Another Rockwood problem?

Mattman3969 · January 2016

@lousubcap - it could've been the lump gnomes. It could happen just sayin

tjv · January 2016

if I had one guess, I'd say you have too much lump burning at the start of each cook and you are letting it burn too long before starting the cook. With too much lump burning at the start, then you over compensate by closing down and then start chasing the temp a bit before stabilizing. Sounds strange but can happen.

t

caliking · January 2016

I would have to see this scenario replicated/reproduced to believe it. I'll go out on limb and say that there's no way an egg filled to the top of the fire ring can burn out in 4 hours, without truly registering any higher than 280 on the thermo. To burn that much lump to ash, the temp would have to hit higher than 280, no matter which lump you used.

Possibilities:

-your thermo is not calibrated correctly.

- the thermo had actually lapped itself i.e. the needle wrapped around so the egg wasn't actually going at 280, it was blazing past 700 and climbing.

-you have a leak somewhere e.g cracked base, leaky lower vent, etc. My small would be full of ash and still warm the morning after a cook. I resealed the lower vent and all was good again.

- the top vent is leaky when you close the DFMT or put the ceramic cap on.

I've burned about a pallet of RW and never seen anything like this.

YukonRon · January 2016

Throwing the Bovine Scatology card here. It is not the Lump. I don't care if it is bozo lump. Something else is going on.check for cracks if you have a good seal with the dome.

FarmerTom · January 2016

Another thought here. Every time I have had a load of lump burn faster than expected, it has been more windy than normal. In my circumstance, I think that abnormal air currents were causing the egg to draw harder than normal, sucking heat out the top, rather than letting it draft as it normally would. Also had to open the bottom vent more to let more air in.

tfhanson · January 2016

It's amazing how many of you think that I am a retard! This is not my first rodeo. All things are the same except a new bag of lump. Have a feeling if I had said Royal Oak, all of you would have been chiming in with, "Oh yeah, that happens all the time when I use RO".

I was hoping to get some help with an answer, not that I am stupid and don't know what I am doing and talking about. Sorry to have attacked your Baby Jesus of lump. At the start of the thread I stated I am a Rockwood customer for life.

Yes, I checked my egg for cracks today before lighting because of the second time this happened this week. Yes, I checked my gasket for leaks. No it was not windy today during the cook. No my thermometer pegged and went around a second time (I was using two, the second being my iDevice ambient probe). I also wait no longer than 15 minutes from lighting to cooking. 10 minutes to get the fire going, 5 minutes to stabilize the temp.

I will be trying a different brand of lump next to see if that eliminates the problem, and then I will go right back to using Rockwood.

You don't have to believe me. To get through my low in slow today I went through two full loads of lump, and the basket is empty again before the end of the cook, had to finish it in the oven.

My equipment, 1 year old, large egg, Kick Ash basket (no bottom grate), Smokewhere Cap and a loftlighter. I cook on average 4-5 times a week.

BYS1981 · January 2016

I hope you find out what's going on @tfhanson I have nothing to really contribute, but that baby Jesus of lump comment had me dying lmao.

midwestsmoker · January 2016

Morning Hanson, I am a long time egghead and been using Rockwood for a year and prior to that I was a diehard RO addict. I also use the kick ash basket with no bottom grate. I'm not going to imply it is or isn't the lump but I would like you to try one thing with Rockwood, since you egg 3 - 4 times a week this shouldn't be a cost issue. First, clean out egg completely, Second, place the lump in the basket by hand, almost piece by piece, don't just dump it. This will insure you are getting a full load and not a lot of space around the lump. Third, light the lump in the standard triangle, 12oclock 4oclock & 8oclock. Since you use a looftlighter close it right after you light it. Fourth, remove the dome thermometer and put the iGrill ambient probe in its place. Also, just so I don't have to go back and read through this thread, what are you using for the main grate/gride. I recently started using the grill grates and the lump and grate seem to be at a higher temp and I've had to adjust my dome temp to compensate for the higher temps.

My LBGE is 8 years old and I still have the original gray gasket on it and I egg regularly. I do have some air leaks around the seal and for years I only used the daisy wheel to shut it down. I now use the ceramic cap but only because I have space outside to use everything. I am curious to see what your end result will be and sorry for your trouble.

Jupiter Jim · January 2016

Mattman3969 said:

@henapple - not a chance when I can read about lump

That statement is priceless!

Funny too.

