Older Egg in need of SERIOUS cleaning.

[GigiH60]

Hey guys,
I am mostly a lurker, but I figured this would be a good place to solicit opinions on cleaning up one of these ceramic cookers.
I am going to be bringing home the Green Egg from the BBQ Grilling and Cooking School that is closing on Treasure Island, (San Fran., CA). It has been a major workhorse for the school, but as such it desperately needs to be completely cleaned, inside and out. I believe the school has been open for about 5 years in the Bay Area, and it’s unlikely that it has had a "proper" cleaning for at least 3 of those.
The whole upper section of the base is crusted with burned on grease, BBQ sauce, etc. All sticky and oily. There is no gasket left, and was mostly gone when I started going there in 2016.
I would like some thoughts on the best way to get this thing cleaned up properly? I don’t want to do or use something that might damage the Egg. I am a newbie to the Egghead family, living with my pellet smoker until now.
Thank you everyone. Gigi

[Henrik]

I would start by opening all vents (remove the top vent completely), and then start a roaring fire in that egg. Just let it rip, full on (lid closed). It's called pyrolysis for indoor ovens. Same concept. That in itself will make it 100 times easier to clean it up. It will burn off all the oil/fat/goo, so you can scrub it with a (dry) scotchbrite or similar afterwards.

[EdF]

That was my recommendation as well. You probably won't need to be scrubbing anything on the inside though. If the grates or other "inside" accessories are also in need, put them in the egg during the burnout. If it's as bad as you say, you might want to defer to a second burnout for the platesetter.

[JeffJ]

I cleaned all 5 of my charcoal cookers (plus my gas grill this weekend). The Performer in particular hadn't been properly cleaned in years. I sought advice and one suggestion was a razor scraper. That thing worked like a charm.

[RonB]

I suggest getting all the King's horses and all the King's men - plus one more. That should do it.

[Kevin Fuess]

Henrick's suggestion is the best start. I wouldn't replace the lid gasket until after the burn off. For the outside any general purpose cleaner will work.

[Geekandproud]

I agree with this. I just finished a major burn off on my LBGE. It destroyed what was left of my gasket. I didn't mind because I was changing to a higher temp gasket anyway. My only problem is I haven't used it since I changed my gasket because of an underbite that I can't seem to get rid of.

[EdF]

You know, if you're lucky and your lid and body match well enough (takes some adjustment of the lid rings), you can probably do completely without a new gasket once you get the old one off. I've been through 3-4 different gasket approaches, and have been running without one since 2012 or so.

[bten]

I wouldn't use a razor scraper on that ceramic. A scratch like that may lead to a crack. I would use a plastic scraper if I went the scraper route. I agree with Kevin and Henrick. Burn it out well. Same concept as a self cleaning oven.

[LA Pork Butt]

I just cleaned mine. A lot of stuff was flaking off due to four 600 degree cooks, so I used one of those coarse wire like Brillo grill scrubbers. Most of the stuff came off in about 15 minutes. I am just finishing up a 700 degree burn which should take care of everything that didn’t come off easily. Unless the stuff is already flaking off I would follow Henrik advice and do the 700 degree burn. Once mine reached 700 degrees I was able to leave the bottom vent wide open and close the top except for the pebbles openings. That cleaned the top vent. After it cools down you can scrub the remaining stuff off and put on a new gasket.

[randy.56]

Pressure washer, you may remove the seal/gasket first, you will lose it if not careful, had a bad experience with getting Egg to hot to clean, the inside cracked from excess heat. Trying to burn it off. Ending putting egg in dumpster.

[EdF]

Wow!

[MBMorgan]

Pressure washer, you may remove the seal/gasket first, you will lose it if not careful, had a bad experience with getting Egg to hot to clean, the inside cracked from excess heat. Trying to burn it off. Ending putting egg in dumpster.

Er ... unless you're talking about just pressure washing the exterior, the BGE folks are pretty clear about not getting any water in the interior (about halfway down the page): https://biggreenegg.com/first-timer-tips/

[Attjack]

I'm hoping for some before and after pics.

[LA Pork Butt]

Here is the sum total of all the ash after burning a full load of charcoal at 700 in my BGE. It is clean now.

[BGWolf]

Here is my Recommendation:

1. Do a clean burn as recommended (no need to get to 1000 degrees, 600 or so will do).

2. Then clean the outside with a good grease cutting cleaner and maybe a green scrub pad.

3. Then replace the gasket (see @RRP on the Big Green Egg Forum for a Rutland gasket and instructions for replacement)

And I'd avoid getting any water in the egg. Good Luck

[GigiH60]

Thank you everyone. I appreciate the insights. I will try to take pics once I am in possession, since it is still in use at the school for another couple of weeks. Then I can bring it home.
Gigi

[allsid]

I have to agree with BGWolf about 600F or so. In the past it was like load up and cook it white, but now and especially with the one you have being used regularly, kamado people are finding it really can stress the cooker. Unless you have such a good relationship with the school that if you develop a crack they will vouge for you to bring it back under warranty my vote is puddy knife with a shop vac and 600 or a few pizzas and let it run vents open for the remainder of the evening.

[Spinaker]

As William Wallace once said...........

HEr3o