18 degrees with pork on

cookn biker

20 plus lbs. the temp on the medium is only reaching 200. Put it on at 2:30, now 6:15. I have no wind break or garage. Any thoughts? Wind is breezy.
I was planning on checking every 2 hours, thoughts?
TIA, Molly

cookn biker

Just looked out, and snowing!
I am stressed, am I O.K.?
Molly

BENTE

maybe the thermometer is hitting the pork???? :unsure:


if so take the clip off the thermometer and make sure it will slide easily then add a cork (from bottle of wine) with a hole in it....

if not i would get a wiggle rod in the bottom vent you may have some blockage :unsure:

Grandpas Grub

Molly,

Don't panic. If your dome is at 200°, personally, I think you will run into problems with an overnight cook. If you are up every 2 to 3 hours you can babysit the entire cook and things may go well. I would get the dome to 250° or 260° and hold there.

If possible rotate your egg so the wind blows to the back of the egg or put something infront of the lower vent (leave some safety space) to block the direct wind.

Don't worry about the cold or snow. Rain could present a problem, water going down the top vent.

The only thing you need to worry about is the possibility of the lump going out.

Kent

cookn biker

Nope not hitting. I have oven therm on the grate reading 200. I actually put 2 of them on there. Both the same. It is now snowing, outside temp 17, I'M SCARED
Molly

cookn biker

I'll try turning my egg, cause it is a simple, but anoying breeze.
Thanx,Molly

BENTE

Well it is friday just make sure that you get up to check on it. if the fire goes out foil and put in an oven around 225-250 and just finish in the oven. or you can put it in the oven open up the egg and get everything going again put the pork back on the egg and gho back to sleep for another couple hours. before i went to bed i would make sure everything is going. i don't like to sleep unless the egg is at 250

Grandpas Grub

It is 9° out now. I have noticed in cold weather that getting the egg up to higher temps is a bit of a challange. Most of the time I have to use a jiggle stick to get air flow.

If your grate is at 200° your dome temp should be higher. If your target meat temp is 200° then having a grid temp of 200° is a bit low. I would get the grid at 225° to 230°.

What are you cooking and what is the meat temp?

Kent

Grandpas Grub

Be very careful not to tip the egg if it is in the nest. If not in a nest or table with wheels then I would leave it alone.

We have seen several poeple moving the egg and tipping it over resulting in a broken egg.

cookn biker

I agree. I don't like that it is NOT at 250. I'll play it by 'ear'.
Very beutiful baby!!
I'll be up most of the night.
Thanx much, Molly

BENTE

i am getting ready to mix an adult beverage (first of the night) so i will be up a while my self.


i would try the wiggle rod. did the egg ever get to 250? if not i would calibrate the thermometer easy fix for a overnighter

cookn biker

well that is the concern. All the vents are open to the max, and now what? How to pump the temp up I do not know.
Molly

Rick's Tropical Delight

i'm curious why you want to turn the egg out of the wind. a wind into the lower vent will act just like a powered draft fan and your pit temp should rise.

what is the width of your bottom vent opening? open it another 1/2" until your temp hits 250 dome, then close it 1/4" and let it stabilize. how are you checking the oven thermos on your grid? thru the top with a flashlight i hope. if you keep opening the dome to check the temp, you are causing heat loss.

cookn biker

O.K. so the great thinkers are thinking as one. I have the vents open all the way. Oven therms on grate, steady at 200. So said I will stop opening every hour. Ya think that will do the job?
It's only gonna get colder.
Molly

Rick's Tropical Delight

what kind of lump?
how large were the lump pieces?
how full is the medium egg?
i assume you are using a plate setter, legs up with drip pan, then grid and two pork butts standing up on their edge?

how close is the dome thermometer to the meat?

Grandpas Grub

Let us know what you are cooking and what is your target temp.

How much lump is in the medium?

If you have enough lump then you do not have a good air flow through the lump. Your temps should be extreemely hot - way, way too hot with those settings.

I have limited experienc with a medium. Last night 13° I was trying to get the medium up to 450°.

