I got a Large egg from a local dealer and he suggested that for every cook, I take out all the existing charcoal, clean out the bottom so no holes are plugged, and put the charcoal back in (along with new charcoal). This has been very tedious, so wanted to know how you guys and gals do it. From a newbie, thanks in advance!
by bclem_
9 Comments
Sounds like you spoke to the local charcoal dealer. I just bang the ash off the old charcoal, and form it around the perimeter, then put the new charcoal in. Clean out the bottom and you’re good to go. Never had a problem.
It’s a tricky game but typically after one cook and before a new one I remove the grill grate scoop out as many big pieces of coal as I can and put them in a chimney to reuse. I then use a shop vac to remove all the ash and smaller pieces from the fire box and ash catcher. I’ll mix some old coal with new ones, but I’ve noticed (to no surprise) the old coals don’t last long.
It’s easy if you get a charcoal basket
Portal 3 turret model leak!
I’ll only fill my BGE up when I see the coalgrate. I never worry about plugging holes, there’s so much airflow it would be a miracle to block it all after a session. Maybe it helps I use a Looft lighter to start the fire, so most of the ash gets blown away. As for the ash at the bottom: even though I cook at least weekly, once every couple of months I remove it. And yes, I can still fire it up like Mount Doom for pizzas at high temp!
Depends on the cook- if just doing burgers and steaks, clean out bottom and just pour more in. If I’m doing an overnight like a brisket I will remove all (I use a basket) and put in all new to ensure longest fire possible. I keep any big pieces and throw back in for short cooks.
I just rattle the old charcoal in place, with the ash tool to get the ash to drop through the grate, then scrape out the ash from underneath. Once I’ve done that I form a hole in the middle of the existing charcoal, put a lighter in there I build a small tent with charcoal to protect the lighter, pour in however much more charcoal you need for that cook. The only time I take the old charcoal out is when I decide it’s time to shop-vac out the BGE. For me it’s usually somewhere between 15-30 cooks. I’ve seen people comment that they shop-vac every cook, and I’ve seen others say they’ve never done it in years of use, so I’d say it’s a case of you do you.
Lol he’s told you the ideal way, but in reality, everyone just uses the ash tool to give the leftover ash/charcoal a good shake up. Then you bury a fire lighter in the middle and light it. Once it’s going cover over with a top up of new charcoal and your good to go. But cleaning it out is the best way, just not practical for every time you want to cook. I’ve had my egg 12 years.
I have the kick ash can and a knock off kick ash basket (Amazon) in both of my eggs XL and minimax. Really helps with cleaning up after every cook.