Tar Baby?

willmw

Hello All,
I've been egging along for almost a year now. During that time, I've had a bit of black tar-like buildup on the daisy wheel(maybe creosote from the J.D. barrel chips I like to use when cooking beef...been cooking a lot of sirloin tip roasts lately...yummmmm). I usually just set the daisy top inside while the egg is heating up and the gunk softens and I can cook just fine. But.....[p]Today I got started and my rain cap was SOLID stuck to the top of the egg. A little improvisational top propping allowed me to get a good fire going while leaving the cap on...and eventually I was able to get the cap off. [p]Now, trying to clean this stuff up is like playing with the Tar Baby (cousin to Stump Baby?). The more you try to clean, the messier the mess gets...what to do with this black gunk??? Suggestions, observations, tall tales and yarns welcome. :-)

MerlinEgger

willmw,
I've noticed the same thing on my egg and I haven't had it but about 6 months. My daisy wheel recently has begun to stick and coincidentally I have started using a lot of wood chunks lately. Maybe that is the reason. I have used mostly hickory, a little mesquite. Maybe an inferno burnoff is in order. What do others think?

Wyldwood

willmw,
I put mine inside the egg when I'm done cooking. I don't have any more problems with buildup.
Wyldwood

BlueSmoke

willmw,[p]IMHO the gunk is oils from the wood, distilled out as the wood smolders. I have the same problem with both the daisy and the rain cap. What works for me is to periodically dunk them in a bucket of ammonia water and brush with a stiff brush. I'm able clean up the ceramic by covering the tar stuff with paper towels saturated with any of the orange oil based cleaners. Then scrub away the tar with the towels.[p]Ken

tn slagamater

willmw, possibly if you used Stump Babys rain deflector pictured in the thread below you could reduce tar accumulation?? The Stump is a riot... hehehe

The Other Dave

willmw, On occasion I have thrown my daisy wheels into the hot coals and then reseasoned the thing in the egg with shortening. It takes on a new black luster.[p]