BGE temp question

[Cheef]

Long-Long ago in the BGE world even before the Daisy Wheel came out it was a thing to explore different options for adjusting the tilt on the old ceramic cover to adjust the air flow. One guy came as close to making bottom vent all the way open work. His system was a slotted top cap that allowed you to slide a disc into it to adjust temp control. It came with half a dozen discs each with a different size hole drilled into it. Bottom vent wide open and change out the discs to control temps. It also came with a blank disc that allowed you to adjust by partially inserting the disc to control temps. It would never work quite right for me but it would come close.
I still remember the Daisy Wheel coming out and it was like MAGIC!!!!
Some don't realize that the Daisy Wheel came out long after the Egg was introduced. Sometimes losing the adjustment on the Daisy Wheel when you open the lid is a pain but taking the old ceramic cap on and off each time and readjusting it was REALLY frustrating. That ceramic top cap is one tuff sumunabeech. I must have dropped mine a thousand times and it never even chipped the paint.


Edit--I think the disc system is till around. Some of the stick burner folks used it to control their chimneys and if I remember right had really good luck with it.

[Spinaker]

Interesting piece of Eggistory! Thanks for sharing. I love stuff liek this. It is crazy to think how long they dominated the market before anyone else broken in.

[Cheef]

Hey Spinaker. I need to dig out the old Christmas Tree lump holder and get a pic posted. I've used it for 15 years and never considered changing it for anything else. I bought the lump basket a week or so ago and right now it is a toss up between keeping the basket or going back to the old Christmas Tree. I seem to get way longer burn times with the Tree.

[hogdog6]

"Eggistory" (I love it). I too enjoy learning the evolution of this stuff. Thanks for the lesson

[LA Pork Butt]

There is a way to help keep from losing your daisy wheel adjustment when you open the egg. Simply rotate the entire cap so that the screw that holds the entire daisy wheel in on the back of the egg. The align it in a straight line with the center screw of the daisy wheel in the position you have it set. When you open the egg the daisy wheel won’t swing open.

[Cheef]

I kind of like these BGE threads.
Long ago when I was first learning the Egg I was a high temp steak cooking fool!! I was addicted to the high temp steaks and must have done 500 cooks with never a problem. Get ready to flip and just pop the dome up without a care in the world. (ignorance is bliss)
THEN a thread popped up on the old BGE forum cautioning folks to BURP the Egg before opening the lid. Pretty graphic pics of a forum member who had experienced the flash back from hell!! Eyebrows gone--a lot of hair gone on his head. I was like--NO WAY!
Very next high temp cook and I did it like I always had before and----yep--no hair left on my arms clear up to my arm pits!

Freaked me out and I still wonder how it happened so coincidentally. There were some pretty interesting videos shot after dark demonstrating just how dramatic some of those flash backs can be. It is pretty dramatic to see just how risky a thing it can be.
Okay--babble over.

[EdF]

We shared that experience - once - never again!

[Cheef]

. I can still remember being freaked out as I'd never even come close to experiencing the flare up and BAM--next cook after reading that article and it got me.That guy had some serious burns to his face. He was kind enough to post pics and I believe saved others in the BGE world a lot of pain. He seriously looked like one of those cartoon characters after an explosion.

[EdF]

As usual, I was lucky - bare forearms and a bit of eyebrow singed off. I was faster in those days!

[Yno]

I can't imagine cooking with the bottom vent fully open. My low and slows at 225* have a 1/8" to 3/16" opening on the bottom and a dime thickness at the top. But whatever works. I think BGE's are quite different size to size and even within a size have individual differences. That being said, I think Eric Mitchell, author of Smoke it Like a Pro (and More BBQ and Grilling) has some great recipes. I don't pay attention to his methodology for controlling temps, but the recipes themselves are good.

[EdF]

Your settings pretty much match mine!

[dshaffes]

Fully open lower vent for low and slow...no way for me and my medium BGE.