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Cleaning Burn, or Whatever it's Called.....

reload
reload Posts: 267
in EggHead Forum
I'm going to attempt a cleaning burn with what's left of this nasty @#$ Cowboy charcoal.   How hot should I let it burn and how long? 
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Comments

  • Legume
    Legume Posts: 15,936
    No need to go crazy, get it between 500-600 and let it burn all the lump.
    THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER
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  • reload
    reload Posts: 267
    @Legume.  Thank you very much!
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,455
    If that's Cowboy and that's all you have left I'd really add more lump. The little amount you have in that picture will burn quickly and sure won't do much to clean the build up on your egg.
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • reload
    reload Posts: 267
    @RRP  that's all of the Cowboy I had left.  Should I just add charcoal to the ring and let it burn?
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,455
    edited March 2016
    I sure would! Cowboy burns fast and there isn't enough there to get very hot for very long. You do have a build up there. In fact you may even want to improve the chance of success by taking a ball of foil and knocking off the easy stuff before you start the fire.
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • Jeremiah
    Jeremiah Posts: 6,412
    I second what's Ron is saying. Take out the lump, clean out the ash and fill it up. Pull the thermo, foil ball the dome, and let it rip. Then do it again. Mine looked much like yours. It took three good burnouts to get it clean again. Mine was so bad it was flakeing off the inside of the dome onto the food. 
    Slumming it in Aiken, SC. 
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  • reload
    reload Posts: 267
    The temperature has died down to around 450 and holding steady.   There's a lot of small lump burning under the larger pieces I added later in the burn.  I plan on letting it burn tonight, cleaning it out in the morning and starting over with a new batch of lump tomorrow. 
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,455
    Good idea to do it in stages since this is your first "clean burn" or "burn out". How high did it get or did you notice? 450º is jack so I hope it ripped better than that or all you did was waste lump tonight.
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • Theophan
    Theophan Posts: 2,656
    It's too late, I guess, since you're already doing it, but what's the point?  The only times I've done clean burns have been when it had been a while since I'd been able to cook on my Eggs and one or both got moldy inside.  I don't see anything in that picture that should hurt anything.  Even those bits that look like drips of sauce or something, they're just carbon, now.  Seems like a waste of good lump to me.

    I deliberately bought some Cowboy charcoal a while back just to use for the occasional clean burn, but again, I only do that when there's mold, which gives me the heebie-jeebies.  <shudder>
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  • reload
    reload Posts: 267
    The temperature reached 700 for an hour or two.  Then it slowly started to drop off.  
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  • bboulier
    bboulier Posts: 558
    Not sure why you are doing a "clean burn". Have my egg for several years and never found the reason to do this, particularly given the negative outcomes of some of our members.
    Weber Kettle, Weber Genesis Silver B, Medium Egg, KJ Classic (Black)
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  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    edited March 2016
    I disagree completely on "clean burns". And looking at your pic your dome is seasoned yes but, not crusty. I'd cook whatever until the Cowboy was depleted. Then I'd clean it out, add new lump (preferably not Cowboy) and bake some Zas. I used to do clean burns. If you throw in some Zas or bread every other week or so it'll keep it pretty clear (not white but, who gives a $hit if it's white). Just my .02¢   Plus I would rather not waste lump on just burning with no purpose other than cleaning creosote crusty crap. Maybe I'm just frugal that way. 
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
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  • reload
    reload Posts: 267
    Theophan said:
    It's too late, I guess, since you're already doing it, but what's the point?  The only times I've done clean burns have been when it had been a while since I'd been able to cook on my Eggs and one or both got moldy inside.  I don't see anything in that picture that should hurt anything.  Even those bits that look like drips of sauce or something, they're just carbon, now.  Seems like a waste of good lump to me.

    I deliberately bought some Cowboy charcoal a while back just to use for the occasional clean burn, but again, I only do that when there's mold, which gives me the heebie-jeebies.  <shudder>
    A friend of mine told me that I should consider doing a cleaning burn about once every year.   Sounded like a good plan, now you have me second guessing my decision.   Do Eggs need to be cleaned with a high temp burn or not?  I'm still fairly new to cooking on an Egg.
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  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    @reload ^^^^ no they do not
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
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  • bhedges1987
    bhedges1987 Posts: 3,201
    NPHuskerFL said:
    @reload ^^^^ no they do not
    Agree. The only clean burns mine gets is when I'm doing steaks at 700 degrees. 

    Kansas City, Missouri
    Large Egg
    Mini Egg

    "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" - Gandalf


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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,455
    Doing or not doing burn outs creates almost as many arguments on this forum as politics and religion! If you do enough pizzas and steaks then you probably never need to do a burn out. OTOH if you do a lot of lo & slo smokey, greasy cooks like pork butts you are more apt to have creosote build up. If you like your insides black and crusty then so be it! OTOH if you don't then do an occasional burn out! Point is - it's YOUR lump and YOUR acceptance to what the inside of your egg looks like. OK, pal?
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • Theophan
    Theophan Posts: 2,656
    RRP said:
    Doing or not doing burn outs creates almost as many arguments on this forum as politics and religion! If you do enough pizzas and steaks then you probably never need to do a burn out. OTOH if you do a lot of lo & slo smokey, greasy cooks like pork butts you are more apt to have creosote build up. If you like your insides black and crusty then so be it! OTOH if you don't then do an occasional burn out! Point is - it's YOUR lump and YOUR acceptance to what the inside of your egg looks like. OK, pal?
    Completely agree.  I've heard some people saying they've had disgusting built-up crud dripping or falling from the dome onto their food while cooking.  That's never happened to me, but sure, if there's a huge buildup of nasty stuff, burn it OFF!  And as @RRP said, we're all different, and care about different things.  If you just like having a nice, cleaned Egg once in a while, nothing wrong with that!  Years ago, I had trouble with BGE gaskets melting together and gluing the Egg shut, and/or pretty much not being there anymore after a clean burn.  But their newer gaskets seem to hold up to high temps better, now, so I don't think that's an issue.

    You've done one, now, so you can tell from your own experience whether you want to do this again once in a while.  Some do, some don't.  Up to you.
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