First fire, first cook, first problems and observa

blown 87

Hello again every one.

I dropped the hammer on a XL Tuesday, got it delivered and finished the set up about 6:30 PM.



I built my first fire in it tried to keep it low, I went up to 350 for a couple of hours and then choked it back down to 300 and left it there until 8:00 the next morning.



It had dropped down to about 200, closed all the dampers, all good there.
I was just trying to the gasket glue set good.





Last night at about 5:30 we decided to try our luck with some burgers, I filled it up to half way to the top of the fire ring and used a small propane torch to get it lit, or should I say try to get it lit.



Observation number one, there was a reason I had almost a full bag of Kingsford Char wood that I did not use.
It looks like a sparkler on the forth of July.

I thought that the much smaller flame of my small propane torch that this would not cause a big problem just trying to get it lit.
Wrong again


Observation number two, when you read that you should use safety glasses when lighting a fire, it might be because somebody has lost or almost lost a eye, spend ten minutes trying to find safety glasses and fail.
Go get high dollar prescription shooting glasses.

Go back to lighting fire, with high dollar shooting glasses on, burn hand.

Observation number three, remember reading about wearing long gloves, spend ten minutes looking for welding gloves and fail, steal a long mitt from kitchen, burn hole in neoprene heat resistant glove, steal another glove.

Think to myself, I bet some other dummies has burned his hand also, that is why they say use gloves.

Go find burn cream, apply to burn on face and arm, think about frozen Pizza in fridge.

Give up on small torch, think about broom handle, torch and duct tape, think about how to get propane torch out of fire, give up on idea.

Use the gas starter in my Webber to get about 7-8 big pieces of lump started and placed them into the BGE. I then filled it up to the top of the fire ring, closed the lid with the top off and the damper open at the bottom.

Think to myself, this ain't to bad.
Wait until the temp comes up to 250, put the daisy wheel on and almost close the damper, just a little more open than the night before. Think to myself "I got this thing down".

Go prepare hamburgers, get beer, more burn cream.

Go to put on a few oak chips, notice the BGE is over 700, remember about flashbacks, close vents, wait, get beer, wait, get beer, down to 500.

Remember again about flashback, open lid about one to two inches, count to three and open, flashback burns hair off of arm, see glove laughing at me on the railing.
FULLY close daisy wheel and damper.
Think to myself, maybe the speed that you open after the burp, just might have some effect on flashback.

Get beer, more burn cream and wait.

All right, down to four fifty now, remember glove, think, wow this lid is heavy, watch as top gasket sticks to bottom gasket.
Observation number four, gasket burn easy, glue does not like high temps.

Go get beer, find putty knife, try to decide which hand to protect with glove, get gasket halves apart and put back on where they should be, think about Pizza in fridge.

8:20, approach my adversary with due caution, wonder how much those suits they wear in steel mills are, burp for five to ten seconds and manage to get oak chips in.

8:25, remember to turn deep fryer on for fries, get beer and wait for oil to get hot.

8:30, armor on, approach this killing, grilling machine, look lovingly at Webber, put burgers on.

8:36, go to flip burgers, hold the lid a couple of inches open, thinking this thing is going to try and burn me again, wait for smoke to clear, flip burgers, close lid, notice temp is down to about 350, open vents, think about BBQ Guru.

8:42, pan in one hand, spatula in other, look at glove, wish I had a table or grill mates, put pan, spatula on Webber, put on gloves and safety glasses, open very slowly, HMM, burgers look good, but by this time a twenty year old egg in a jar at a pool hall would look tasty.

8:47, get very well done fries out of deep fryer, search for new bottle of Ketchup.

8:55, throw in "Charlie Wilsons War", put on more burn cream, and enjoy the fruits of my pain, err, labor.

Observation number five, this stuffs GOOOD.


On a more serious note, the XL, and my guess any of them, will flash back, I have even had it happen on my Webber, and for your own safety wear gloves and safety glasses when lighting your egg, until I come up with a way to install a gas starter.
I also think I am going to get one of those fiber glass gaskets if I toast another one.

