Request Tips on Attaining Higher Temperatures

Friends74

Interesting speculation, Jason. I wonder whether I can achieve the same result by first pouring the lit charcoal from the chimney starter into the firebox and topping that off with the unlit charcoal.

NC-CDN

I just hit 700 doing a T-bone steak on my large. I didn't clean out the ash. Only used my tool to stir the ash through the grate in the bottom. Then filled with a moderate (not alot, not too little) amount of lump. It was the Wally World special.

Anyways. I took one cube and lit it near the middle. Just a bit off center to where my cool spot sometimes is. I had the lower vent wide open and the lid off, just cause I hadn't bothered putting the daisy wheel on right away. I put it on part way through the temperature rise. To me it matters little. Let it sit for 10-15 and presto. Easy peasy.

Steak was good. Thank-you Harris Teeter for having a reasonable sale on steak.

ranger ray

if after all the above efforts fail.... which are all good ideas..... put your leaf blower in the bottom vent.... in a few minutes you will melt the grate and start a blacksmith's shop.... trust me.... i've done it..... i'm sorry i sold my forge and anvil....rr

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker

i know i'm in the vast minority on this , but i firmly believe the daisy on or off at start up makes no difference in whether you are faster to a certain temp.

the very fact that the daisy will stop the fire from growing when it hits the desired temp (setting), seems to me to logically imply that it doesn't affect the draft until that point

(i'm on the wife's computer... so i can see our anons. how poetic that the first time is encounter tweev after a few days of non-anons, and he's agreeing withe me :laugh: ...makes me think i might be wrong actually. [kidding]

right now it's all conjecture, no one has studied this, and i base it all on experience and lame-o thought experiments. i will just say that in my experience, and based on my perverted logic, i can't see how the daisy affect the draft until it, well, until the point where it DOES affect the draft.


if my daisy is set to choke off the draft and peg the fire too 400, but i'm still only at 350, why is my fire not growing just as fast as an egg next to it with the daisy off?

not that i'm joining the tweev camp of supporters (i'm ambivalent, believe it or not), i also am curious why you or max never called me on this the three hundred other times i mentioned it. ..only when tweev does.

hahaha

i'm starting to like him. he's been quoting me for the past week on a number of issues. flattery works. :laugh:

Bacchus

I'm of the opinion it's a big to-do about nothing. Doesnt matter how the fire is lit, as long as it's lit. Doesnt matter if Daisy is off or wide open. The guy prob has the ash box packed full or it would be getting hotter. Old lump, new lump, big chunks or pebbles. It all burns just fine as long as there is enough of it. Clear out the ash and let her rip, thats ALL there is to it.

Unknown

You're in my camp? I thought I was in your camp!

Seems consistent with the laws of the Universe and all so I'm all good.

Friends74

Thanks for all of the tips.

Those of you who suggested that the fire box was cluttered hit the nail on the head. The holes were filled with ash. It's a tribute to the BGE's design that it maintained any kind of fire.

Well, I gave it a thorough cleaning, added fresh lump charcoal, lit it up, and within a few minutes I had an inferno. And, just a few minutes after that, I had one of the best ribeyes I've ever eaten.