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Lighting Question?

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The Barbequetioner
The Barbequetioner Posts: 76
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Was wondering what you do when you light your egg. I am still getting inconsistancy with my times and temps. Some days dead on, others WTF?

I use a firestarter to light wait about 15 min close the lid open the vents. This usually takes about 30 min to reach 300. Close the vents to about 1/4 inch and put the food on. Is this right?
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,776
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    with whatever method ive used ive never left the dome open after lighting it. close the dome, take the daisy off the egg, bottom vent wide open til i approach taget temps then start closing things down.
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
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    My starting times are never all that uniform. Altho I usually get to 250 in about 20 - 25 minutes (lite 3 places with a torch, leave daisy off and bottom all the way open) it varies a lot. On Saturday, with mostly fresh Cowboy lump, it took close to 35+ min to reach 250. Other times, also w. Cowboy, the fire is racing past 300 in as little as 10 minutes. Go figure.

    My rule of thumb is that the time it takes to rise 100 degrees is about halfed for every 100 degrees. So if I see the temp climb from 50 dome to 150 in 15 minutes, I figure I've got 7.5 minutes tops before hitting 250. Then 3.75 for 350, etc. Just a rule of thumb, but is accurate enough for me.
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  • PWise
    PWise Posts: 1,173
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    same here...

    cheers!
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  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
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    Wasn't it you who had the same or similar question in the last couple of days? As I recall there were some good and detailed responses in that post.

    If the past post wasn't yours you should take a minute and read those responses.

    You will need to let us know what and how you are lighting your egg, how full, what type lump, top & bottom vent settings, etc.

    Most of the time, I leave the dome open between 5 and 10 minutes after lighting.

    GG
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
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    firestarters (paper/wax) need plenty of air, or they will puff out and throw sh!tty white smoke that smells foul.

    break up a fire starter into three pieces, light them, and nestle them in with some lump brdging over them. leave the lid up just a few minutes to make sure they are flaming good. shut the lid and make sure the lower vent is wide open and the daisy is off or fully open. if the starters start throwing clouds of smoke, they've snuffed out, and you need to get them flaming again. otherwise, just wait.

    i've used a parrafin log (busted up on a warm day with a flathead screwdriver) after too many starter cube purchases (BGE starters aren't cheap around here). that ay i could light four or five chunks if i wanted to. still, they too can puff out without enough airflow.

    but you want that lid shut as soon as you can. you want to establish a draft. you won't have a draft with the lid up, even though the fire is growing. it will grow faster with the dome shut and an established draft
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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