Tried using a leaf blower last night...

mlamb01 · July 2014

Was doing a pizza cook, and I wanted the temps up to 650. Was having a hard time getting to 550. I pulled it out, put the business end about 3ft from the lower vent, and let her rip. Shot up well over 700 in less than a minute. Temps did rapidly fall back down over a few minutes, after turning the leaf blower off. Sure was awesome while it was on though... Afterwards there was a smell like something got too hot.

My mistake for thinking I could use 1/2 a firebox full of lump that was left in the egg from a previous cook, especially when it rained on the egg between cooks. I had to cook my pizza at about 500 vs the 600 I was shooting for. Ironically, even though I had to cook it 3 minutes longer, it was the best one to date!

Anyone else find that its hard to reuse lump that was in the egg when it rained(no fire going during the rain)?

P.S. I really don't recommend the leaf blower for fixing the issue. Any rise in temp is only temporary, blows ash everywhere, and creates a fire risk unless it has recently rained.

SmokeyPitt · July 2014

I have tried the leaf blower and it definitely works, but I saw the same issue that it blows too much ash. @DMW mentioned that he uses a small shop vac that you can switch from suck to blow and that does a good job.

I typically don't have any issues using leftover lump after a rain. If it rains for days and days I will notice some moisture, but my egg keeps the lump pretty dry. Are you using the ceramic rain cap?

fishlessman · July 2014

i believe it just takes longer to burn the moisture out, mine sits in the maine mud and the ash down below will turn to a wet paste over the course of a rainy week. been thinking of getting an inexpensive battery air mattress pump to do the job when i need a hot fire fast, it should be just about the right size and airflow, have never seen anyone post about using one before though

mlamb01 · July 2014

@SmokeyPitt - Yes, I always put the ceramic cap back on to snuff the fire out after I am done cooking. My egg is only a few months old, and came with the nomex gasket. I suspect water is wicking in thru the gasket.

@fishlessman - Seems like a great idea using one of those mattress pumps.

DaveRichardson · July 2014

Try getting a 3-4 ft section of chimney vent from Home Depot or Lowes and putting it on top of the egg instead of the iron DFMT. Supposedly this will create more airflow thru the egg without fans.

I've seen it on YouTube videos of a guy using this method to start his egg to get to higher temps quickly.

Photo Egg · July 2014

fishlessman said:

i believe it just takes longer to burn the moisture out, mine sits in the maine mud and the ash down below will turn to a wet paste over the course of a rainy week. been thinking of getting an inexpensive battery air mattress pump to do the job when i need a hot fire fast, it should be just about the right size and airflow, have never seen anyone post about using one before though

The battery powered air mattress pump sounds like a winner. I picked up a corded one at a thrift store for a couple bucks and it works great but dealing with cords make me not want to dig it out. Years ago , at one of the Texas Eggfests, they gave away small hand crank air movers. Looked similar to one of those old "pocket fisherman" things from the infomercials.lol

It really worked well. Ended up giving my last one to Beli many years ago.

fishlessman · July 2014

Photo Egg said:

fishlessman said:

i believe it just takes longer to burn the moisture out, mine sits in the maine mud and the ash down below will turn to a wet paste over the course of a rainy week. been thinking of getting an inexpensive battery air mattress pump to do the job when i need a hot fire fast, it should be just about the right size and airflow, have never seen anyone post about using one before though

The battery powered air mattress pump sounds like a winner. I picked up a corded one at a thrift store for a couple bucks and it works great but dealing with cords make me not want to dig it out. Years ago , at one of the Texas Eggfests, they gave away small hand crank air movers. Looked similar to one of those old "pocket fisherman" things from the infomercials.lol
It really worked well. Ended up giving my last one to Beli many years ago.

been thinking of it for my mini vision kub. i have about a 25 minute window at lunch time to lite, prep, cook, and eat, its tight

) need to get those quick cooks down

bettysnephew · July 2014

I saved an old 12vdc power supply from a laptop and hook it up to the fan from a Guru. The plug is a perfect mate. Gets things up to speed in reasonably short order and doesn't blow ashes all over. Like said it helps to get more coals going but the effect is temporary once the fan is shut down.

sumoconnell · July 2014

@fishlessman - did you grow up in Maine?

If so,can you tell me which way to Millinocket?

Eggcelsior · July 2014

The BBQ Dragon works quite well. I grabbed one at about 50% off if I remember correctly. Takes rechargeable batteries that you can charge with a mini USB cell phone charger.

fishlessman · July 2014

sumoconnell said:

@fishlessman - did you grow up in Maine?

If so,can you tell me which way to Millinocket?

origionally from new hampshire but used to go thru millinocket to get to chesuncook lake every spring. up 95 past bangor, take 157, goes right thru the old mill town

Griffin · July 2014

Nope, and I've thrown wet lump in it from a previous night's rain. Took a bit longer to get it going, but the weed burner was up to the challenge.

McStew · July 2014

I agree with @eggcelsior the BBQ Dragon is great for Pizza Nights

Legume · July 2014

I use a leaf blower from time to time, from about 4 feet away. I usually blow the air in from an angle rather than perpendicular to the bottom vent so it swirls a bit more once inside. At least that's what I imagine is happening. I also waggle it a bit so it's not just one constant and stationary stream of air. I think it spreads more quickly this way which is what you want if you're going hot and fast, not just a really strong fire in one spot. I may do this for a minute then stop for a couple of minutes then maybe once or twice more. Give the coals a chance to burn on their own before I hit them again.

As you can see my friend, it's very complicated and requires lots of practice.