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Flame Boss / Temp Control / Gasket help

I've got a couple questions.....the last few cooks I've done I've had issues with my temps, and I'm not exactly sure why. 

I have an XL BGE and I use a Flame Bossand I'm usually setting my goal temp at 225*. The egg will roll along great for a couple hours at 225* and then for seemingly no reason the egg steadily begins to climb, sometimes getting all the way up to 275*. The fan will be at 0 the whole time too. Not sure what's making it rise. At first I thought maybe the sun was making the temp rise...but I did a cook yesterday and the weather was in the 40s and overcast, and after 2 hours of steady 225*, it started creeping up to 245* and prob would of kept climbing had I not pulled the ham off I was smoking. 

Couple additional questions / thoughts..... 

How do you know when you need to replace your gasket? I'm beginning to get a little smoke coming out where the lids meet. Could a bad gasket be the reason for the unexplained temp rise?

When do you hook up the Flame Boss? Do you get the Egg up to temp and then hook the FB up? Or do you get the Egg going, hook up the FB, and allow the FB to bring the egg up to temp? Does it even matter?

Thanks,
Titus

Comments

  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,110
    Start your FB target temp lower at first. If you want 250, start at 200 or 225. Let it run until temps stabilize then then jump to 250. The Egg takes more fire and heat to get all the he ceramics us to temp. Once it all warms up it takes much less heat and fire. This can cause an over shoot if there are any air leaks where natural draft can stoke your fire over your desired target temp.
    not sure where your top vent openings are set, but they should be almost closed completety.
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
  • stlcharcoal
    stlcharcoal Posts: 4,684
    Photo Egg is right......shoot low, and creep it up just to be safe.  But it sounds like that's not your problem since it's creeping up later.

    Sounds like a cracked base or bad gasket to me.  It's sucking air from somewhere.  Also, do you have your daisy wheel closed all the way?

    It's not the sun.  Rain, wind, and snow can drop the temp, but wind can have the reverse effect too......all of which should have a minimal effect and be easily controlled by the unit.

    Look for cracks and do the "dollar bill" test on the gasket. 
  • Ragtop99
    Ragtop99 Posts: 1,570
    The gasket can be an issue.  My medium has a shot gasket and the wires cause enough of an opening that I cant use the FB without seeing the temps climb like what you are describing.  The FB allows a fair amount of passive air flow through the fan, even if it is not running.  Not providing an exit for the air is key to keeping a low temp.
    Cooking on an XL and Medium in Bethesda, MD.
  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    edited November 2017
    You said " I'm beginning to get a little smoke coming out where the lids meet."

    That just means the planes of your dome and base MAY be out of whack. Make a long story (solution) short. Close your dome, loosen the band bolts and when loose enough just press DOWN on the dome HARD to make the planes of the two match up! If that doesn't work then MAYBE your OE gaskets are already shot.
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • Your problem is most likely caused by a leaky gasket or a top vent setting that is too large. I kept using an old flat gasket until cooking with the top vent completely closed was not enough. Once I changed the gasket everything returned to normal.

    I know that a lot of people gradually raise the temperature of their Flame Boss to their desired cooking temperature but we have done a lot to automatically avoid overshooting the set temperature. I always set it to my desired cooking temperature from the start. I mean from the very start. I light the fire and immediately install my Flame Boss controller. The initial overshoot is usually only 5 or 10 degrees and it has usually leveled off at the set temperature by the time I have the meat prepped and ready to cook.
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    It's not a gasket leak, or any other leak. I'm not a big believer in gasket leakage being a big deal. I have a Rutland (that doesn't leak), but the main reason I like it is for the cushioning effect when closing the dome. Many people just scrape off what's left of their fried gasket and go commando after it's gone.

    I was experimenting with a rotisserie on my large egg a while back. I bought a $30 motor and spit from Lowe's and rigged it up so the motor was clamped to one of my egg mates. The spit went between the base and dome. The dome wouldn't close, of course, and the gap up by the handle was about an inch or so as I recall, tapering to almost, but not quite, nothing at the back by the hinges. Open, more or less, all the way around. Certainly far more than any ill-fitting dome/gasket/base! Or a cracked base for that matter (mine has been cracked for a long time)!

    In spite of that, I was able to maintain 400° (±10° or so) for the duration of my whole chicken cook. I did not use my DigiQ for this cook, just old fashioned manual control, cracked base, open dome and all. If you have a gasket leak (as I obviously did), close the vents more. IMO, a little bit of a leak at the gasket should not have kept a temp controller from controlling. If I could do it manually with a huge air leak, I see no reason why a temp controller wouldn't, even with a small leak.

    I don't know what your issue is, but I don't think it's a leaky gasket.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • JacksDad
    JacksDad Posts: 538
    I agree with what others have said. I use a flame boss too, and I love it. If the temp starts to creep above where you set the FB, just close the daisy wheel a little more.

    I monitor it pretty closely when its first getting going, and I try and it get the wheel set to where the fan is on minimally and it's holding my set temp. If it's closed too much, and the fan is running near 100% to maintain the temp, it will burn through your charcoal faster and just waste lump.

    Likewise if the fan is at 0% but the temp continues to rise, it just means the fire is getting more oxygen than you want it to have, so closing the daisy wheel a little will bring the fire's natural set point down.
    Large BGE -- New Jersey