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Controlling temperature

Kychip
Kychip Posts: 3
edited January 2012 in EggHead Forum
I have had my Egg for one year and am still having very hard time controlling temp. I can never get it hot enough especially when×Draft saved at 3:06PM
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Comments

  • Kychip
    Kychip Posts: 3
    Sorry about partial post above. new to this. I cannot get my egg temp hot enough especially when I use a platesetter. I have cleaned the egg and replaced gaskets to no avail. The very first time I used the egg I cooked steaks at 700 degrees. Now I cannot the get it to 500 with everything open? I have used a weber for 30 years and have cooked ribs etc and feel very confident about my grilling skills. I am about to throw on some ribs and am using my weber as I have all but given up on controlling temp. I can only assume operator error. Any suggestions??
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    A very common problem is an uncalibrated dome thermometer. They easily become incorrect, especially after a high temp cook. Remove it, and stick it into a pot of boiling water. See if it is 212 F. Twist the nut to adjust the pinter.

    When the platesetter is in, it absorbs lots of heat. When I bake bread, it is not unusual for it to take 45 minutes, or even an hour for the dome to read 450 when the platesetter is in. I have taken the platesetter's temperature then with an IR thermometer, and it has been well above 600F when the dome approached 450.

    You don't need a platesetter to do ribs. Just put in a drip pan, and raise the grill with a couple of fire brick splits. Or just set a V-rack in the drip pan, and put rib sections in that. 250 dome for 5 - 7 hours, and they will be fine.
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  • Kychip
    Kychip Posts: 3
    Thanks! I will give it a try !
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  • Dr Drew
    Dr Drew Posts: 11
    I had the same problem. Your grate may be clogged with ash (thus impeding air flow). You can either use a wire hanger to unclog the bottom grate holes, or remove everything (fire ring, fire box) and clean out all of the small ash particles.
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  • joe@bge
    joe@bge Posts: 394
    edited January 2012
    As stated already - make sure that the grate and holes in the firebox are clear before lighting.  I always make sure to use the ash tool and mix any leftover lump from the previous cook so that all the ash drops down thru the grate.  About every 4th cook or so, I use a shop vac (with a drywall filter) and vacuum the ashes out of the bottom.  Also - Are you using a good quality lump charcoal?  I have had a couple brands that didn't perform as well as the Royal Oak/Nature Glo brands.
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  • IrishDevl
    IrishDevl Posts: 1,390
    Kychip - when using your platesetter try to get the temp up before you put it in the egg. For example, when I make pizza I get the temp up to 600 or so so I know the wood is hot, then put the platesetter in and let it and pizza stone get hot for a bit. Is this what you are doing or are you putting the platesetter in right away? I would be sure cap off and vent wide open first.
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