FarmerTom · January 2016

I will try to check an empty bag when I get the chance, but have you looked at the empty bag, does stlcharcoal put any kind of batch/lot # on the bags as they are filled? If so, it would be interesting to know if your issue is confined to a certain batch.

Jupiter Jim · January 2016

This is what I got from reading every post in this thread!

stcharcoal wrote this and I 100% agree.

(It's charcoal, it's nothing but carbon and some residual wood).

I also do not think it has anything to do with the brand of lump and suggest continued monitoring of future cooks.

I do hope you find the reason for fast burning of the lump and hope you share with us so we can all learn.

Chubbs · January 2016

@tfhanson I have already added my list of things to check. I hope you find the answer to your problem. But one thing--- no one is calling you any names or saying you are this or that. With this issue it can only be a few things or combo of each and people are simply pointing out those things. We assume you want honest answers and feedback to your question if you post a thread about it.

my last piece of advice would be to buy a bag of another lump and recreate the scenario as close as possible. For what it's worth, my comments were the same as others and I have never used Rockwood. Good luck and post your findings so we know what the issue is/was

pgprescott · January 2016

How do you ignite the lump? Chimney? Cubes? Looft?

jak7028 · January 2016

I am the one that started the other thread asking about rockwood being consumed fast.

the puzzling part for both of us is the lump was consumed very fast and the temperatures did not raise from a normal low and slow consumption rate.

cracked egg, worn seal, unsealed vents, wind or whatever else that effects airflow and the lump to burn faster, you would think, should elevate the temperature.

Best idea I heard was bags were filled with soft or less dense wood. Stlcharcoal already explained why that can't happen since the bags are filled by weight, they would overflow when filled.

pgprescott · January 2016

jak7028 said:

I am the one that started the other thread asking about rockwood being consumed fast.

the puzzling part for both of us is the lump was consumed very fast and the temperatures did not raise from a normal low and slow consumption rate.

cracked egg, worn seal, unsealed vents, wind or whatever else that effects airflow and the lump to burn faster, you would think, should elevate the temperature.

Best idea I heard was bags were filled with soft or less dense wood. Stlcharcoal already explained why that can't happen since the bags are filled by weight, they would overflow when filled.

Or, they are fairly consistent. Check the bag weight. They are all over the advertised weight.

FarmerTom · January 2016

I believe the OP has discounted wind as his problem, but others may consider this. Passing a stream of air over an opening reduces the air pressure in the area below the opening. I use this method in my shop with a compressed air line and short piece of tubing to suck old/bad fuel out of small engine tanks that have set and gotten dirty. I have noticed with my EGG (I live in a high area and often have wind), when the wind is blowing where it is setting, I have to open the bottom vent more to maintain desired temp. I think the wind is drawing heat out the top that under normal conditions would be contained in the egg. This necessitates opening the draft door more and burning more lump to maintain temp. But hey, I may be completely off base here, I'm just a dumb ol' farmer that has lots of problems here on the farm and not always a good solution.

stlcharcoal · January 2016

jak7028 said:

I am the one that started the other thread asking about rockwood being consumed fast.

the puzzling part for both of us is the lump was consumed very fast and the temperatures did not raise from a normal low and slow consumption rate.

cracked egg, worn seal, unsealed vents, wind or whatever else that effects airflow and the lump to burn faster, you would think, should elevate the temperature.

Best idea I heard was bags were filled with soft or less dense wood. Stlcharcoal already explained why that can't happen since the bags are filled by weight, they would overflow when filled.

That's what has got me......an air leak would have caused your temp to go up.

Also, while these are being posted at the same time, they are completely isolated because I know when/where those bags were shipped. 75 days apart and two warehouses 700 miles from each other. Each of those shipments was 1000+ bags out of the same "batch", so I'm sure we would have heard from more of our regulars within the service areas of those warehouses. We don't print batch/lot/kiln numbers on the bags, but it's still easy to tell based off shipping dates and their location in our warehouse.

We have a truckload leaving for GA on Wednesday. So if this weird deal does come back to charcoal somehow, anything out of that kiln is going to be long gone by the end of the month. You'll have a fresh load from January kilns. Texas restock should leave next week, so same story.

nth78 · January 2016

I didn't think the OP was atrackinf Rockwood at all. He said he has been a long time customer and will continue to be. He even said what a class act they were. He was having an issue and that was a guess as to what the problem was. Whether he is right or wrong, he certainly wasn't attacking no more than guess if the gasket was bad he would be attacking Big Green Egg.

jtcBoynton · January 2016

jak7028 said:

...
the puzzling part for both of us is the lump was consumed very fast and the temperatures did not raise from a normal low and slow consumption rate.

cracked egg, worn seal, unsealed vents, wind or whatever else that effects airflow and the lump to burn faster, you would think, should elevate the temperature.
...

