egg will not heat up

diver1 · December 2010

using my new egg for the last few weeks. Tonight I cooked some meat for 3 hrs and then wanted to do a few pizzas. I opened the bottom vent and took the top vent off but could not get more than 400 f. I had removed the ash on bbq before , used the big green egg brand of charcoal and it was dry. Any one have an idea why.
Also how full of charcoal should one load it? Could ash or small bits of charcoal be blocking the air holes ? http://www.eggheadforum.com/components/com_simpleboard/emoticons/sad.png

icemncmth · December 2010

Yep..Make sure that your firebox, the thing that the charcoal is in, has the opening facing towards the bottom vent.

Also did you check to make sure your thermometer is correct?

Fornia · December 2010

How much lump did you start with (up to top of firebox?) and what temp did you cook the meat at for 3 hours?

PattyO · December 2010

That happened to me tonite. It's been below freezing here for weeks, and today's high was 25. Overnite lows are in low teens. Before using my egg I cleaned it out thoroughly and made sure the air holes were open and grate was clean, ash was removed. Then I replaced the semi burned lump and some new lump that is all stored outdoors, but in a dry area. I lit the lump, put on the plate setter. Remember the egg, plate setter and lump were all freezing. That's a lot of cold stuff in there. The lump lit easily with a hot fire but I could not heat up the egg. And someone pointed out, it held a lot of moisture. The dome was coated with condensation. It was about two hours at 250', and gradually got to 300'. I was making a beer can chicken. Good thing chicken is very forgiving and it was amazingly moist and tasty. If you live in a very cold sub freezing area this might be what is happening to you. I posted three SOS messages here on the forum. And I was very concerned about thermal shock cracking the whole thing, but all is well. I don't know how I can get it up to high temps during these winter months.

Dave in So Cal · December 2010

If the hole in the firebox is facing the vent, the likely culprit is clogged holes in your charcoal grate. In an emergency situation, you can use a wire hanger to unclog the holes. For the long run, you should make yourself a wiggle rod to unclog the holes on long cooks. I use mine every time I light the BGE.

Here is a photo of the wiggle rod I made. I used 1/8 inch or so wire I bought at Home Depot. I used a bench vise to bend it. It is kind of rusty now, but it works great.

Welcome to the forum. Have fun with your new BGE.

Jai-Bo · December 2010

Clogged vent holes, or the thermometer may have been obstructed. Gotta remember the thermometer has about 3 inches into the dome and ifin food is put up to it, you'll get a false reading....

SmokeyPitt · December 2010

If you were burning for 3 hours, my guess would be you just didn't have enough lump left burning. You need a fairly full fire box to get 500+ temp, so if you are going to do a 3 hour burn first I would fill it up nice and full. Maybe a little past the fire box and up into the ring.

Also- I think you could have added more lump on top of the burning lump and gave it some time to light and the fire to stabilize. Obviously it is better to hand pick some big pieces and place them on rather than just dump out of the bag. This is one time a set of BBQ or welders gloves is handy

stike · December 2010

i top my egg off each time, to prettty much the same level, regardless of what i'm cooking. that helps make sure the egg behaves the same way each time.

i stir the ash vigorously, make sure the holes aren't plugged, and new lump to fill the lower bowl, plus a little more, and then stir a bit again.

when you clean the lump from the ash pit, stick the ash tool in between the firebox and egg exterior, and reach around back as far as you can too. lot of ash gets stuck in between....

Shiff · December 2010

As another poster said, you probably need a wiggle rod to clean out the holes in the fire grate. When I've had temperature problems, this has always solved my problem.

If you don't want to make your own rod, you can buy a nice one from:

http://thirdeyebbq.com/WiggleRods.aspx

PattyO · December 2010

Egg completely cleaned out, air holes clear, firebox full. New and used lump up to ring. Lit the lump and put on plate setter legs up. Everything was sub freezing. Just couldn't get that egg over 250', so I put the chicken on. Chix are forgiving. About 2 hrs later it went to 300' and nother higher. But it was succulent. I cut it in half and crisped up half with sauce. The remaining half will be chicken enchilada tomorrow. Now I wonder how I am going to make a rib roast next week if I can't get that temp up. Lots of moisture in the dome. I know it's the weather. Maybe I should heat it up without the plate setter to get that dome hot??

egg will not heat up

Comments

Categories