I basically had the bottom vent on my egg closed (couldn't even stick one finger in there) and the daisy wheel pretty much closed and it was still at 255-260 last time i did a long smoke (although at one point it dropped to like 215). Most of the time it was hovering around 255-260. I was really trying to get it to 250 but it didn't want to go that low. Does that sound like an air leak?
Currently trying to replace my gaskets and paint scraper, box cutter, and acetone with a sponge is not able to get the last little bit of adhesive off. Is there a Dremel attachment anyone would recommend?
If it was leaking you would be able to see it. Even then, you would be able to get it below 250. Odds are you had too much charcoal lit, it got too hot, and it had trouble going back down. Just light a piece or two, close the lid, and set those vents where you had them. The temperature will get there.
When y'all change your gaskets how do you clean the rim under where the old gaskets used to be? I've got some sort of layers of grease under where the old gaskets are that I cannot remove. Have tried vinegar, oil based organic solvent, scrubbing with a brush, paint scraper, etc
Thought of this but I'm hesitant to light fire without gaskets on the ceramic? Or does that not matter?
Probably about the same of a little less. I dig out a hole in the middle, light a little cube, then build the fire by hand on top of it and shut the lid (your gasket and charcoal will also last forever this way). It takes about 1 minute and you’re going to have a clean burning fire - and you can bring it up to the temperature you like in just a few minutes. It is similar to how a pit or an offset works. Also make sure your holes arent clogged and the ashes are cleaned out.
If I have one biggest piece of advice for egg owners: if your egg is performing fine don't mess with it. Do not proactively change the gasket because people say you should over X amount of time. I went 5 years with my original that was mostly burnt to a crisp but had no problem controlling temps. I changed gaskets and never got it back right and I'm always running too hot. I know it's the ring not lining up right with the lid but I just advise against messing with any of that if everything is working properly.
Almost seems like the egg is like a german vehicle. It's supposed to have great performance and everything but its very finicky and breaks down easy. It's the Panther of WW2 tanks. It's definitely not the old reliable Sherman. I've got this damn thing and I can't even really smoke that well on it because its running hot. I can't figure it the fuck out. I had a weber smokey mountain, you could leave that thing for 10 hours and come back and it would be on 250.
I’ve had the complete opposite experience with the egg. Not finicky at all and definitely doesn’t break down easily, once you figure out your vent settings.
https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_27&products_id=654 I have this for my egg and it is amazing.
I went from the Akorn to the egg and it's so much less effort on the egg since it's sealed so well i can hold a smoke at 160 or can get'er rollin at 600+ with little on my part.
I'm doing a real competition this Saturday for the first time in years, mostly because my BIL is doing it and my wife wants to turn in her beans, and it ain't far from the house, so.... Check out these ridiculous turn in times 11:30 am beans 12:30 chicken 1:00 ribs 3:30 pork (pulled, sliced, cubed, anything goes) 4:30 brisket I think I'm gunna get there friday afternoon and set up then go home and sleep till midnight
Apparently it has fallen apart the last couple years, BIL who does competitions on the regular, said he expects there to be less than 30 teams
Like it's so bad that a google search for "Burnet tx bbq cookoff 2019" literally, you cant find any valid info on it The Facebook page hasn't been updated since last year The city's website has a reference to it on the calendar, but the website they link is a dead link None of the first page of google results leads to anything I had to figure out who is putting it on, and found their organization Facebook, and one member of that organization had posted a picture of the sign up sheet and tagged the organization It's sad too, because probably 10 years ago I did this same competition and there were over 100 teams competing, they had live bands Friday and Saturday night, and it was great
I'm sure it's already been mentioned, but you've got to build up to temp slowly. Don't build a huge fire and expect to stay at 225-250. Start very small and let it build up to 225. Once you overshoot significantly, it takes a long time to get back down to temp.
I started texting the guy in charge of it today asking questions I ask "your flier says 'pork - any and all, pulled, cubed, sliced, you choose' for the pork category. Does that mean any cut of pork we want?" He replies "no its pork but only" I ask "what does 'no trimmed wings' on chicken mean?" Since it clearly states you turn in two whole halves He responds "yea, I think that changed in the IBCA rules" The flier does state that they are following IBCA rules and lists the website www.ibca.org Which is the wrong website, When you do find the right website, finding a rules list is difficult, and they say nothing about chicken wing tips
How far open do you leave the bottom vent and the daisy wheel on the egg when you start your fire and do you leave it that way? Pics encouraged.
this is how one guy on the egghead forum says to do it: get your fire started with vents wide open (i like to start the fire in one spot at the back wall of the egg), as the temps kreep up through 200 degrees, stick your plate setter/drip pan/etc. in the egg. .. .close the top vent with just the daisy wheel open ...close the bottom vent to about the width of a dime or credit card. ..as the temps hit 250- adjust using the daisy wheel only .. .[p]btw. ..drbbq had some great advice in one of his books. .. if your cooker is happier at say 260 than 240, then fine, let it cook away at 260 and adjust times accordingly instead of fighting to keep it at 240 ... i have one egg that just loves to be at 250 degrees dome temp. ..i don't even try to get it to run at 225 anymore ... [p]HTH
Depends of the fire and amount of time I have. Typically it’s wide open for 10 minutes and then I throttle down. If I’m cooking low I’ll check it at 5 to ensure it’s going and then just set it to my low temp. Sometimes it takes a while to get up to target but if the meats going to be on there 5+ hours idgaf.
I've heard some people say they start a low and slow fire at the vent settings that they're going to be smoking at later and it just takes longer but that the temp rises slowly over time and gets to 225-250 and stays there. But that post above says he starts the fire wide open and when it gets to around 200ish he starts to dial it back.
Lots of variables here Type of fuel. Lump gets hotter quicker than regular char coal. Outdoor temp and humidity wind etc You need to figure out how many coals need to be burning to reach what you want. Use a chimney starter 1/4 full and when they are hot dump them in and see where it gets you. Once you know how many burning coals it takes to reach the desired temp then you know how much to start with and when to add more. You don't need that bottom vent open very much to increase the heat. Someone mentioned width of a dime or so and that'd be about right to start bringing temp up.