I think that is what is puzzling to a lot of us also. Charcoal is carbon with some unconverted wood fiber and a little bit of minerals. Carbon is carbon and the BTU value doesn't vary. If environmental conditions are the same and the temperature being maintained is the same it is hard to understand how the lump could actually burn faster. The burn rate is far more controlled by temp and environmental conditions than the BTU variance of the lump. I suspect that the answer may be a combination of accuracy in measuring the amount of lump and environmental conditions that required more BTUs to maintain temp.

@tfhanson said "To get through my low in slow today I went through two full loads of lump, and the basket is empty again before the end of the cook, had to finish it in the oven." With the same setup, I get 20+ hours (which seems to be typical for large eggs). That is a major difference that is puzzling.

jak7028 · January 2016

FarmerTom said:

I believe the OP has discounted wind as his problem, but others may consider this. Passing a stream of air over an opening reduces the air pressure in the area below the opening. I use this method in my shop with a compressed air line and short piece of tubing to suck old/bad fuel out of small engine tanks that have set and gotten dirty. I have noticed with my EGG (I live in a high area and often have wind), when the wind is blowing where it is setting, I have to open the bottom vent more to maintain desired temp. I think the wind is drawing heat out the top that under normal conditions would be contained in the egg. This necessitates opening the draft door more and burning more lump to maintain temp. But hey, I may be completely off base here, I'm just a dumb ol' farmer that has lots of problems here on the farm and not always a good solution.

This sounds plausible. The night I cooked, the BGE was on the backside of the house, out of the wind. However, winds were gusting up to 30 MPH that night. A lot of time wind gusts will swirl, and could of been hitting the BGE more than I realized. I also had to keep the bottom vent open far more than normal to maintain heat.

As other have stated, the lump created a set amount of BTU, so the heat had to go somewhere.

I cook in pretty much the same spot every time, and we are not to far from the coast, so we get gusting winds from the north and south often. I havent noticed a windy evening affecting the cook this much before, but I will certainly pay more attention to it now.

Downside is I have to put the work in and force my self to conduct some experiments to get to the bottom of this. This means lots of having friend over, hanging out by the BGE drinking beer, and having good food. Someone needs to do it, I guess I will volunteer.

tfhanson · January 2016

It's puzzling the hell out of me too... I did take my egg apart this morning and cleaned it out. No cracks. Pulled it out so I could give it a good 360 inspection. Did find a small crack in my fire box... Going to cook some cedar plank salmon tonight. Have to go buy some more lump, will try brand X and see if the problem still happens. I don't know what brand X will be as I only buy Rockwood

HeavyG · January 2016

tfhanson said:

It's amazing how many of you think that I am a retard! This is not my first rodeo. All things are the same except a new bag of lump. Have a feeling if I had said Royal Oak, all of you would have been chiming in with, "Oh yeah, that happens all the time when I use RO".

I was hoping to get some help with an answer, not that I am stupid and don't know what I am doing and talking about. Sorry to have attacked your Baby Jesus of lump. At the start of the thread I stated I am a Rockwood customer for life.

Yes, I checked my egg for cracks today before lighting because of the second time this happened this week. Yes, I checked my gasket for leaks. No it was not windy today during the cook. No my thermometer pegged and went around a second time (I was using two, the second being my iDevice ambient probe). I also wait no longer than 15 minutes from lighting to cooking. 10 minutes to get the fire going, 5 minutes to stabilize the temp.

I will be trying a different brand of lump next to see if that eliminates the problem, and then I will go right back to using Rockwood.

You don't have to believe me. To get through my low in slow today I went through two full loads of lump, and the basket is empty again before the end of the cook, had to finish it in the oven.

My equipment, 1 year old, large egg, Kick Ash basket (no bottom grate), Smokewhere Cap and a loftlighter. I cook on average 4-5 times a week.

Dude, nobody thinks you're a retard. It's just that the events as you describe them seem to violate the laws of physics.

All I can think of is that either the lump gnomes are messing with you or you live in the Bermuda Lump Triangle.

