Small BGE cooks (butts, ribs, brisket)

I opted for the Woo with handles for my small, FWIW.

Fred19Flintstone said:

I feel shamed.  I bought a small years ago for cooking at my Mom’s place when we went every other Sunday.  She went to assisted living for three or four years before she passed away a couple of years ago.  I’ve cooked on it only a handful of times since we stopped regularly schlepping that to Mom’s house.  I think I need to cook on it more before deciding on it’s value to me.

If I can comfortably cook whatever it is on the small that’s the one I use.  I love it. It’s like the difference between driving a large truck and sports car.  

@Fred19Flintstone - sorry to learn of your mother's passing.  The finality is never easy even if one knows it is on the near horizon.  

To get more run time on the SBGE just fill it to the top of the ring next time.  I'm pretty sure that is above the KAB.  I can get 9-10 hrs at around 250-260*F on my SBGE which has always been enough to finish a 6-8 lb pork butt cook although I usually do those on the LBGE.  FWIW-

I use Rockwood, sold thru Ace hardware stores or on-line here:
https://rockwoodcharcoal.com/  
BTW- lump discussions here are like religion and politics anywhere else.  There are many threads on the subject.  FWIW-

Jek said:

Thanks @lousubcap.  I was peaked in the KAB and hitting the bottom of the conveggtor.  What lump do you use?  This was a Costco Cowboy bag.

Cowboy, the times I have used it, lights very easy and gets going pretty fast but it’s not a long burning lump. When you don’t need the higher temps, you can always put the stock lump grate back in the Egg to fit more lump.

For the record, I have used a High-que fire grate in my SBGE since day one on the advice of a SBGE owner.  Definitely a good call.  No issues with getting very hot and also managing L&S cooks.  

Jek said:

The stock grate was limiting me before.  The KAB made high-temp easier.  It does reduce the volume I can get in there and that is somewhat limiting my time; however, before the KAB I had similar problems but it was plugging holes and limiting air flow.

Couple things.
Make sure the factory grate is installed correctly. The cone shape holes go down. If they are up it will block up more.
On my small, a few slow thumps of the dome, will force air downward and push out ash and clear the holes. You can literally see the little puff of smoke being pushed out the lower vent with each thump. This is all I have ever had to do on the Small to clear ash.
On the larger Eggs, you can use a wiggle rod, or coat hanger to wiggle up in the holes to move the ash. You can do this with the small but the ash grate is so small and light in comparison to the large and XL that its easy to push the grate out of place. Do probe carefully.
But you really should not need the KA basket for your long low and slow cooks. Just a couple Thump every one in awhile should keep you clear.
But correct orientation of cast iron lump grate is crucial.

Bellavista52 said:

@lousubcap - Sorry to be dense, but what exactly is your High-que fire grate and where did you obtain it?

At the risk of the obvious here is a link found thru google:
https://www.high-que.com/  
They don't offer a grate for the SBGE any more.  

Jek said:

I believe it was installed correctly.  I haven't tried any wiggle or other.  Just seemed like a design flaw for the small that the KAB fixed for me.  I have read a lot of threads on here and watched a lot of youtube and I'll just say that things are different on the small.  It's not just a smaller large or XL.  There are different constraints IMO.  The design doesn't scale exactly from MM to XL.

Agree, the Small does not heat up as fast. But all the Eggs are prone to ash and smaller pieces of lump blocking the holes in the lump grate. Besides taking longer to reach higher temps, the cooking characteristics are very similar to the other sized Eggs.
It’s the MM that does not match scaling up. But it has a larger lump grate that increases airflow.
I also use the KA Basket in my Small.
I use it for most of my cooks. Lighting it with my small torch, in 3 spots, even using the stock grate will get me to 350-400 degrees 10-15 minutes with enough flames to put a nice sear even at felt level cooking. Granted, it’s nothing like getting my XL roaring hot.
But I’ve never thought of it as a design flaw. It’s just Relaxed.lol

Fred19Flintstone said:

This is funny.  I take a break from here and a couple of weeks ago I come back to see if any of my forum friends needed some emergency prayers due to Ida.  The next thing I know I’m spending money buying a KAB for my small.  It only proves this place costs money and some things don’t change.

As mentioned above, it does take up some lump space. But it’s great in the Small.