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Cleaning/sorting the lump

edbro
edbro Posts: 300
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
What is the best way to clean out the lump from the firebox? After several cooks I end up with a lot of small pieces of lump not much bigger than pebbles that clog my air holes. Currently, I have to scoop it all out by hand and sort the "pebbles" from the bigger pieces. I end up with soot all up my arms. There has to be a better way. I have even thought about building a wire mesh basket that I could just lift it all out with but leave it in for cooks. [p]Does anybody have a better way than just doing it by hand? I know I could use rubber gloves but that isn't much better and I never have them around.

Comments

  • Haggis
    Haggis Posts: 998
    edbro,[p]I have one multipurpose tool: I've found that a gardener's hand trowel, one of the ones with a blade about 3 inches wide by six long, is a great tool for scooping out the lump from the Egg. A shorter handle would be helpful and I'm sure someone could improve it for this purpose if they put their mind to it. This tool also makes a pretty good grill lifter if you insert it at just inside the outer ring of the grill, and its convenient to nudge the daisywheel when you need to. [p]For sorting - I use a garden screen. That is, a round wood frame with hardware cloth of whatever size mesh is appropriate. Put it over a metal trash can and scoop the lump into it.
  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    edbro,
    I have obtained a piece of expanded stainless steel that I use for my grate. I just stir the lump around and what falls through I rake out. There is no problem with clogging air holes since the whole grate is an air hole practically.[p]TNW

    The Naked Whiz
  • Haggis,[p]I use a laddle that I bought in ChinaTown with my wok....it is round and slightly smaller than the fire grate......works perfect for cleaning out old and nasty lump. Paul
  • Nessmuk
    Nessmuk Posts: 251
    edbro,
    Each time I cook, I stir the remaining coals with the bge tool so that all the ash falls through.[p]I built a box with a 2x4 frame that sets on my ash bucket. I used a 1" square wire grid.[p]Next, I use a small shovel to remove the remaing lump coals. The lump that remains in the box, I return to the bge.[p]

  • edbro
    edbro Posts: 300
    Nessmuk,
    Very practical. I think I'll build something like that. The hand shovel is a good idea also.

  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    IMG_0140.jpg
    <p />edbro, here's a pix of my shaker plus the handliest container made for dumping in lump - it's a new but old style coal bucket. The snout design delivers the lump in cleanly!

    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • Nessmuk
    Nessmuk Posts: 251
    RRP,
    My creation is exactly like yours. The grids in the wire were originally 1/2 inch. I cut them to 1 inch & that works better.[p]

  • Nessmuk
    Nessmuk Posts: 251
    Haggis,
    Hardware cloth is a better product than wire. I wished I had known about it.[p]I will reconstruct my invention.[p]The bge wire proves to be the best learning tool I know of.[p]BGE could solve the problem by installing a shakable grate in the bge. All wood/coal stoves had them. You simply shook the grate with the poker.[p]I do this every Sunday when I go to the woods & fire up my pot belly stove circa the early 1900s as it served the railroad stations.[p]It is so well designed in that no matter what wood you feed it, the venturi effect causes it to burn like a torch. I have a thermometer stuck on the side. It typically burns at 1000 degrees plus...no matter what kind of wood.[p]
    Keep posting[p]