Fire Box Air Hole Issue

OshawaDave

I seem to have occasional issues with the air holes in the fire box. They must be getting covered with coal or dust and not letting me get to high temps. I slow cooked a prime rib roast yesterday at 275 degrees and then open the bottom vent full to reverse sear it and the temp only rose to 400. I had to blow into the bottom vent a couple of times and it took 20 minutes to start heating up and it did finally hit 600.

Anyone else have issues with the air holes and again it's occasionally? I was wondering if a KAB would help fix this?

Thoughts?

stlcharcoal

KAB will solve this problem.  Great product 

lousubcap

Can't comment on the KAB but I just look at the holes before reloading with lump and clear them if necessary.  Never have noticed an issue.  
I use caveman for the reverse sear finish thus taking the air holes out of the loop.  

Carolina Q

I don't remember the last time I even looked at those firebox holes to see if they were clogged. I don't think they matter. I never have a problem with high temps. Have you tried a wiggle rod to clear the holes in the fire grate and create air passages thru the lump? 

Do this, then wiggle it...

@Thirdeye used to sell 'em, not sure if he still does.
http://www.thirdeyeq.com/products---pricing.html

Try it with a coat hanger (not a real good solution, but should help some).

Jupiter Jim

OshawaDave said:

I seem to have occasional issues with the air holes in the fire box. They must be getting covered with coal or dust and not letting me get to high temps. I slow cooked a prime rib roast yesterday at 275 degrees and then open the bottom vent full to reverse sear it and the temp only rose to 400. I had to blow into the bottom vent a couple of times and it took 20 minutes to start heating up and it did finally hit 600.

Anyone else have issues with the air holes and again it's occasionally? I was wondering if a KAB would help fix this?

Thoughts?

Did you remove the dual function metal top as well? Is your dome temp thermometer accurate?

OshawaDave

Carolina Q said:

I don't remember the last time I even looked at those firebox holes to see if they were clogged. I don't think they matter. I never have a problem with high temps. Have you tried a wiggle rod to clear the holes in the fire grate and create air passages thru the lump? 

Do this, then wiggle it...

@Thirdeye used to sell 'em, not sure if he still does.
http://www.thirdeyeq.com/products---pricing.html

Try it with a coat hanger (not a real good solution, but should help some).

I have not tried this...... I assumed it was due to the fire box air holes and not the grate air flow....a good point.

Thanks.

Skiddymarker

Wiggle rod is a good way to find out if the grate is plugging. You can fashion your own with a coat hanger to give it a try, if it improves the airflow and heat out put, then investing in a real wiggle rod may be what you need. 
For my MBGE, went with the High-Que grate, much better airflow than the OEM grate. 
Further, when you rake ash,turn your rake sideways and clear the space between the fire box and the base. The round holes in the firebox can be plugged with lump or ash as it builds after numerous cooks. You do not need to remove the firebox to clean the ash and allow airflow. Some folks like to vacuum the ash, which II have never done.  

OshawaDave

Jupiter Jim said:

OshawaDave said:

I seem to have occasional issues with the air holes in the fire box. They must be getting covered with coal or dust and not letting me get to high temps. I slow cooked a prime rib roast yesterday at 275 degrees and then open the bottom vent full to reverse sear it and the temp only rose to 400. I had to blow into the bottom vent a couple of times and it took 20 minutes to start heating up and it did finally hit 600.

Anyone else have issues with the air holes and again it's occasionally? I was wondering if a KAB would help fix this?

Thoughts?

Did you remove the dual function metal top as well? Is your dome temp thermometer accurate?

Yes, I removed the daisy wheel and my dome thermometer is correct.

Fredb

I usually restack my lump after a burn or two and never have a problem.

RRP

While I agree that a KAB will help, you may still have a build up of ash that has fallen thru those holes. Eventually those air holes are blocked. I took this picture after carefully removing my firebox to prove my point of air holes being clogged.

alaskanassasin

    I used to take all the charcoal out into a bucket and clean the bottom of the grill out for high temps, theorizing that the ashes settling in the charcoal did not allow for proper airflow.  This works.

    After I got burned out on that I bought a hand held electric blower to essentially blow them out the top... this works but not if your grilling somewhere you don't want coal dust everywhere.

    Finally as mentioned before in this post I bought a KAB, now I just take it out in the grass and give it a few shakes and twists and its ready to go. I also inspect firebox and steal plate for ventilation.

RajunCajun

stlcharcoal said:

KAB will solve this problem.  Great product 

What he said, times deux!

Skiddymarker

RRP said:

While I agree that a KAB will help, you may still have a build up of ash that has fallen thru those holes. Eventually those air holes are blocked. I took this picture after carefully removing my firebox to prove my point of air holes being clogged.

Good pic of ash that has fallen thru the vent holes located in the firebox. That’s why i suggest turning your ash tool sideways and cleaning the ash from between the firebox and the base while the firebox is in place Granted you can’t get all the way around the firebox, but once you remove the ash from all except that between the 10 and 2 o’cLock positions, there will never be an airflow issue. 

OshawaDave

thanks for the suggestions everyone!

LetsEat

 I just completed a 16 hour 225’ cook with KAB, Smokewear Cap and Royal Oak. My LG Egg has a severe overbite and the gaskets are charred and I still have lump in the firebox after the cook. My only real prep is to start with a clean, ash free firebox and load the lump by hand placing the largest pieces on the bottom.

All good questions and suggestions from fellow eggers. Hope you achieve success in your next cook. You have a beautiful table and grilling area. 

derka123

RRP said:

While I agree that a KAB will help, you may still have a build up of ash that has fallen thru those holes. Eventually those air holes are blocked. I took this picture after carefully removing my firebox to prove my point of air holes being clogged.

Ron,

How long did it take for that much buildup to accumulate?

RRP

derka123 said:

RRP said:

While I agree that a KAB will help, you may still have a build up of ash that has fallen thru those holes. Eventually those air holes are blocked. I took this picture after carefully removing my firebox to prove my point of air holes being clogged.

Ron,

How long did it take for that much buildup to accumulate?

As often as I do full clean outs it had to be less than a year. Obviously y/m/m/v! I do know this was before I switched to  KAB and before then I always did a robust stir of my ash covered lump before adding new lump. I suppose that stirring could have accounted for some of that build up.

BTW I had tried to invent a "push me - pull me" cleaner outer to address that ash build up. My design was to use a block of wood cut in a shape that would ride on the bottom of the egg between the outer shell and that straight perpendicular bottom of the fire box. Using steel cable which was stiff enough to be pushed through the ash build up and then pulled back thru to clean out the ashes. My prototype kept hanging up and I would have to remove the fire ring and fire box just to get it out! 

OshawaDave

I bought a campfire fork for hot dogs and cut the tines off and fashioned my own.....works pretty well.

thanks for the suggestion.