Eggspert Advice Needed

Hi Daniel,

Welcome to the forum. You will find there are at least two camps when it comes to fueling the egg around here. Some stack the lump charcoal by hand starting with the largest pieces first. This in theory will allow greater air circulation from the bottom up, a key to a great fire on the egg. Then there are those that just dump the lump and pour it into the egg with little ceremony. Either way air flow is critical. The air holes in the side of the firebox need to be kept unclogged and the charcoal can't be so packed as to restrict much air flow. I am a dumper but do pay attention to how the lump fills the grill. A lot of small bits in the bottom of the firebox (or in any one location) are not going to give good air flow. A good mix of sizes of lump will give good airflow. As I get to the bottom of a bag of lump I start paying more attention as to what is coming out of the bag. Often the bottom is a lot of small pieces and dust that can kill air flow and I might save it to mix with a newer bag. You can fill the lump to the top of the fire ring with no problems and do not worry about it touching the sides. A wiggle wire of some sort is very helpful for clearing air passages through the lump and clearing holes in the bottom grate or in the sides of the fire box should they get clogged with charcoal or ash. Some people mound the lump, others don't. I don't, I start with a load of lump usually large enough to do a couple of meals or filled to the top of the fire ring for a low 'n slow and level it off. I light my egg with a MAPP torch. A low 'n slow I will light one spot in the center. An average fire I might light at 3 locations such as at 8, 12 and 4 o'clock. If I'm in a hurry for a hot fire I will light the whole darn thing! LOL, I have a medium egg and a very hot torch (Brensomatic TS8000).
My medium egg loaded to the top of the fire ring for a low 'n slow will burn for at least 20-24 hours at 230º.
If I ever have trouble getting the egg up to temp I know it is an air problem and I have to clear my air flow. I guess damp/wet charcoal could act the same way but I store mine well and that is not a problem.
Wood chips and chunks do not need to be soaked for use on the egg but if you want to I would add them after my fire is going. I have noticed that on a hotter fire smoke wood burns more aggressively and smokes less. On a lower fire it smolders better and gives off more smoke.
I am no eggspert but the night shift gets pretty quiet around here early. LOL. Glad you found the forum, this is a great place to learn and is populated by some of the nicest people anywhere.

Good luck,

Gator

 

 
The time your egg will depend somewhat on how hot you will be cooking.

Loading your egg light, say to just above the air holes in the fire box will give a good long burn at a lower temperature, but at 600° of course you will be using a lot of fuel (lump). However, even at 600° you should get 4 to 7 hours of cooking (on my large).

If it takes a long time for you to get the temperature up to the cook temperature, that too may use a lot of fuel.

I have the older style medium and if I not careful on how I have the egg set up it takes a lot of lump and time to get to 500°. In those cases the cooking time is not so long.

I used to take a lot of care in building my lump stack, but no mere. If I am loading an empty egg I put some larger pieces of lump over the fire grate then just dump the rest in. I don't often fill much over the top of the air holes int he fire box unless I am going for a long cook or an over night cook.

What ever level you fill your lump to, fill side to side somewhat level.

If you can't get to temperature or to a higher heat then check your air flow and use a wiggle rod to clear the air holes in the fire grate.

At times I soak wood chips, but when I do I build a foil pouch with some water inside the pouch along with the wood chips an some fork holes in the top of the pouch. Then the pouch goes on the lump after the egg is at temperature and stable. Wet chips or chunks are fine. Wood chunks and chips will flame up if/when the dome is open. Where there is smoke there is fire as long as there is enough heat and oxygen to allow the fuel to flame.

If I fill my large to the top of the fire box or even the top of the fire ring I will usually get 5 to 10 cooks out of that size load. Total cook time is well above 18 hours.

GG

anyone that actually uses the egg (no offense to your dealer) usually just opens the bag and dumps it loose into a big pile, well up over the holes. you'll have plenty of airflow....

i fill the thing every time, even though i don't always use all the lump. shut her down, and the fire will snuff, and the unused lump can be used the next time. even so, top it off. you get consistent behavior keeping it consistently filled.

later, when you get some time in country, you can play around. fishless will add a minimal amount of lump and do his lo-and-slo cooks direct (no barrier). uses just enough lump to cook the food, and the fact that it is far lower in the bowl means the 'direct' heat isn't so direct after all. but that's another show...

Gator Bait wrote:

A wiggle wire of some sort is very helpful for clearing air passages through the lump and clearing holes in the bottom grate or in the sides of the fire box should they get clogged with charcoal or ash.

 

I use a wiggle stick to clear the grate holes each time I Egg, and on long cooks (every few hours during the cook). Mine is just a long piece of very stiff (had to be bent in a vice with a hammer and block) wire with a 90 degree bend at one end, the bend-up piece is about an inch long. Stuck in through the lower draft door and wiggled into each hole in the grate to clear it. Works great!

However, if DH is reading this and would like to get me a fancy LR one, I wouldn't object

I haven't read the other answers yet, so forgive me if this is redundant.

1. Fill the firebox up level with the fire ring.

2. Use one or two piece of DRY wood chucks. Three is you like heavier smoke. Wood chips are fine, but they don't last as long. Wet chips or chunks are a waste of water. It's an old gasser trick to make them last longer.

Your definitive source for correct information on using your EGG is HERE.

Depends on the condition of the fur..