A couple of more things, how do you clean the cooking grate?
I have always used a fireBrick that is like a lave rock for cleaning them and that is not going to work on this ceramic coated grilling surface.
I am thinking about getting a cast iron grate and taking it to my machine shop for a surface grinding until it is as smooth as a Porsche cylinder head, then having it "Hard chromed", the heat should not bother it as they use this in aircraft jugs (cylinders) and lots of cooking grates are chromed.
Or maybe just break out the TIG and weld one up out of stainless.


Greg Nettles

vidalia1

Welcome to the Club...... :P

B & C

Greg, I think you are supposed to open the vent and daisy wheel to let out the combustable VOC's (volitale organic compounds) for a short time (30 - 60 seconds) before opening the egg to prevent flashbacks. I haven't had a flashback yet but I know my time is coming.

Gloves and safety glasses are good to have.

AZRP

I use a MAPP torch to light and agree about using safety glasses. Haven't needed gloves, but I think that Charwood sparks a whole lot more than most lump. -RP

tach18k

I use a mapp gas torch, I have a locking trigger so I just start the torch and hold it from the bottom of the tank, no burns, I also dont use the kingsford casue of the sparks, head to wall mart and get the royal oak in the red bags. Once you get the routine down it will be a sinch. I usualy let my egg get to 300 before closing it down for a lower cook, I clean my grate? Use a steall brush. Always fill the fire box to the top, never short yourself on lump, what doesnt burn off you use the next time.

fishlessman

stainless grids are available here, good investment
http://www.eggaccessories.com/xl.html
i use a weed burner from harbor freight, allows you to stand further back when lighting and if you light thru the grate, it helps clean it as well. i see you have the beer part down so no help there needed, well actually you want the fridge far away from the egg, think exercise.

Pork N Stein

I was laughing all the way through your post, the gloves laughing at you was classic! I've had those same thoughts while egging!! Congrats on the new egg, keep practicing and posting!

Sprig65

Geees now I am scared to light my new XL this weekend. We are building an outdoor Kitchen and my XL is suppose to be hear this Friday. So do I understand that I will always fill the fire box to the top everytime I use it then just shut it down to desired temp????

dhuffjr

Hey Greg.
Check out the billy bar. It is a great grid cleaner. Lawn Ranger makes one too. I don't like those wire ones as they just wear out too fast. I do keep a cheap plastic scrub style one around and depending on what I'm cooking will give it a 'finishing' pass with that.

Stay away from kingsford. Try a starter cube next time too. I use propane and hold it from the bottom of the tank as others have mentioned.

H

dhuffjr

Hey Greg.
Check out the billy bar. It is a great grid cleaner. Lawn Ranger makes one too. I don't like those wire ones as they just wear out too fast. I do keep a cheap plastic scrub style one around and depending on what I'm cooking will give it a 'finishing' pass with that.

Stay away from kingsford. Try a starter cube next time too. I use propane and hold it from the bottom of the tank as others have mentioned.

H

Mike in Abita

Half way to the top of the fire ring, in a XL. That is a whole lot of charcoal. Never loaded mine up that far. I have had a series of cooks just filling to the top of the firebox.

Once you've had a few low temp cooks on new lump it will flashback alot less. I try to keep my high temp cooks to once fired lump. Just stir, and light.

It is an awesome (read scary) sight to see an XL flashback.

Mike in Abita

Not necessarily. If you are going for burgers or chicken. Just use a little less lump. Fill to the holes in the FB. If you are going for a 30 hour butt or brisket, then fill to the top of the FR. Be aware of flashback but don't let it get you paranoid. It has happened with other cookers but is more pronounced with ceramic cookers. Reason being is we use air flow or more accurately lack of air flow to control temps.

If I'm going for a specific temp let's say 250 dome. I will light the lump in three places sometimes four. I will then put in the platesetter or pizza stone, and then close the lid. Leave the daisy off and the lower slider vent wide open. Once the temps get to 200, I close the slider to it's only 1/4" open. Temp will drop at this point due to lack of air. Once it gets back to 225 I'll put the daisy on and close the top slider and adjust the petals to about 1/2 open maybe a little less. This should take about a 1/2 hour to get to this point. Remember all that ceramic will take a while to absorb that heat and stablilize.

