(07-10-2018, 11:11 AM)ScottyB Wrote:(07-10-2018, 09:35 AM)Deceus Wrote: It's real easy to get it to hold 200 or 300, but having a really hard time getting anything in the 220-250 range.
its tough for me to get my egg under 300 with fresh charcoal, it wants to be up in the 350-400 range. i have to nearly shut the flue and daisy wheel completely once it warms up, and then come back 30-40 mins later and readjust to get it to settle. once its in the sweet spot it will hold a temperature for 9-10 hours though without adjustment.
be sure you have your felt lid gasket on with a good seal between the top/bottom. a gasket leak makes holding a temperature really tricky.
Yeah that's what I tried the last few times and it ended up completely dying on me at first. Probably should've let it catch a little longer since the starters I was using weren't the best. Thought I killed it a second time with the ribs. Left it wide open top and bottom and came back to a 400 degree inferno 5 minutes later. Luckily it was close enough to done to just transfer to the oven at that point. Played with it afterwards and did manage to drop it to 250 on the dot before shutting it down so I think I'm getting the hang of it. Not sure what's my fault or the fault of a $300 knock-off. Think Chargrill just released an actual ceramic version for $500 recently but I'll probably throw down the money for a brand name one if I use this one enough to warrant a replacement.
Yeah those pellet grills seem kinda tempting. If I can't get this thing to cooperate better I'll probably end up getting one instead of doubling down on something like a green egg. I'll sacrifice some flavor if it means I can smoke during the week without having to walk out to the patio every 30 minutes.