Warning re: Rain, Moisture and Temps

Unknown · July 2006

Hi All,[p]Got a lot of rain here in the Great White North over the past week too and my XL wasn't covered (usually is). Cooked kebabs tonight at 450*ish. Took longer and a larger fire to get to temp even though almost all of the lump had been in the garage rather than in the egg during the rain. Total burn time at temp was probably close to an hour. So, I suspect this is a "moisture in the egg" effect rather than damp lump.[p]Here's a safety warning - I shut down, ate dinner (awesome) and about an hour later went out to clean up. Dome temp was still above 300*, which is high for that amount of downtime. I didn't think much about it, just assumed that the large fire was slow to smother, which can happen 'cause my raincap isn't a perfect fit. When I opened up to drop in Ms. Daisy, I got the equivalent of flashback but steam rather than VOCs burning off. No harm done but a far hotter experience than I expected. In the future, I'll vent the dome before opening after shutdown, at least when the weather's been wet, for safety. [p]Hope that this helps. Cheers - John

Elder Ward · July 2006

CanukQ,
We in Californian don't get continuous rain like you guy but we catch bill hell in the winter. I have never experienced what you are descibing,oh I believe you, don't get me wrong, but consider this. I bought a cover when my egg was new. tried it once. To much trouble and got tired of having to check when it was cool enough. So for 8 plus years my large egg has been in it all but snow. Including several flash flood storms that lasted weeks in which hills and mountain sides slide down, trailer parks were washed away a Santa Paula Ca lost 2/3 of it's run way at the airport next to a dry river bed. We are talking 100 year storms. I have cooked in all this weather. When I shut down for the night I cover the top with the Green ceramic top that is shipped with the Egg and put my daisy wheel on the table next to it. The nearest cover is 40 feet away. I always close my bottom vent and I have not had a gasket for 5 years. The bottom vent and front of egg faces away from the provailing winds so maybe that helps. Again I have never had those issues you experienced. My Lump stay outside under my table which has 1/4 inch gaps between the boards and my lump is stored in green tubs with snap on tops from TARGET. Do you have a sprinkler system that sprays your egg. I know this sounds like I am building a federal case but frankly I am baffled.
Elder Ward

QBabe · July 2006

CanukQ,[p]We're in Florida and all 5 of our eggs are out in the weather. We don't cover them at all. Our lump is in a rubbermaid bin nearby. We get LOTS of rain in the form of thunderstorms, tropical storms, and sometimes hurricanes and have not had a similar experience. Yes the lump does take longer to get going to get up to temps when its damp, and sometimes, the eggs to seem to give off steam a bit more. Like Mr. Ward, I'm also baffled, but the one size egg I don't have is the XL.[p]The hotter the fire is, the longer it retains that heat, and that big cooker has a lot of ceramic to retain heat in. I wonder if you were getting a false dome temperature reading and had that bad boy much hotter than you thought? That would explain both the longer and hotter burn time, and the longer shut down time and retention of heat.[p]Tonia
:~)

Unknown · July 2006

Hi Elder,[p]No sprinkler system! LOL[p]You sure got me thinking about it. I also always use the ceramic rain cap and keep my bottom vent closed up. My XL is a few months old and the gasket felt is in pretty good condition - worn hard in only one area. My dome and base align well but are off by about an 1/8 inch on the left front (the non-spring hinge is adjustable but this is at the extent of the adjustment). So, maybe the gasket felt is wicking water in ... mainly where the bottom sits proud of the dome??? [p]Don't know. Nothing looks wet inside - even the ash is dry. Did find some condensation on the underside of the rain cap this morn, so something got damp somehow. I don't think this is a big deal, but I'll be more cautious in the future![p]Thanks for all your excellent contributions to the forum!![p]Cheers - John

Clay Q · July 2006

CanukQ,
Yeah, you got a sauna inside your egg. Get a vinyl cover, I use a cheap grey cover, think it cost less than ten bucks.
Having very humid conditions will cause water to condense inside your egg. When firing up, cool damp air is drawn in and is heated then it cools again inside ceramic walls that are cooler than the air heating it.... condensing water vapor back into liquid.
After the egg is heated fully and water vapor is expelled out of your egg, you can keep it dryer using the cover.[p]With your rain cap, you can take a dremel tool with a stone abrasive and grind away any inside bumps that prevent a good seal. The inside corner of the rain cap has a few spots that are not flat(my rain cap, anyway) and when ground out will make a perfect flush fit on the dome. It took me 30 seconds to perform this little job.
Hope this helps,
Clay

fishlessman · July 2006

CanukQ,
up in maine, we have been getting the rain and the humidity, and the egg does condensate inside, sometimes when i get up there the ash in the bottom is soggy. i have a hard time getting temps up if the egg hasnt been lit in a while and its been wet, but after the first cook it dries out and works fine. this egg is at camp so it doesnt get used regularly like my others and it is mud season up there. best thing to do is use it regularly and this doesnt seem to happen.
[ul][li]link from my post yesterday[/ul]

Unknown · July 2006

CanukQ,
Good thinking that the felt is wicking in the water.. I have found that if I don't use the Egg every few days a tremendous amount of mold will grow inside! I'm up in CT and we've been getting heavy rain for weeks now but I would not expect this.. I am going to check the location of the felt as it may be too exposed.
Cheers, Tim

BOBF · July 2006

Tim,[p]Here is my two cents. The egg is not airtight by any means. Even if you have the vent closed and the cap on, air will leak in or out thru the vent, the cap and the gaskets. When the egg cools - after a cook or at night when unlit or during a rainstorm (assuming the charcoal is not lit) the air inside will contract and draw in outside air (and the moisture in that air). Some of the moisture inside the egg will condense and some will be also absorbed by the charcoal and the firebox and fire ring material which appear to be more porous than the dome and bottom ceramics. The egg will continue to breath in and our like this until it is lit up and the moisture driven off. The cycle will then repeat itself when the fire goes out. The other night I shut down the egg around midnight. I lit it up the next afternoon without adding charcoal and it looked like a burnoff of volatiles, however, it was just steam. The same thing happens with storage tanks and even to your gasoline tank on the car. Most storage tanks have water accumulate in the bottom from the expansion and contraction of the vapor inside. Now I hope someone is not going to lay awake thinking about the living breathing egg settling out on the patio.

Warning re: Rain, Moisture and Temps

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