Morro Bay Rich

Opening the vents for 30 to 60 seconds is the secret to taming flashbacks. I think this is in the book that came with the Egg, at least it was in the one that came with mine in 2001.

[Deleted User]

Gregster-
A good read, but sorry to hear of the burns!
I like to keep things simple (and safe) and IMHO, starting the fire with a torch is overrated.
I highly recommend the Paper towel method:

Take 2 paper towels, and fold each into thirds (like you were going to mail it)
drizzle with a zigzag of EVOO.

Twist 'em up.
Lay them in a little rut I leave in the lump pile.
Light both ends. Lay a couple longer pieces of lump to bridge over the towels.
Leave the dome open till the paper towel is burned up.
Close the dome and let it go to your desired temp.

Also, when there is a danger of FLASHBACK, take the daisy off completely and open the bottom vent wide open. Leave it for at least 10 seconds or so (I don't know what the official time requirement is) then with your gloved hand, burp it a bit.

You can still use your Egg without a gasket. I found mine just took longer to shut down.
Good luck and welcome to the cult!

Grandpas Grub

Greg,

ROFLMAO!!! I've got tears running down my cheeks.

On a serious note... Kiingsford is spark heaven, use napkin & oil (not motor oil) to start the kingsford. Don't take the Kigsford to a very high heat or you again will have a lot of sparks. Not good for wood decks.

Kent

gdenby

At first, I had almost as much fun with my littler mediums. It is amazing how fast an Egg will go to lava temperature. The first time I saw a jet coming out the top, I was a little shocked. Just before my first flash-back, I thought to myself, "You know what, I'll bet I'm going to get a... !!!!"

I and others use a weed burner as a starter. The nice long wand keeps the nozzle well away. There are some brands of lump that will burst under it, tho'. So a quick, circling motion helps to keep the heat from concentrating.

A stainless or chromed grate is much easier to clean.

Some people have replaced their gaskets with Cotronics ceramic fiber, which appears to be somewhat more food-safe than fiberglass.

The next hazard is called"portion control." It usually happens after several sessions of "OMG! I can't believe how good this tastes."

blown 87

Thanks guys, I should have know better than to use the Kingsford, I know how bad it is.

I told the better half before we started that there might be a few meals the dogs were REALLY going to enjoy before we get the hang of this.
They were good enough I had to give the dogs some of mine, casue she said they were going in the fridge for tomorrow (today).
The dogs woke her up at five, hungry I guess. :laugh:

I know there will be a learning curve with this, as with anything.
I think we are going to try a long slow cook this weekend, maybe a butt.

I just KNOW it is going to be a wonderful cooker, we have ordered the parts we need for the small and are working out some plans for a stone topped, modular table, more pics and info on that later.

I also have a idea in mind for a gas starter for bottom lighting, I will try the napkin method on it, the oil sure as heck works for making a great fire with a errant hamburger paper, it also works real well on a steak if you get to much on them.

As most of you figured out, my first cook was really not that bad, just a singe or too, but the one "pop" below my eye did catch my attention.

I think I am only going to use BGE brand, or maybe the Kroger's new store brand, I really like it. I have no idea who makes it for them.

Slotmercenary

Greetings,
welcome to the cult and an amusing read BUT ON A SERIOUS NOTE, by the looks of things in the pics you have your egg on a paver directly on a combustible deck surface?
Not a desired situation for a long term install.
Safety first then belly up to the feast.
Good luck
PS: sorry if i am seeing the pics wrong.

Grandpas Grub

Greg,

There are a lot of great bands of lump. Royal Oak (made in America), makes BGE lump. Wicked, I hear is great haven't found any other than ship in. Cowboy is pretty good, I at times use Kingsford but I am more careful when I do use it.

I wouldn't take a new egg above 500° for the first 8 or 10 cooks. There is no real need to fill the lump real full for each cook, long cooks, yes, full.

I am not sure if a gas starter at the bottom is such a great idea. I have only done this one or twice and there was really no advantage. I may get corrected on this, but lighting low and again on top gives me a real hot fire. Lighting on top is best for low and slow.

