Friday Night Fun

MN_Eggin

So..I've had my large egg since April. Cook on it 3-5 times per week. Variety of stuff: butts, pizzas, chicken, steaks, ribs, veggies, but not nearly as diverse as some of the regulars on this board.

About 3 weeks ago, 1/2 my gasket basically melts away. I had followed up a 10 hour slow and low cook with a lump reload (while still burning) and then cooked chicken breasts and then finishing with steaks. In total, I ran it for about 20 hours straight, not including cool down after snuffing.

The gasket issues aren't a real big secret and I've seen plenty of posts discussing replacements of gaskets with the high heat version. So, I call BGE HQ and requested a new gasket. They tell me they are having quality issues with their gaskets, what's your address, etc.

Monday (while I'm out of town), my new gasket shows up. I get home Wednesday with plans to change it out heading into this weekend and what do you know....they send me the same bleeping gasket as the one that was originally installed. I called them up and specifically asked for a Nomex gasket, which they said they will now ship, but I don't really want to go through the replacement process twice in less than a year.

I'm up against a 4th of July party deadline so I decide to go with what I have instead of swapping it out. Seven pound Boston Butt loaded up with apple chunks and Dizzy rub.....my egg looks like Cheech and Chong's van for the first two hours. Yikes. It seems to have calmed down, but this is gonna be a long night. For whatever reason (likely related to the gasket), it won't hold 250F. If I take it to 265, it's rock solid. I try to get my dome to 250 and it crashes. So 265 it is, but I don't trust it. So I will be burning the midnight oil this evening.

This likely sounds like a rant, but really it's not. I find myself chuckling about it even though I am a little frustrated.

I did learn one neat trick though. I bought a $2.99 electric hand fan at Target. One of the ones that runs on AA batteries. It's the perfect height to sit at the bottom vent. I turned it on during start up and it shaved at least 15 minutes off my start time. Poor man's Pit Viper I guess.

Off to check the Egg......

hornhonk

Cool! You have a Big Green Bong!

hornhonk

Seriously, I burned off the gasket on my small egg a few weeks ago, but it hasn't affected anything. The smoke doesn't leak anywhere, even of high temps. Not a clue what could be doing this . Obviously, your egg is not mis-aligned if it worked properly before your blow out. Keep cooking. Everything should come out great.

MN_Eggin

It seemed to hold 260-265 dome temp all night. Started to edge down near dawn to around 245, but it's also cool this morning with no wind. Butt is at 165 so I opened the bottom vent just a hair. I'll get it dialed in again and it's off to the golf course in an hour and a half.

The better half will take her to the finish line and get all the credit at the party this afternoon.

It smells great right now and I've not peaked once....first time for that.

As for the gasket, I've read lots of posts where folks seem to get away with it. Mine's really bad in two spots though. Back by the hinge (10-2 position) and at the 5-8 position. More than 50% went away in a single episode. If I can make it through this, I should be fine until the new gasket arrives. However, I won't be comfortable with long cooks until it's replaced. It was so steady before the gasket issue. I know it's aligned correctly as my dollar bill test did better than the demo model at the store.

All in all a fairly uneventful night. Just need the rain to hold off until about two. That will get me through the cook and the golf.