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Ash in firebox

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HairyGilmer
HairyGilmer Posts: 19
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I just cleaned the ash from my egg after i guess my first 6 to 8 uses.

Do you guys stir the lump and try to clear the holes (push ash thru the firebox) before filing and lighting each time?

I did last few times with a big paint brush and was just curious.
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  • stevesails
    stevesails Posts: 990
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    Yes, i stir mine up every time with a tool that i bought to remove weeds from lawn, too cheap to buy the ash removal tool. (yet)
    XL   Walled Lake, MI

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  • BigA
    BigA Posts: 1,157
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    yes i clean mine out all the time and yes i stir my lump before relighting it to do another cook, the ash will settle in the air holes, but if i am doing a lo - n -slo, i will take that lump and and mix it with the new stuff. :)
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  • Shiff
    Shiff Posts: 1,835
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    I stir mine each time before a cook, quickly clean out most of the ash, then top it off with new charcoal. I use a wiggle rod to clean out the fire grate holes before lighting.

    You can make or buy a wiggle rod. For a good one, see

    http://thirdeyebbq.com/WiggleRods.aspx
    Large BGE
    Barry, Lancaster, PA
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  • asianflava
    asianflava Posts: 313
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    I use a garden trowel or the ash tool to stir the coals before I light the egg. I only clean under the iron grate after I use up a bag of charcoal (10-15lbs) or if I'm doing an overnight smoke.
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  • Bulldog Mom
    Bulldog Mom Posts: 242
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    I also still up the lump and even clean out the ash to ensure that I will be able to get a high temp.
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  • Frobozz
    Frobozz Posts: 98
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    I also stir every time, and I check all the holes in the sides of the firebox to make sure they are not clogged, then poke gunk out of 'em if necessary. I use what I call my 'precision barbecue tool' to do all of this -- a metal rod from an old broken piece of lawn furniture. I suspect a piece of rebar would work just as well.
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  • Deckhand
    Deckhand Posts: 318
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    When the lump gets low, I remove the remaining charcoal with a strainer like ladle meant for using with a wok... the ash falls through and I put the used lump in an old metal popcorn can...just until I load the bottom with fresh lump...then I put the old lump on top of the new. It sparks FAR less than fresh lump... a big plus when lighting with a weed burner. The larger pieces of the new lump also allow better airflow at the bottom.
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  • srq2625
    srq2625 Posts: 262
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    I clean out my firebox after a low-n-slow cook. I pull the charcoal and place in a wire mesh "office" trash can I got at Office Max. A little shake, rock, and roll and all the ash is knocked off and into my ash can. I store the entire basket with the charcoal in my charcoal bin for the next cook .... when I'll mix it with new charcoal to reload the egg.

    Anyway, pulling the charcoal from the egg give me excellent access to the holes in the firebox as well as allowing me to also pull the grate. With the grate pulled, a little sweep of my hand and all that ash is deposited into a small catcher.

    I think I would be careful of using something like re-bar to poke through the holes in the firebox. The ridges on re-bar might not play nice with the ceramic.
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  • Braumiester
    Braumiester Posts: 134
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    I always stir with a garden trowel and make sure the fire grate holes are open,I always leave some ash in the bottom to act as a insulator. B)
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  • texas_archer
    texas_archer Posts: 56
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    I stir with a garden trowel before relighting and after about 40 lbs of lump burned I break out the shop vac and give it a good cleaning.
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