If you get different gasket material call HQ and pick up a Nomex gasket. If you talk with member Hammer, he has several XL's and uses Nomex gasket material. He test new products for BGE.

Celetic Wolf has a number of XL's and will also have some great information to help you. Also, there are a lot of XL users who will be able to help you.

There is a lot more lump surface area on the XL so I would think it would be easier to get hot or burned working over the lump.

I have sucessfully seared my steaks on my smaller cookers by getting the lump to a lava color and putting the seasoned meat directly on the lump. Steaks about 90 seconds per side. The meat will stay clean and you will get a great sear without getting the egg too terribly hot.

When your egg is getting to the temp you want to cook at, begin to close vents down. You will quickly learn how wide to set the vents for different temps.

Good cooking, Kent

Big'un

GEEEESH!! It's hard to know where to start bubble-wrapping you! :woohoo: Definately a fun read, at your expense, of course. I'm glad that the deep fryer didn't figure into this picture too much. When I saw the words "deep fryer", I thought we would all be sending get well cards to the hospital. So thanks for saving us the time and cost of stamping cards. :silly: I am hoping the next implements you purchase for your egg will be a fire extinguisher(and possibly a living will). I know you are in Georgia now, but you weren't in California the last couple of years were you? :laugh: Ok enough of that,for now.

I'm glad you are dedicated to the fun that the egg provides. And I am extra glad that you are safe and sound(if you are a littled charred). When you go to chrome a grid, let me know, I'd be interested in one too. If you need any help with the cooking, I'm over in Jackson. Give me a holler.

blown 87

Hi yawl, I will look into the nomex gasket, we use that in our gloves and sleeves for working on hot cars, great stuff.

Big'un
I hear you on the fire bottles, got a big Co2 on the porch, just in case.
And thanks for the cards that were not needed, really man.

You guys are going to be a fun group, I can tell all ready.

slotmercenary wrote:

Greetings,
welcome to the cult and an amusing read BUT ON A SERIOUS NOTE, by the looks of things in the pics you have your egg on a paver directly on a combustible deck surface?
Not a desired situation for a long term install.
Safety first then belly up to the feast.
Good luck
PS: sorry if i am seeing the pics wrong.

It is in a nest.
I know about the wooden deck, we had a animal knock over a 18 1/2 inch Webber once, I had to replace a couple of boards, but It could have been much worse if I was not in the habit of checking the fire every so often.

Firetruck

Hey Greg, I found a new way to clean the grates. The other day I told my son to get the egg ready to fire up. He took off the grate and set it on the porch floor. When I returned with the charcoal, the dog had it clean as a whistle.

blown 87

Firetruck wrote:

Hey Greg, I found a new way to clean the grates. The other day I told my son to get the egg ready to fire up. He took off the grate and set it on the porch floor. When I returned with the charcoal, the dog had it clean as a whistle.

:laugh: :laugh:

Eggtucky

OMG blown!!..you get an 'A' for effort and persistence!!..I woulda gone and got drunk b4 I got halfway thru what you did!!...your patience is commendable!...hang in there..you'll get it...btw..that XL looks awfully close to that wood railing on your deck...

blown 87

Eggtucky wrote:

OMG blown!!..you get an 'A' for effort and persistence!!..I woulda gone and got drunk b4 I got halfway thru what you did!!...your patience is commendable!...hang in there..you'll get it...btw..that XL looks awfully close to that wood railing on your deck...

You sir, have a very good point about how close that is to the railing.
I will be moved before we build another fire.

Greg Nettles

PhilsGrill

Well, now that you have done everything wrong, that's all behind you now! Time to move ahead and enjoy!

cookn biker

I am sorry for your pain and welcome to the cult. Your post made me laugh, with you not at you. You will learn much from this geat forum.
Molly

metrylee

maybe you should order out

blown 87

metrylee wrote:

maybe you should order out

No way man. :laugh:

Mojo1

thanks for the head s up and I will remember this thread when I fire up my Large I just picked up today . I will try to keep all my hair!

blown 87

Mojo1 wrote:

thanks for the head s up and I will remember this thread when I fire up my Large I just picked up today . I will try to keep all my hair!

Hi Mojo1