NEWBIE Questions

BGE_Wedgewood_SEA

Hey All! Newbie here, got my L as my annual gift from my wife (xmas, bday, fathers day, etc all in one).

A few questions from you experienced ones. 

To date i've done 3 cooks, Chicken Wings, Drumsticks, and Spatchcock Chicken. All Indirect at 350.

1. In the beginning it takes me quite a bit of time to get the temps going. It could be due to compiled ashes, however even during my first cook it takes about 30 min to get the temps to go up, however once it DOES go up it goes quickly. What am I doing wrong?

• Each cook I pile charcoal up to firebox line. Light with two firestarters, and close the egg with top and bottom wide open. (Exception is the first cook I also put the connvegtor plate on as well as Grate bc I was wary of grill getting too hot once fire is started). Should I leave the Egg WIDE open longer before? Clean out the Ash box completely? Make sure the air holes are completely clear?
  

2. Takes a while to dial into 350. I keep the bottom vent 1/2 open, and dial in and out with the top and notice temps STILL don't really stabilize within another 30 min (60 min total so far). What i did with the 2nd and 3rd cook (drumsticks, and whole chicken) was add the meat once I reached temp and continued to watch. During the spatchcock I noticed at 60 min it finally stabilized however I was almost done with the cook. What am I doing wrong? Does this just take practice? I hesitate to try a brisket before getting the temp dialing down better.

3. Maintenance. I made the mistake of not covering my connvegtor during the first cook. Any tips on cleaning?

Thanks for reading the thoughts of a newbie and keep the posts coming!

WeberWho

Welcome!

Make sure your firebox is lined up with the lower vent so you're getting adequate air.  

Keep the dome open for a few minutes to get that fire stabilized before closing it.
 
You can also try other ways in lighting it. I bought a weed torch from Harbor Freight. It gets the egg up to temperature quickly paired with some good lump. Others here use mapp torches. 

EggNorth

Welcome.  Agree with above to keep dome open until fire is well on its way,  I leave it open usually around 10mn, depends on the fire.

PBRSmoker

I light mine with a propane torch works great..

wardo

1.  I leave the dome open for at least 20min unless it's raining.  It lets the coals heat up faster and gets you to a clean burn sooner.  Depending on the cooking temp, I will close it for a few minutes to gauge how hot the grill is.  I find it takes 20 to 30min to get to where I need it depending on the cook.

2. The vent in the bottom is for big temp changes, the Daisy wheel on top is for small changes.  It does take a bit of getting used to, but after a dozen cooks or less, you'll have it down easy.

3.  I normally use a drip pan to keep from vaporizing my drippings.  I use a small foil spacer to keep the tin pan off the platesetter.  On bigger cooks (like a ton of wings) I've now realized that I should wrap the platesetter.  But a tin drip pan from Sam's club works great for most cooks!

Happy egging and welcome!

alaskanassasin

30 minutes sounds right

mahenryak

As far as the conveggtor (plate setter) goes, no worries there, you can just burn that stuff off.  Pre-heat to 550-650 and throw it on there.  Forty five minutes to an hour should be plenty of time and maybe point the problem side down.   Just watch your temps so you don't get into the nuclear range (extreme high temps).  Personally, I would not go full throttle at least for awhile but that's just me.

A lot of other good suggestions already mentioned on the other concerns.  I might just add that I agree that most of your attention should be focused on the bottom vent for temp regulation.  Also, make sure the stock grate is not clogging up.  

GaBGE

One thing I learned when I first got my XL was that you can’t cook when in a hurry. I started off by using lighting blocks or oil soaked paper towel but have recently started using a torch. The torch gets a hotter fire going a lot faster. 

wardo

GaBGE said:

One thing I learned when I first got my XL was that you can’t cook when in a hurry.

So true!  The good news about this is it's just more egging time😁