How does everyone use their Heatermeter when lighting their Big Green Egg?


 
I don't like to use my HM / fan to light up anything. I prefer to bring the temp up manually and then attach my HM.

My experience is that you almost always get overshoot, even with a servo. If I use my HM to bring my BGE up to temp, I always set it to a lower setpoint first and gradually bump up the setpoint after settling in.

I light 1-2 lighter cubes, let them burn for a while, then close everything up and adjust my vents maybe halfway or less. Then adjust down after a while, etc..
 
I use Heatermeter as soon as I light coals, never get an overshoot. I have a BGE XL and use map torch to light the outside perimeter of coals. I also use standard PID but with a fan/damper of my own design. Turn on Heatermeter, light coals and that's it, no fooling around. That is what this thing is all about. Here is a wing cook I have going right now

 
I have mine set to startup % = 100%, fan min 0%, fan max 100%, on above 50%, damper fully open 50%. I never get overshoot either, in fact my graph looks like Dan's. The PID throttles way back before the setpoint so the temperature actually drops a bit then goes up a bit and repeats until I'm right on temps. Then of course I load it up with meats and it usually overshoots a couple of degrees when recovering from that, but being 228F for 15 minutes of a 14 hour cook isn't too bad in my book.

I pile up all the lump charcoal (3-4lbs?) in the bottom. Use a propane blowtorch and give 3 points 20 seconds of blowtorch and we're good to go. It takes roughly 20 minutes to get to 225F. If you're getting a lot of overshoot, make sure you're getting a good seal when the HeaterMeter is at 0% output. If not running a damper, the star vent at the top needs to just barely be open, so that you can just fit a toothpick into the largest gap. If you're still experiencing overshoot, you can decrease the startup fan % or increase the "D" pid parameter to have it start cutting back earlier.
 
I do the minion method. I have a small steel bucket (probably about 1/2 a gallon) from HD that I drilled 1/2 holes in around the circumference at the bottom of the bucket and I can stick a MAPP gas torch in. I put that on the gas grill and lay the torch on it's side to light the coals. These are usually already used as they light more readily and won't go out. I load the BGE up just past the ring and leave a dip in the middle for the hot coals. Dump those in the dip, put the plate setter legs up and I'm ready to go.
 

 

Back
Top