Good luck sorting out your problem.

rifrench · January 2016

FarmerTom said:

I believe the OP has discounted wind as his problem, but others may consider this. Passing a stream of air over an opening reduces the air pressure in the area below the opening. I use this method in my shop with a compressed air line and short piece of tubing to suck old/bad fuel out of small engine tanks that have set and gotten dirty. I have noticed with my EGG (I live in a high area and often have wind), when the wind is blowing where it is setting, I have to open the bottom vent more to maintain desired temp. I think the wind is drawing heat out the top that under normal conditions would be contained in the egg. This necessitates opening the draft door more and burning more lump to maintain temp. But hey, I may be completely off base here, I'm just a dumb ol' farmer that has lots of problems here on the farm and not always a good solution.

This could be true. I cooked a butt in my large Saturday, in the wind. I needed larger openings to keep the calibrated dome temp up. Went out to check the temps towards the end, dome at 250, meat coming up. Twenty minutes later went back out, and the dome was almost 350. The only difference that I saw environmentally, was that the wind had stopped. The ambient temp was the same, or higher by a few degrees.

tfhanson · January 2016

Ok, so here is the follow up report. I stopped by Johns Creek Ace Hardware, where I bought my egg and get all my lump. I talked to a couple of the people who work there about my problem. They insisted on giving me a new bag of Rockwood. I wanted to try a different brand just to eliminate the lump as being the issue. In the end, I walked out with the bag of Rockwood. They said it was off a different pallet. They also said, if the problem continues, they will send someone out to the house to give my egg a once over. Love their customer support.

Anyway, cooked my cedar plank salmon last night. Full load of new Rockwood. Lighted with looftlighter in four spots. Left top open and vent full open for 10 minutes. Closed the dome and bottom vent to my 400 degree sweet spot and let the egg come up to temp for about 5 mins. Smokeware cap open about 1 inch. The cooked went roughly 25 mins. Closed everything down. Had a great meal. Dizzy Pig Raging River goes great on Cedar Plank Salmon.

This morning, when I opened the egg...... wait for it............ I had a full basket of lump, barely burnt down. This is EXACTLY what I expect from Rockwood and what I have gotten from Rockwood every time except for that one bag, where every cook burnt all the way down.

So in my mind, problem solved. For one reason or another, it was a bad bag of lump. Crap happens. I will continue to be a loyal Rockwood customer.

Photo Egg · January 2016

SloppyJoe said:

Sounds like a made up story. Any normal person would have the decency of trying another bag/experiencing the problem more than once before attacking a reputable company.

Really, his post sounds to you like an attack on Rockwood Lump?
Looks like a detailed, well written post explaining a problem.
The advantage of being a member of a good forum like this one is to ask questions and seek help.

Chubbs · January 2016

Thanks for the follow up. Interesting for sure. Glad you got it all worked out.

jtcBoynton · January 2016

Sounds like the typical computer problem. Try to figure out whats wrong and in the end just reboot and the problem goes away. Problem fixed. Never will really understand what went wrong, but really doesn't matter because whatever caused the issue is gone.

@tfhanson Sounds like you have a good dealer that provides support to their customers. Good to see.

tfhanson · January 2016

Photo Egg said:

show previous quotes

SloppyJoe said:

Sounds like a made up story. Any normal person would have the decency of trying another bag/experiencing the problem more than once before attacking a reputable company.

Really, his post sounds to you like an attack on Rockwood Lump?
Looks like a detailed, well written post explaining a problem.
The advantage of being a member of a good forum like this one is to ask questions and seek help.

Thanks for the support! SloppyJoe post was totally uncalled for and certainly gave me a bad taste for this forum. I was just trying to figure out if anyone else here had the same problem. No company or product is without an occasional mishap. I was trying to make sure there was not a problem with my egg.

tfhanson · January 2016

jtcBoynton said:

Sounds like the typical computer problem. Try to figure out whats wrong and in the end just reboot and the problem goes away. Problem fixed. Never will really understand what went wrong, but really doesn't matter because whatever caused the issue is gone.

@tfhanson Sounds like you have a good dealer that provides support to their customers. Good to see.

They are a great dealer. I was just hoping it was not a problem with my egg. Does not look like it....

jak7028 · January 2016

Glad it worked out for you. It will be a few weeks before I get to try again since I will be out of town. I have been having BGE withdrawals lately. Usually I cook 1-3 times a week on it. Lately, it has been every other week at best.

Another Rockwood problem?

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