002 lump used?) in 2007.

(And I wish the text was black on a white background, can only read the white on black for a short time, but that's a whine for another story.)

HeavyG

bjeans said:

Thanks, @SemolinaPilchard - I appreciate the idea. Now people might say I'm nuts, but I've seen almost no sparking/popping with BGE lump. Maybe it's because I close the dome so quickly, and haven't done a really high temp cook.

I had been reading reviews and tests on the Naked Whiz and one question was whether manufacturing methods and/or quality of lump ever change over time. I was reading about lump purchased and tested in 2002, with an update (the same 2002 lump used?) in 2007.

(And I wish the text was black on a white background, can only read the white on black for a short time, but that's a whine for another story.)

If you use the Chrome browser there is a Google Extension called "High Contrast" that allows you to invert the colors of web pages. Most folks use it to invert a page to white text on a black background for easier reading in low light/night but it does invert the pages on a site like Naked Whiz so that you have black text on a white background.

Other browsers may have something similar.

Theophan

bjeans said:

... (And I wish the text was black on a white background, can only read the white on black for a short time, but that's a whine for another story.)

I agree.

In case it's helpful, most computers have "accessibility" options that include inverting the display colors.  On my Mac, it's just hitting a few keys, very quick and easy to turn it on and off.  It's probably similar on whatever you use.  And here's what Naked Whiz site looks like inverted:

bjeans

Neon Violet headings! Thanks @Theophan and @HeavyG  Mostly I'm on an iPad using Safari but I have Chrome and will look at the iPad accessibility features. My PC always uses Chrome. 

SemolinaPilchard

@bjeans Yes, I have noticed over time there are changes in some brands of lump. All in all I would imagine you guys will be alright. I would guess most BBQ related deck fires are caused by a spark landing in between two boards. With the decking you have that is not a concern.  The eggs are on concrete and this little pig's house is not made of straw or sticks. However, I have to remember to not store gas cans, bales of hay, or my Acme brand Wile E. Coyote dynamite on the patio. As long as you keep things clear it should be all good. If it would help you sleep better, maybe spray the area down with the hose when through for the day.

HeavyG

bjeans said:

Neon Violet headings! Thanks @Theophan and @HeavyG  Mostly I'm on an iPad using Safari but I have Chrome and will look at the iPad accessibility features. My PC always uses Chrome. 

The iPad also has the accessibility features to invert colors in iOS.