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Unable to get temp up in my new large BGE, using all my old methods

Aquaticdoc
Aquaticdoc Posts: 18
in EggHead Forum
We moved and replaced my old (15 yrs) BGE with a brand new one, but I simply cannot get the temp up mostly even to 350° during the winter, which was easy on my old egg. I've completely cleaned out the egg, started with new lump mesquite charcoal, but still no raging fire. I'll never be able to do pizza, or even sear a steak. Suggestions?
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Comments

  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 36,803
    Thermo calibrated? 
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. CHEETO (aka Agent Orange) makes Nixon look like a saint.  
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  • Aquaticdoc
    Aquaticdoc Posts: 18
    I've actually not calibrated the thermo, but there is never a roaring fireSo I doubt it would be that far off.
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  • GrateEggspectations
    GrateEggspectations Posts: 11,606
    Whenever I can’t get it up to a rager, the cause is usually blood flow.... I mean... airflow. 
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,532
    Is the fire bowl opening lined up with the lower vent? 
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • Aquaticdoc
    Aquaticdoc Posts: 18
    Just calibrated with boiling water, reading 205° which is about accurate at 4025 ft. elevation
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  • lkapigian
    lkapigian Posts: 11,549
    WeberWho said:
    Is the fire bowl opening lined up with the lower vent? 
    This ^^^
    Visalia, Ca @lkapigian
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 34,597
    usually its forgetting to take the top vent completely off the egg or its damp lump
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • smbishop
    smbishop Posts: 3,061
    It is either fuel or oxygen.  My guess is the fuel.
    Southlake, TX and Cowhouse Creek - King, TX.  2 Large, 1 Small and a lot of Eggcessories.
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  • Cornholio
    Cornholio Posts: 1,048
    I had a family friend get an egg around the same time I did years ago and he complained about not getting his egg up to higher temps and eventually got rid of it. I chalked his issues up to user error, since you’ve had an egg prior to this that got up to temp I’d go with what others suggested and look at alignment of the box and lump being used. Never even come close to having this issue myself, I have had the opposite problem though. 
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  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 10,227
    I experienced this the first time I tried to cook pizza with my XL.  Both vents were wide open for 2 hours and it wouldn't get above 325.  I've concluded that I filled the firebox so full of lump that I blocked the airflow coming in through the vent - even with the fire bowl properly aligned.  Now I always clear an air path before I light the egg.  Haven't had another problem since.

    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX

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  • malligator
    malligator Posts: 102
    I just had the same issue. I had a BGE I used all the time in Phoenix. It broke during the move to Seattle and it took me almost two years to get a new one. It didn't work nearly as well as the first one. It got to the point I literally couldn't get it started.

    I figured out I had too much charcoal in it and I simply wasn't cleaning it out often enough. It got to the point it was full of nothing but tiny pieces of junk coal and a lot of ash.

    I went out and got a BGE stainless fire bowl (Kick Ash Basket would work just as well) so I could shake out the ash each cook, did a clean burn, and refilled with large chunks from a new bag of charcoal. It worked flawlessly today for a steak cook.

    It got up to 275 quickly and stayed there during the cook then quickly got up to 600 for the sear. I'm happy to have my BGE back.

    LBGE in PHX

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  • Aquaticdoc
    Aquaticdoc Posts: 18
    Thanks, Malligator,

    Cleaned everything out, vacuumed the ash pan, insured that the alignment of the bowl/vent was correct. Pretty convinced that in attempting to salvage charcoal, I was restricting the airflow. So I bought an Ashbasket, after my localEgg dealer said they had no stainless tire bowls in stock and that it would be next month or longer to get it from them. Planning lab chops for Easter so this will test out the Egg with new lumps.
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  • Doglegdave
    Doglegdave Posts: 29
    Black, chocolate or yellow lab chops?  Probably chocolate for Easter.
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  • Aquaticdoc
    Aquaticdoc Posts: 18
    Mixed breed, Dave. We're leaving one leg on. 
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