Too much lump?

MrCoffee

I started the BGE at about 6:00 this morning (Eastern) to slow cook a 6 1/2# boneless Boston Butt. I planned on cooking at about 225 - 250° all day but am having a devil of a time keeping the temp below 325° or higher. The vent at the bottom is open less than 1/4" now and the daisy wheel at the top shows just a coulpe of slivers being open. I think because I expected a long cook I probably added just a little too much lump. About 2" below the top of the firebox.
Any advice or suggestions?
Thanks,
Terry

Unknown

MrCoffee,[p]I don't think you have too much lump. When I have been in your situation, I've had success getting the temp down by adding more charcoal, especially to the current hot spots. Give it a try and I think you will have success lowering the temp.[p]Pout

KennyG

MrCoffee,[p]Too much lump was not the problem. I think that you let the temp get too high before you set the controls to those settings where you would normally expect 225-250*.[p]A good time to do this would have been when the thermo hit around 200*.[p]Once Humpty gets hot, he very reluctantly lets go of that heat. Your daisy is fine. Set the bottom vent at about 1/8" and just be patient. In an hour or so, it should stabilize at 250*. Your Butt will still need 16+ hours and the higher cooking temps up front won't hurt a thing.[p]K~G

The Naked Whiz

MrCoffee,
Nope, too much lump won't have that effect. What affects the amount of heat is the amount of lump which is actually burning, which in turn is affected by the amount of oxygen available to the fire. My first butt cook I loaded the egg up to within a inch or two of the top of the fire ring. I dumped about about 1/2 a chimney of roaring hot lump on top of this, added hickory chunks, added the plate setter, inserted the drip pan, grid and butt and then inserted the thermometer. By the time I closed the lid, the temperature was about 150 degrees. When the temp hit 200, I shut down the vents and started fiddling to get it to 220-230. I never let the egg get hotter than that so that it had to cool down. It pretty much stayed there for 21 hours. Good luck with your next cook![p]TNW

MrCoffee

To all.
Thanks for the advice, I guess I did let the egg get away from me in the beginning. I'll not let that happen again soon. Another 16 hours? I was planning about 5:00 or so this evening for pulled and Publix has bone-in primium rib roast for $4.99 a pound I was looking at for tomorrow.
Oh well, I have all next week off to experiment and try to eat myself into oblivion.
Thanks again!
Terry

Tim M

MrCoffee,[p]I agree with everyone so far. The only other guess is that you might have a gasket leak. That will prevent you from holding low temps. Close the vent to 1/4" and close the daisy all the way - it leaks enough to hold a low temp. In an hour or two the dome temp will be down - if not, you probably are leaking air somewhere.[p]Tim

Unknown

MrCoffee,[p]I'm getting ready to put on a picnic shoulder for an overnight cook. This is how much lump I put in the egg. It is just about to the top of the firebox, and heaped a bit higher in the middle.[p]Pout

Unknown

<p />Crap... forgot the photo...

MrCoffee

Pout,
Nice picture and that is more lump than I used (this time). I think I have things under control thanks to all the help I recieved from some great Q'ers. The butt is at 178° and climing kind of off and on.
Tomorrow will be beef rib roast day. Is it possible to pork out on beef roast? :=)
Terry