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Temperature problem

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RoySC
RoySC Posts: 7
in EggHead Forum
Hello everyone.   I am having a problem with getting my egg up to temp.   It has been taking longer and longer get to even reasonable temps like 400.  Today it took about 20 minutes to get to 400 with the vents wide open.   I am cooking duck on v rack with drip pan direct.   Put my pan in when temp got to 400 expecting it to go down and come back up.  It went down to 300 and 45 minutes later just got back to 400.   Any ideas about what is happening?  Before this cook, really scraped out the lump to get any ash down into the bottom and cleaned out ash to make sure good airflow.  Added new charcoal to top of box before lighting.  

RoySC
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  • n2wdw
    n2wdw Posts: 47
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    I have had the same problem.  what are you using to start your egg?  I have used fireblocks but they don't seem to get alot of the charcoal going -- so I think they are good for low and slow cooks.  for high temps, I have started using an electric firestarter -- I bought the one from big egg because it seemed to fit the egg better (I had an XL), even though it is expensive compared to others.  I used this for the first time this past Friday and within 8 minutes I was at 400 degrees, and I could have gone higher easily but I closed the vents.
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  • RoySC
    RoySC Posts: 7
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    I am using fireblock right now because I killed my electric starter ( a cheap on, not the BGG one)  The problem seemed to start even before my electric died. 
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  • RLeeper
    RLeeper Posts: 480
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    RoySC said:
    Hello everyone.   I am having a problem with getting my egg up to temp.   It has been taking longer and longer get to even reasonable temps like 400.  Today it took about 20 minutes to get to 400 with the vents wide open.   I am cooking duck on v rack with drip pan direct.   Put my pan in when temp got to 400 expecting it to go down and come back up.  It went down to 300 and 45 minutes later just got back to 400.   Any ideas about what is happening?  Before this cook, really scraped out the lump to get any ash down into the bottom and cleaned out ash to make sure good airflow.  Added new charcoal to top of box before lighting.  

    RoySC

    What size egg? I have heard of others having that problem with the small, and some say the small goes nuclear quickly. I had a small and had that problem before selling it and getting a medium.
    Extra Large, Large, and Mini. Tucker, GA
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  • Smokin_Trout
    Smokin_Trout Posts: 506
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    Is the charcoal dry? Are the ashes so deep they are blocking air flow?
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  • Dyal_SC
    Dyal_SC Posts: 6,052
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    Have you taken everything out of your BGE before cleaning out the ashes? Ashes can get lodged behind the firebowl. It helps to take the fire ring and fire bowl out every so often when cleaning out the ashes. It also helps to light your coals in 2 or 3 places.
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  • Dyal_SC
    Dyal_SC Posts: 6,052
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    Also, if you are using leftover coals, the smaller ones can sometimes clog the holes on the charcoal grate. It might help to just do a clean burn and start fresh with new coals.
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  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
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    I bet you have ashes and small lump pieces in between your firebox and the wall restricting airflow. I took mine apart yesterday and prolly had at least 2" worth of ash and small chunks outside the firebox. I wasn't having any major issues but I was getting ready for an all nighter. I did notice a quicker start up time tho.

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
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  • RoySC
    RoySC Posts: 7
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    Large BGG.  I have not completely emptied the firebowl and cleaned everything out.  I will try that. Thanks for all the suggestions.   Let you know.
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  • n2wdw
    n2wdw Posts: 47
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    I wonder if air flow is a problem.  Sometimes I'll take out all the charcoal and then re-pack by hand, but I don't always have time for that, and it's obviously messy.  I'd buy this if I could, but they don't seem to make for an XL which is what I have.

    http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Charcoal-Grate-Upgrade-Large/dp/B004XU1FES/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1374500017&sr=8-4&keywords=big+green+egg+grill

    Has anyone tried this, does it seem to help airflow?  what are the drawbacks?
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  • jlsm
    jlsm Posts: 1,011
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    Lots of us have the High Que. I consider it essential, particularly for the mini. 
    *******
    Owner of a large and a beloved mini in Philadelphia
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  • Mathieu
    Mathieu Posts: 2
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    I have a small and have had problems with temps as said in a earlier post. I can not seem to get it above 400 as well.

     

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  • RoySC
    RoySC Posts: 7
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    Thanks everyone.   Cleaned it all out and fired it up.   It jumped up to temp.   Lesson learned.  
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  • Adamd
    Adamd Posts: 160
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    Mathieu said:

    I have a small and have had problems with temps as said in a earlier post. I can not seem to get it above 400 as well.

     

    I also use a small and have had lots of temp problems. Because the egg is much smaller then most aka the large and XL that most people use on this site I have found that cleaning out the charcoal helps a lot. I take out the charcoal and get all the ash and dust out of the bottom of the egg. I take out all the insides about once a month. I also make sure all the holes are open. Do it each cook and never run into temp problems anymore. Only takes a few minutes. 
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  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
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    RoySC said:

    Thanks everyone.   Cleaned it all out and fired it up.   It jumped up to temp.   Lesson learned.  


    Glad it worked out!!

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
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  • bbqlearner
    bbqlearner Posts: 760
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    Never had issue with large as long as it's cleaned out well. My small took some time for me so I got the Hi-Que grate and it solved my problem. Mini has been great so I didn't need Hi-Que grate for it. 

    Houston, TX - Buddy LBGE, Don SBGE, Tiny Mini & Shiny Momma Pitts n Spitts

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