Charcoal basket / bowl

James,

I was going to ask if you had some side holes. I am wondering if they should be concentrated around the holes in the fire box.

There looks to be plenty of holes in the bottom.

Are you getting into warmer weather over there yet. Still some snow out here.

Kent

You're getting there. Keep trying.

let us know how the bowl holds up. not sure stainless is any better in this case than anything else, but it sure is a common and cheap bowl to find and replace if you need to. i actually prefer your slot idea to the holes. my grate gets filled too easily with smaller bits of charcoal, and i think your angle grinder (are you angle grinder man, by the way?) is a better idea. never paid attention to the thickness of the steel in these bowls from store to store. i wonder if they are heavier or lighter depending where you get them? a restaurant supply shop nearby has stacks of them in all sizes. might check there. my iron grate is cracked and bent.

by the way. an interesting point for discussion. i'm not trying to start anything with the "fume police" here on the forum, but here's a thought for them.

stainless steel gives of far more dangerous fumes than galvanized metal (when both are at temps where they actually give off fumes, which can't happen in an egg, but stick with me). specifically, the very real concern from stainless steel (which contains nickel, chromium, etc.) is lung cancer. with galvanized steel fumes, you FEEL sick, but it goes away, and causes no long term harm. fifteen minutes a day exposure to galvy fumes is considered "fine". with stainless steel, you need to monitor actual atmospheric content (well, they say you should, who does?). i know fishless has experience welding both. i wonder what the real practice is on the ground in the trenches.

anyway, my point (which took far too long to arrive at) is once again that there aren't any fumes coming from the egg despite what metal you use, including galvanized steel. carbon monoxide is another thing, but it never gets a mention.

let us know if that basket holds up over time. even if it falls apart, it would be cheap enough to replace every so often.

I can imagine the dealing with the reflections.

We will have one or two more snow storms then some spring weather.

Your description about central burning and the lower temperature leads me to think the side holes are necessary.

There could have been some lump settling and clogging the air flow through the bottom of the of the bowl.

Kent