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Trying to lower temp

JWBurns
JWBurns Posts: 344
edited June 2012 in EggHead Forum
1st cook on my XL. Two racks of ribs.

Looking to do indirect at around 230 for 4 hours.

Im sure this is simple, but I'm having a bear of a time getting the temp lower than 300. She's holding steady there. I have the top wheels completely closed, and the bottom vent about a 1/4 inch open. I'm afraid if I close it anymore, I'll snuff out the fire.

Any ideas?

Comments

  • Rich_ie
    Rich_ie Posts: 268
    Close down the bottom a little and crack the top open a hair. 
  • Squeezy
    Squeezy Posts: 1,102
    ... and wait ...
    Never eat anything passed through a window unless you're a seagull ... BGE Lg.
  • JWBurns
    JWBurns Posts: 344
    edited June 2012
    Ok so Rich, close the bottom vent even more, and open the top wheel a hair? I'll try that

    The food is on, and the temp is now where I want it, but I figure that's just be cause off the cold meat drawing the temp down
  • Rich_ie
    Rich_ie Posts: 268
    It will drop when you put the meat on. When I first started cooking on the egg the first thing I learned was patience. You never know how long it will take till its done. Let us know how it turns out and if you can post some pixs.  
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,168
    edited June 2012

    Here is some info that may be of value the next time-

    A couple of things-BGE fire is air flow controlled (assuming you have enough lump and got it going).  So, temperature control (aka fire volume) is a function of the amount of air flow through the bottom and out the top.  You can control by top or bottom vent or combinations of each (preferred for low temp cooks).  With any BGE (I have a LBGE) the trick is to catch the temperature rise on the way up to the desired end-point.  You have a lot of ceramic mass and if it gets heated above the target temperature it takes a while to cool down.

    So, with that-get a good mass of lump burning (don't know the relative descriptors for the XL) and then shut the dome and set your vents for the approximate final desired temp.  Minor adjustments as you go.  And remember, the feedback indicator to any adjustments is your dome thermo-and that will take a while.  So, patience is the name of the game at the low & slow temps.  Read all you really need to know here-<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

    Best basic info site going- http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramic.htm 

    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • JWBurns
    JWBurns Posts: 344
    Thanks guys for all the help. I knew it would be a learning experiance. That's what makes the cooks more fun, right?!

    I've got her dialed in now it seems. Ill practice patience and keep in mind - bringing up to temp is easy, but bringing down to temp takes more work and patience.
  • Rich_ie
    Rich_ie Posts: 268
    Very nice! Now crack open a beer and enjoy the day. 
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    You said you were cooking indirect. Using a plate setter or pizza stone or fire bricks for the indirect? Once those have absorbed heat, it takes even longer for the dome temp to come down.

    As you go forward with this cook, expect that the period where the dome was 300 means the ribs will be done faster. With the Egg, its not necessary to mop much, if at all. But if you do mop, the added liquid on the meat slows the cooking. You could add time back into the cooking by doing some mopping. Take some of your rub, mix w. apple juice or beer, and swab the ribs down a couple of times.

    Several years ago, someone suggested this saying about the vents. "The daisy for ones of degrees, the bottom vent for tens." Its pretty true. If the bottom vent is open at all, it will take hours for a closed daisy to make much difference. Most often, a low temp fire is the bottom vent just cracked open, maybe and 1/8", and the daisy just cracked. Not a hard rule, I'm running a 250 dome right now w. the bottom vent at 1/4", but I'm using twice used lump, and its not burning so well.