Lower smoking temperatures???

Unknown

I have had my large egg for almost a year now. It really is tough to screw anything up unless you are drinking more than BBQing. I am having a hell of a time trying to get to and maintain 200 degree temps. Is there a different way to start the lumps as well? I am wondering if there is a set opening for the daisy wheel and the draft door to produce this temp?
Thanks
Don

Big'un

Drunk at the EGG,
I like to cook at low temps too. What I've found is to not let the temp get too much higher than what you want to stabilize at. The egg insulates so well, that coming down to a lower temp is almost always more difficult. I use an electric starter and it is rarely buried in the new lump(center) for more than a couple minutes. Then I let the temp climb slowly and then start closing off the drafts; bottom about the thickness of a nickle, and the top about the same maybe a little more. It takes longer before you put food on because you want to burn off the VOCs. But after every cook the center has burned outward perfectly. HTH.
Big'un

BobS

Drunk at the EGG,
To be honest, I have never tried to maintain 200! That said, I have a Guru that I love and I think that it would do it. I would start the limp in a single small spot, set up the controller and let her rip. I have done 225, with no problem, on two cooks and in both cases ended up moving the temp to 250 before it was done.

The Naked Whiz

Drunk at the EGG,
Here is a link to my page on temperature control. They key is to approach your target temperature from below, never letting it rise above your target. Once the ceramic gets too hot for your target, you have to wait an eternity for the ceramic to cool down. That said, what are you going to cook at 200 degrees other than jerky? 200 is too low for butts and briskets. If the dome is at 200, the grid is lower than 200, and it's tough to get meat to 200 when the air is less than 200. Good luck![p]TNW
[ul][li]Temperature Control[/ul]