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Unattended Cooking (Do you go to sleep or leave your house with BGE on deck?)
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KiterTodd
Posts: 2,466
So, when I got my BGE I had to decide where to assemble it?! My first thought was out in the backyard, maybe on our patio or throw down some pavers so it had it's own little area, just big enough for the grill. Then I decided, I am much more likely to use it if it is convenient, so I decided on the deck just outside the kitchen. Our patio is kind of small anyway, and the backyard option would be too long of a walk from the house when the food requires attention at the beginning and end of a cook.
So, very happily, my egg sits on my deck ready to serve! My idea was that I could set the egg up for a 15+ hour smoke and go to sleep, head out for a bike ride, or run some errands all while my meat of choice is smoking. The egg will faithfully hold temperature and I won't be tied to the house....
...however, a couple weeks ago when another user was asking about putting his BGE in a custom wood counter under a covered deck you all posted some pretty scary pictures of cooks gone bad where the egg caused fires to decks, counters or homes. So, this naturally got me thinking about what I should do and what most of you do.
I would like to think I can set the egg for a 250 degree long cook and go to sleep with relative peace of mind. The vents are barely open and the cook should be slow. But if there is even a small chance of burning the place down I won't sleep soundly and when I'm on that bike ride I'll be constantly wondering if I'm going to arrive home and find my deck fully engulfed! Obviously, the smart thing is to not leave any fire unattended, but there are exceptions. A quality cast iron wood stove, for instance, can very safely put out heat while you sleep or leave the house. It is fully enclosed and there is no chance of sparks or flare up.
So, talk me into or out of an unattended cook on my deck.
I'm afraid if I move the egg off the deck I'll use it a lot less.
But I don't want to stress too much about a long cook on my uncovered wood deck. ?
Thanks!!
So, very happily, my egg sits on my deck ready to serve! My idea was that I could set the egg up for a 15+ hour smoke and go to sleep, head out for a bike ride, or run some errands all while my meat of choice is smoking. The egg will faithfully hold temperature and I won't be tied to the house....
...however, a couple weeks ago when another user was asking about putting his BGE in a custom wood counter under a covered deck you all posted some pretty scary pictures of cooks gone bad where the egg caused fires to decks, counters or homes. So, this naturally got me thinking about what I should do and what most of you do.
I would like to think I can set the egg for a 250 degree long cook and go to sleep with relative peace of mind. The vents are barely open and the cook should be slow. But if there is even a small chance of burning the place down I won't sleep soundly and when I'm on that bike ride I'll be constantly wondering if I'm going to arrive home and find my deck fully engulfed! Obviously, the smart thing is to not leave any fire unattended, but there are exceptions. A quality cast iron wood stove, for instance, can very safely put out heat while you sleep or leave the house. It is fully enclosed and there is no chance of sparks or flare up.
So, talk me into or out of an unattended cook on my deck.
I'm afraid if I move the egg off the deck I'll use it a lot less.
But I don't want to stress too much about a long cook on my uncovered wood deck. ?
Thanks!!
LBGE/Maryland
Comments
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Personally I will not leave the house during the day while the egg is going. As for when I sleep at night I have no problem letting the egg go. I have a maverick set up so if something went wrong the temps would more than likely make my maverick alarm go off. I have done several overnights and temps have never spiked yet. I don't want to go shopping at pier 1 or ikea on the weekends anyhow so immok with it.LBGE& SBGE———————————————•———————– Pennsylvania / poconos
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had a fire on the deck during an overnight, the large is off the deck on a stone patio now. i do have a smaller ceramic cooker on the deck for cooking when im there but the longer cooks get done on the patio now. maybe you need a second egg
fukahwee maineyou can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it -
There's always a small chance (of just about anything happening)! Don't make this decision on what the "majority" on this site do. Make it based on your own tolerance for risk vs. the "reward(s)" you're looking for.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.____________________Aurora, Ontario, Canada
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As said already, when I use the egg I will never leave the house. Overnights are ok in my mind as I will just set up the Maverick and the alarms will go off if the temps get hot. Plus We have a 2 tier deck with a set of patio doors off of each tier, one tier being the bedroom. I fel very secure doing an overnight with my set up.
