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My egg self ignited the day after a cook

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Comments

  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 13,630
    bump
    canuckland
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  • Corv
    Corv Posts: 561
    edited October 15
    This thread is a little scary for me. I've been closing off the top vents and bottom vents on my Large and Mini, and putting them back in the shed when the exterior surface temps drop below 150 F. So far no problem. But the large sets next to a full propane tank so there's definitely some hazard if it gets hotter. 
    On the good side, the Large is relatively new and it seems as if the top and bottom caps are in good shape. The Mini is small and by the time it's cool, there's usually not much fuel remaining.
    I don't leave them out overnight any more because that's when my old Medium took its dive and broke.
    Somewhere on the Colorado Front Range
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  • stlcharcoal
    stlcharcoal Posts: 4,757
    Corv said:
    This thread is a little scary for me. I've been closing off the top vents and bottom vents on my Large and Mini, and putting them back in the shed when the exterior surface temps drop below 150 F. So far no problem. But the large sets next to a full propane tank so there's definitely some hazard if it gets hotter. 
    On the good side, the Large is relatively new and it seems as if the top and bottom caps are in good shape. The Mini is small and by the time it's cool, there's usually not much fuel remaining.
    I don't leave them out overnight any more because that's when my old Medium took its dive and broke.
    As long as you don't open them and introduce a bunch of oxygen, then it's probably not an issue.  Keep your dome and base aligned, gasket good, and use the chimney cap (I glued the leftover gasket inside of it for a better seal.)  Inspect the base for cracks.

    Everything in the firebox and ash pan will eventually cool off and that third component of the fire triangle will go away......but that can take a long time if it's hot outside, zero wind, and you have a bunch of ash acting an insulator.  Plus, if you have a leak somewhere for the O2 to come in and the CO2 to leave, then it will take forever to go out.

    Cool to touch is usually safe, but the second you open the lid to "check" for fire, you just gave every tiny little speck of hot charcoal a new breath of air.  And they don't use much, so that huge volume of air underneath the dome will now power all that until the O2 have been converted to CO2 + heat.

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  • zaphod
    zaphod Posts: 1,012
    I've been watching the egg like a hawk since this happened and have done some more testing and watching.  I am pretty much 100% convinced that I did not have the bottom vent completely closed and I had an ember which took off when I left the lid wide open.  

    If I had not left the lid wide open for an extended period, it likely would not have restarted.
    If I had closed the vent I would have had a fully snuffed out fire with no ember to catch.

    lesson learned. check and double check that bottom vent, don't leave an open lid unattended - ever.
    ~~
    Large BGE, Jonesing for a MiniMax
    The Vegegrilltarian

    The first rule of egg club is: you do NOT talk about egg club.
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  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 17,261
    Quietly moving the XL further from my house…….
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
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  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 13,630

    Not taking any chances, larger embers in heritage IKEA capsule, covered firepit to prevent anything falling in.
    btw Vanilla refused to post this second pic, had to use my PAINT workaround.
    canuckland
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  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 19,139
    Corv said:
    This thread is a little scary for me. I've been closing off the top vents and bottom vents on my Large and Mini, and putting them back in the shed when the exterior surface temps drop below 150 F. So far no problem. But the large sets next to a full propane tank so there's definitely some hazard if it gets hotter. 
    On the good side, the Large is relatively new and it seems as if the top and bottom caps are in good shape. The Mini is small and by the time it's cool, there's usually not much fuel remaining.
    I don't leave them out overnight any more because that's when my old Medium took its dive and broke.
    You may want to consider storing the propane tank outside regardless of the egg. The tanks are designed to be stored outside. 
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  • Corv
    Corv Posts: 561
    A small problem is that I live on a corner and the storage area, unless I get a cage for them, is wide open and visible through the cyclone fence. Otherwise a safe idea.
    Somewhere on the Colorado Front Range
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  • zaphod
    zaphod Posts: 1,012
    FWIW, i got a small container from the Sally Ann over the weekend. It seems to be the top half of a double boiler and is the right size for a big burn's worth of ash. The lid fits close enough that a burning candle will snuff out a few seconds after the lid is on.



    my plan is to dump ash in there and when it's sat for a day (ie: until the next ash cleaning) empty the pan into my compost and refill it with the ash I just cleaned out. should handle any embers that may be hiding in the ash..
    ~~
    Large BGE, Jonesing for a MiniMax
    The Vegegrilltarian

    The first rule of egg club is: you do NOT talk about egg club.
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  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,417
    zaphod said:
    FWIW, i got a small container from the Sally Ann over the weekend. It seems to be the top half of a double boiler and is the right size for a big burn's worth of ash. The lid fits close enough that a burning candle will snuff out a few seconds after the lid is on.



    my plan is to dump ash in there and when it's sat for a day (ie: until the next ash cleaning) empty the pan into my compost and refill it with the ash I just cleaned out. should handle any embers that may be hiding in the ash..
    I’m going to sell these to BGE owners for $145

    … seriously though, I have something like this for my method of kick-ashing. Gotta reserve ALL the fines. :)
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


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  • zaphod
    zaphod Posts: 1,012
    MaskedMarvel said:
    zaphod said:
    FWIW, i got a small container from the Sally Ann over the weekend. It seems to be the top half of a double boiler and is the right size for a big burn's worth of ash. The lid fits close enough that a burning candle will snuff out a few seconds after the lid is on.



    my plan is to dump ash in there and when it's sat for a day (ie: until the next ash cleaning) empty the pan into my compost and refill it with the ash I just cleaned out. should handle any embers that may be hiding in the ash..
    I’m going to sell these to BGE owners for $145

    … seriously though, I have something like this for my method of kick-ashing. Gotta reserve ALL the fines. :)
    I'm in - we shall call it the "Eggstinguisher" 
    ~~
    Large BGE, Jonesing for a MiniMax
    The Vegegrilltarian

    The first rule of egg club is: you do NOT talk about egg club.
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