For low and slow do you immediately adjust the vents when you first close the dome?

Ondeck33 · February 2018

once you get the desired amount of coals lit and close the dome do you adjust the vents right away? Or do you leave the vents wide open then start to shut down once you are close to your temp (temp always drops dramatically when I do this so I’m going to try something else)?

Eoin · February 2018

Leave vents open until close to temp. It's a balancing act as you need to get the ceramic hot, but not too hot. If you set vent positions for (say) 250F right from the start, it will take ages to get there.

WeberWho · February 2018

I think it depends how you start your egg. I use a weed torch and get it ripping hot. I'll set the vent settings and walk away. (I don't use the daisy wheel besides low and slowes. Just the bottom vent)

The most fool proof way would be watching the thermometer come up to temp and slowly adjust the vents coming up to the correct temp.

bikesAndBBQ · February 2018

I close the dome and have the dampers open a lot more than needed for my desired temp. Once the temp gets around 30-50 degrees away, I set them to where they need to be at for my desired temp.

Ondeck33 · February 2018

I start mine with a propane torch. I’m making ribs today and plan on lighting a baseball sized area then closing and immediately setting the vents. We’ll see how it goes

td66snrf · February 2018

I start the lump, close the top with both vents wide open. I keep an eye on my Maverick. When it approaches 225 I adjust the vents and wait for the smoke to clear.

Ondeck33 · February 2018

Well actually I think I’m going to have the vents open slightly more than I need at first. Doing ribs so might try having the bottom vent at 1inch from the start then close once I get somewhere in the 250 range

WeberWho · February 2018

Ondeck33 said:

I start mine with a propane torch. I’m making ribs today and plan on lighting a baseball sized area then closing and immediately setting the vents. We’ll see how it goes

Make sure you put your platesetter or stone in after you get it started. If you don't the cold ceramic from the platesetter or stone will play around with your temps at the beginning of your cook. Have the ceramic heat up evenly with the egg so you don't have to go chasing temps.

Ondeck33 · February 2018

When I leave the vents wide open at first then try to dial it in my temp drops dramatically and never comes back

dharley · February 2018

How low? I cook on a large. My "low" is 260-275 dome. Any lower and I have problems. For a long cook I start with a clean egg, all new lump and wood. I use about 25% wood. I start some lump in a chimney IN the egg with the bottom vent fully open (I cook with the bottom open and only use the daisy wheel as the control), once the starter lump is glowing and dump it. Some of the egg lump has lit by then as well. I leave the lid open for a few minutes, when I close it I leave the cap off and over shoot my temp temp. Usually to about 350 or so. I then put the daisy wheel on with the windows about half way open. I wait about fifteen minutes and adjust. I know it's backward from other methods, but it works consistently for me. I live in southwestern Michigan. The weather varies to extreme. Cooking on an egg is an art, not a science. I hope this ramble helped.

lousubcap · February 2018

Ondeck33 said:

When I leave the vents wide open at first then try to dial it in my temp drops dramatically and never comes back

The BGE operates on air-flow as you know. So, if your temp is too low (given you have some burning lump) then you have restricted the sir-flow to the current sized fire volume. Change the air-flow and the temperature changes. The feed-back loop can take time. FWIW-

Ondeck33 · February 2018

Last time I wanted to cook at 275-300 so at 230 I started shutting down the top and bottom vents (DW was off and bottom wide open) then my temp dropped to well below 200

Woodchunk · February 2018

Ondeck33 said:

When I leave the vents wide open at first then try to dial it in my temp drops dramatically and never comes back

That's because the fire is not set yet, you shut it down too soon. I usually let mine go to 300 with the bottom open and no dw. At 300 I put the chunks in and the ps and grate. Temp goes down while open. Wait again for near 300, then I start dialing back. For my medium

Ondeck33 · February 2018

How do I know when the fire is properly set? Or what can I do to ensure that it gets set?

dharley · February 2018

Ondeck33 said:

Last time I wanted to cook at 275-300 so at 230 I started shutting down the top and bottom vents (DW was off and bottom wide open) then my temp dropped to well below 200

I had the same issue. That's why I overshoot the temp by almost 100. I think the egg itself absorbs a lot of heat once the flames are gone.

WeberWho · February 2018

Ondeck33 said:

Last time I wanted to cook at 275-300 so at 230 I started shutting down the top and bottom vents (DW was off and bottom wide open) then my temp dropped to well below 200

You might want to try lighting a few different spots in your lump. Give yourself sometime for the egg to settle in at the temp your looking for. The bottom and top vent should be the width of a toothpick once you get your egg up to 275-300.

Woodchunk · February 2018

Ondeck33 said:

How do I know when the fire is properly set? Or what can I do to ensure that it gets set?