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They sell the fire proof BBQ mats. We close on our new house today and I plan on making a wood deck with a separation from the house cause I had a table catch on fire. We are planning on doing concrete countertops in our new kitchen and found a cool kit from z counter forms that I am going to use to make a concrete top for my new egg area. Looks very easy and fairly cheap. For me the peace of mind is worth the 20 extra steps to get a little separation from the house. There was a post a couple years ago where a guys wife started the egg in the garage which luckily was not connected to the house but a spark torched the garage and I believe it was his antique Porsche and everything else in the garage.
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I have gone to bed ,or the super market of for that matter any place else while I'm doing a low and slow cook I have no worries2 Large Eggs and a Mini 2 Pit Bulls and a Pork shoulder or butt nearby and 100% SICILIANLong Island N.Y.
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hondabbq said:As said already, when I use the egg I will never leave the house. Overnights are ok in my mind as I will just set up the Maverick and the alarms will go off if the temps get hot. Plus We have a 2 tier deck with a set of patio doors off of each tier, one tier being the bedroom. I fel very secure doing an overnight with my set up.
the base cracked and sparks were dropping out thru the bottom but the low and slow went on. the egg was teetering come morning, ready to tip over, it was that close.
fukahwee maineyou can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it -
My Egg stays in it's nest on a 12x12 concrete patio. I have no problem running to the grocery to pick something up, or be at a neighbors house while I'm doing a slow and low cook. Any other cook and I don't leave.Steve
XL, Mini Max, and a 22" Blackstone in Cincinnati, Ohio -
My neighbors house burnt down to the ground from their grill on their back deck. Lost everything. Only thing they were able to recover was their wedding pictures the fireman went and retrieved. They were very fortunate to get everyone out of the house. Too scared to put it back on my deck but would make egging much more convenient. Just not worth the risk. So I roll the egg out into the driveway."The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan
Minnesota -
For those of you relying on a Maverick, I don't see how it's going to help. The temp probes are inside the egg and the egg is maintaining a constant temp. If an ember somehow lands on your deck and starts a deck/house fire, the temp inside your egg isn't gonna change. Or if it does, it will be long after the Mav sending unit has melted. The alarm won't sound.My egg used to be an a wooden deck. No more. I moved it some time ago.
I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!
MichaelCentral Connecticut -
Yup no risk is too small. I have mine on flagstone patio about 20 feet away from the structure.
X-Large & Large
Frederick County, MD -
fishlessman said:hondabbq said:As said already, when I use the egg I will never leave the house. Overnights are ok in my mind as I will just set up the Maverick and the alarms will go off if the temps get hot. Plus We have a 2 tier deck with a set of patio doors off of each tier, one tier being the bedroom. I fel very secure doing an overnight with my set up.
the base cracked and sparks were dropping out thru the bottom but the low and slow went on. the egg was teetering come morning, ready to tip over, it was that close.
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I leave mine running w/ the Guru on it all the time. I'll go play golf, duck hunting, whatever. I don't sweat it
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And mine is in a wooden table on a wooden deck.
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Carolina Q said:For those of you relying on a Maverick, I don't see how it's going to help. The temp probes are inside the egg and the egg is maintaining a constant temp. If an ember somehow lands on your deck and starts a deck/house fire, the temp inside your egg isn't gonna change. Or if it does, it will be long after the Mav sending unit has melted. The alarm won't sound.My egg used to be an a wooden deck. No more. I moved it some time ago.
you think my low and slow butt is just gonna keep strolling along at 250 dome fully engulfed in a fire? I imagine if my table is on fire my dome temp might rise a few degrees. Besides if my sending unit melts my receiver will not detect a signal and alarm will go off. In no way am I saying that a maverick is a fire detection system.LBGE& SBGE———————————————•———————– Pennsylvania / poconos -
all i know with fire is that it wont happen to me....until it does
) ask me, ask natureboy, ask little steven, ask my 80 year old neighbor that lost the skin from elbow to fingertips both arms, fires have a sneaky way about them. ask the firemarshal in your town what he thinks of bbq's on decks.
fukahwee maineyou can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it -
Great input, thanks guys.
fishlessman....all of a sudden I want to play flipcup.