Bottom vent & screen fully open and dome not covered. The max temp was 300°. I used a wire to jiggle the lump and after some time I got a temp increase.

I finally stabalized with dome vent slider 1/2 open pedles full open. Bottom vent open about 2 to 2.5 inches. To me that seem way too open for that temp. But with the medium I am not sure. I was cooking some potatoes so I really wasn't too worried about the temp.

My large has about the same problem but after jiggling the lump the bottom vent about 2 to 2.5" inches open and top vent 1/4 slider petals full open we held the temp at 450°

Back to your vent settings. Be careful as with vents open you could possibly jump to high temps and then have to choke the egg down.

Hopefully someone else with medium experience and cold weather will jump in with their vent settings for a target dome temp of 250°

Kent

Grandpas Grub

Molly,

Rick is correct about turning the egg. The only concern I would have with the wind is if it stopped that 'might' change the egg temp.

I really don't think your temp hold is due to outside temp, it is more likely the air movement through the lump or possibly the fire not spread over the enire lump. Possibly lump is getting low.

You need to answer the questions Rick asked as that will help others help you.

Kent

cookn biker

Totally full lump. Large on the bottom and so forth, all the way up the the botom of the plate setter, legs up.
Molly

BENTE

yes stop opening unless you think you are running out of lump. take a coat hanger and bend it to go into the bottom vent. then stick the hanger into each one of the holes in the grate that holds the lump maybe a ash build up is what is happening. when you bend your coathanger it is a homemade wiggle rod (sorry i should have said a little more on the wiggle rod)

Rick's Tropical Delight

the egg doesn't care how cold it is.

STOP OPENING THE DOME.

how did you light the lump?
how long after you lit the lump did you add the meat?
what was the dome temp prior to opening the dome and adding the meat?

do you have another thermometer you can put the probe into one of the daisy wheel holes to measure the exhaust coming out of the egg?

are the oven thermometers calibrated? how close to the meat are they? 20 pounds of cold meat will affect the temp directly around them for a long time.

if you had the fire going at all, it should start to raise in temp with the bottom vent open. you must have blockage of the holes in the charcoal grate. use a wiggle rod (coat hangar) inserted thru the bottom vent and up thru the holes in the charcoal grate and slightly wiggle it. red embers should fall.

Grandpas Grub

Totally full being up to the top of the fire box or up to the top of the fire ring?

cookn biker

fire ring
Molly

Grandpas Grub

If you have a good fire I would think you would see a pretty good orange glow when viewing the bottom vent.

Once you wiggle the lump make sure you pay attention to the thermometers. Bottom vent fully open with good amount of lump and good air flow should produce extremely high temps.

Grandpas Grub

That is full... If you are at 4 hours you should have a well established burn and should be glowing almost edge to edge in the egg.

Follow the wiggle stick instructions below and watch your temps & dome temp.

FlaPoolman

Molly I'm a Florida guy so not so good in the cold but did you try a blow dryer or shop vac in the bottom vent? sounds like an air prob. & I'm not the eggespert , just trying to help. Hope it works out.
Pat

cookn biker

1 hour
290 degree
no
yes
1inch from meat, on grate
went on room temp
totally cleaned out egg for this.
Molly

Beanie-Bean

I'd recommend having a chimney starter to get some lump going in case your fire goes out. Another thing I read about before doing one of my first overnighters was that if the fire went out to make sure to transfer the pork to the oven and let it cook there until the dome temp stabilized again.

Rick's Tropical Delight

measure the temp of the exhaust coming out the top of the egg by inserting a thermometer probe into a daisy wheel hole and forget about your other thermometers for a bit.

relax. have a beer or rum and coke or shot of woodford reserve... or ginger ale. :silly:

DO NOT OPEN THE DOME UNTIL THE MEAT IS AT 185 DEGREES

Rick's Tropical Delight

with 20 pounds of butt in a medium you need to add some spacers to the dome thermometer similar to this



or put the thermometer retaining clip on the outside instead of the inside to hold the stem from going into the dome so far.

Nature Boy

Don't remember ever telling anybody this before....but nice spacers!
Chris

TRex

Don't mind if I do.