Practice, get some cheap lump and light up with no food

Ondeck33 · February 2018

But I’m not sure I understand what properly “set” is. Can you describe exactly what it

bikesAndBBQ · February 2018

Ondeck33 said:

How do I know when the fire is properly set? Or what can I do to ensure that it gets set?

It takes some trial and error. Take notes at first. After you get it down, you will be able to do it by memory. I also suggest not being committed to a temp. Sometimes the fire wants to do what it wants to do. Fighting it just turns into unneeded stress and babysitting.

Woodchunk · February 2018

Ondeck33 said:

But I’m not sure I understand what properly “set” is. Can you describe exactly what it

For me it would be the fire is fully lit, maintains temp, and does not go out when adjusting the vents down. There will be a hot bed of red coals in the firebox

Ondeck33 · February 2018

Thanks. So you think my temps are a product of just large flames from a small lit area? What are some tips to make sure it’s set?

Woodchunk · February 2018

for me its around 300. I can't answer for you, you will have to practice to find out. I have a family member who waits till flames are shooting out the top but he has a bigger egg, he can tell just from looking at the egg from a distance.

Ondeck33 · February 2018

I think I got it. Let the fire build to a certain temp (for you it’s 300) then when you put close the vents the temp drops and will settle in. Right?

Woodchunk · February 2018

Yes, but close the vents a little at a time and give the egg a chance to do its thing

CornfedMA · February 2018

Woodchunk said:

Yes, but close the vents a little at a time and give the egg a chance to do its thing

This.

Making adjustments while you’re getting up to temp is like steering the Titanic, changes aren’t going to happen right away. Make a small adjustment and wait. It won’t take long and you’ll be dialing in temps with little effort.

Carolina Q · February 2018

Most of my cooks are at 400°. I don't use the top vent for anything above 250°. If I'm in a hurry (virtually never), I light the lump, install all the hardware to be used (platesetter, stones, racks, whatever), leave the bottom vent open all the way and the dw off. When the dome temp gets within 50° of my target, I close the bottom to where it needs to be (based on experience) and let the temp settle in.

If a lo n slo cook (i.e. 250°), I will also add the dw at that time, petals open about 1/16". Bottom vent about the same, maybe a bit less.

If I'm not in a hurry, I light the lump and set the bottom vent (and dw if using) where I know it needs to be and just walk away. Takes longer to get to temp, but there's no risk of it getting out of control if I get side tracked.

You never want to allow temp to exceed target and then try to bring it back down. The longer it's too hot, the longer it will take to come down.

Ondeck33 · February 2018

UPDATE: this time I took a different approach to lighting. Instead of keeping my torch on a spot until that tiny area is red hot I only torched for about a minute until the coals started to turn white. I also torched a slightly bigger area. I let the white coals burn for about 5 minutes. There weren’t any big flames like there usually is but I feel that it was a better and stronger burn (if that makes sense).

After that I put everything in and closed the bottom vent half way and closed the DW but left the wholes open. About 30-40 minutes later I was at 240 so I shut down the vents to where I want them.

No drop off in temp like I’m used to and holding steady for the past 10 minutes (now temp is slowly rising but I will let it settle at whatever temp it wants).

Obviously not everyone wants to wait 40 minutes and to be honest I would probably be ok having the vents wide open so long as a build a stable fire unlike before.

Thanks eveyeone

Ondeck33 · February 2018

Edit everyone*

blind99 · February 2018

Yeah, don’t worry about getting a good bit of coals really burning. The only way you’ll really screw it up is if you take the cap off, open the bottom, and walk away long enough to go nuclear and heat the ceramic wayyyy too high.

and if you’re using the platesetter really don’t be afraid to get some lump really burning.

For reference here’s what my settings looked like on a cook locked in at 250. (Large BGE)

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/yd/ixoy8lg1ccyd.jpeg

DWFII · February 2018

Nice...those photos are really helpful.

Eoin · February 2018

Ondeck33 said:

UPDATE: this time I took a different approach to lighting. Instead of keeping my torch on a spot until that tiny area is red hot I only torched for about a minute until the coals started to turn white. I also torched a slightly bigger area. I let the white coals burn for about 5 minutes. There weren’t any big flames like there usually is but I feel that it was a better and stronger burn (if that makes sense).

After that I put everything in and closed the bottom vent half way and closed the DW but left the wholes open. About 30-40 minutes later I was at 240 so I shut down the vents to where I want them.

No drop off in temp like I’m used to and holding steady for the past 10 minutes (now temp is slowly rising but I will let it settle at whatever temp it wants).

Obviously not everyone wants to wait 40 minutes and to be honest I would probably be ok having the vents wide open so long as a build a stable fire unlike before.

Thanks eveyeone

Do this a few times then try wide open to get up to temp faster. You will get used to catching it at the right time on the way up.

For low and slow do you immediately adjust the vents when you first close the dome?

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