LBGE/Maryland -
fishlessman said:.... maybe you need a second egg
LBGE/Maryland -
I had a gasser catch on fire and fortunately it was not up against the house. This was my excuse to get a wood burner and therefore the egg. I keep my egg on a concrete patio and away from the house. I feel comfortable leaving the house during a low and slow for a short time and overnights are no problem. Anything other than low and slow I'm home, mainly just to check temps.Simi Valley, California
LBGE, PBC, Annova, SMOBot -
I have no temperature control device of any sort and I go to sleep with my egg going all the time. I regulate the fire and when I wake up she is still pumping
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grege345 said:Carolina Q said:For those of you relying on a Maverick, I don't see how it's going to help. The temp probes are inside the egg and the egg is maintaining a constant temp. If an ember somehow lands on your deck and starts a deck/house fire, the temp inside your egg isn't gonna change. Or if it does, it will be long after the Mav sending unit has melted. The alarm won't sound.My egg used to be an a wooden deck. No more. I moved it some time ago.
you think my low and slow butt is just gonna keep strolling along at 250 dome fully engulfed in a fire? I imagine if my table is on fire my dome temp might rise a few degrees. Besides if my sending unit melts my receiver will not detect a signal and alarm will go off. In no way am I saying that a maverick is a fire detection system.Just curious, do you know that no signal means the alarm will sound? Couldn't find anything in a quick scan of the manual. I just turned mine on until they sync'd and then turned the sender off. Nothing happened. Not sure if that was a valid test though.I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!
MichaelCentral Connecticut -
Does anybody know of any kind of mat you can put on a deck that would protect it from embers? I use a guru so I am not worried about it on low n slow cooks, but I know when it gets up to searing temperatures you can see glowing embers in the bottom vent. I guess with the screen, you are banking on the fact that nothing big enough can get out to cause a fire, but I would hate to be telling myself that while watching the house burn down.
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My Egg is on my wooden deck. I have done overnights but have not gotten much sleep so I prefer not to do them anymore. Even after cooking on the Egg and shut it down I am constantly checking for any "Glow" coming from the deck area. I use it on the wooden deck but I do nto feel that great about it.
I used to have the Egg down in the yard and I have a stone patio down there now but its too far away from the kitchen so if I moved it I would not use the Egg.
_______________________________________________________________
LBGE, Adjustable Rig, Spider, High-Que grate, maverick ET-732, Thermapen,
Garnerville, NY -
@Carolina Q every time I end a cook usin the maverick I turn the sending unit off before I walk inside. I then get the table set, the food cut, condiments etc. I am always reminded that the receiver is still on because it starts to beep. The same way it goes off if it loses signal. As for the internal temps of the egg not being affected I sorta agree. My common sense has a hard time comprehending that a 1000* fire will not effect the egg thermos. Be careful everyoneLBGE& SBGE———————————————•———————– Pennsylvania / poconos
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grege345 said:@Carolina Q every time I end a cook usin the maverick I turn the sending unit off before I walk inside. I then get the table set, the food cut, condiments etc. I am always reminded that the receiver is still on because it starts to beep. The same way it goes off if it loses signal. As for the internal temps of the egg not being affected I sorta agree. My common sense has a hard time comprehending that a 1000* fire will not effect the egg thermos. Be careful everyone
fukahwee maineyou can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it -
To the OP - IMHO there is really no need for overnighters on my anything other than brisket. Do a quick search for "turbo" or "nitro" and you will find that a lot of people are cooking at higher temps and achieving excellent results. I have done one overnighter but only leave the house if I will be gone less than 45 min to 1hr. For me the chance of fire is not worth it and I really enjoy my sleep enough that if I need to I will get up really early and fire things up. Again just my opinion.-----------------------------------------analyze adapt overcome2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
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I leave mine alone all the time. Any embers that would some how escape land on gravel hardscape.
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as I said before I leave mine all the time but mine (bothLBGE) are on a brick patio2 Large Eggs and a Mini 2 Pit Bulls and a Pork shoulder or butt nearby and 100% SICILIANLong Island N.Y.
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grege345 said:Carolina Q said:For those of you relying on a Maverick, I don't see how it's going to help. The temp probes are inside the egg and the egg is maintaining a constant temp. If an ember somehow lands on your deck and starts a deck/house fire, the temp inside your egg isn't gonna change. Or if it does, it will be long after the Mav sending unit has melted. The alarm won't sound.My egg used to be an a wooden deck. No more. I moved it some time ago.
you think my low and slow butt is just gonna keep strolling along at 250 dome fully engulfed in a fire? I imagine if my table is on fire my dome temp might rise a few degrees. Besides if my sending unit melts my receiver will not detect a signal and alarm will go off. In no way am I saying that a maverick is a fire detection system.Steve
Caledon, ON
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