Cold Weather and BGE

[chillcoolcold]

Hey it,s getting windy and cold over here. Usually use my gasser in the winter. Does the BGE work better then the kettle in these conditions ? from some of the posts it sounds like it would

[Mister Bob]

When winter rolls around here in the northeast, my BGE is the cooker that sees the most action by far. I bring it up from the patio to the porch so I don't have to shovel my way in to cook. The BGE is awesome in winter weather, and holds temperature very well.

[cookingdude555]

I would say that yes, it really does. I love my performer, but it stays under the cover during winter when its cold and windy. The eggs get a workout in the winter because they are easy to control because of the fine tuning on the vents, and the insulation helps your cooker ignore freezing temps more than a non insulated cooker.

[chillcoolcold]

Originally Posted by cookingdude555

I would say that yes, it really does. I love my performer, but it stays under the cover during winter when its cold and windy. The eggs get a workout in the winter because they are easy to control because of the fine tuning on the vents, and the insulation helps your cooker ignore freezing temps more than a non insulated cooker.

How do you clean out the ashes ? on my webber I hose it down with hot water

[bbqbull]

Originally Posted by chillcoolcold

How do you clean out the ashes ? on my webber I hose it down with hot water

The bottom door is where you open it all the way.
I have a tool called an ash tool, looks like an inch high bit L shaped piece of metal on a rod. You just rake out the ash into a metal container.
Very simple to use.

Biggest problem I have heard is the lid gasket might freeze shut.
Just take off the top cover, light a starter cube and drop it in, wait a few minutes and the ice is melted and you open up the top and fire it up.

I keep my lg BGE in the garage and have not experienced the freezing problem as of yet.
I use my egg year round here in Michigan.

[Midnight Smoke]

Originally Posted by chillcoolcold

How do you clean out the ashes ? on my webber I hose it down with hot water

To clean mine I remove the left over Lump and remove the Fire Grate to clean the Fire Bowl. You need to make sure the air holes are clear of ash as well. I only clean mine out after several cooks and the ash has built up a good pile.

[Buster Dog BBQ]

I use mine year round in Iowa. Used in wind chills down to 40 below and temp stays.

On a side note a couple years ago my guru got condensation in fan tube and froze causing temp to drop.

[SoCalWJS]

I've Q'ed in snow storms several times with mine (admittedly not as nasty as the storms in other areas) - no problems at all.

[Mister Bob]

To keep the BGE from freezing closed, I stick a small dowel between the bottom and the lid when I close it.

[LMAJ]

I am over in PA and my Egg stays on the deck all year round and is my go to cooker. My gasser is a storage unit for my eggcessories.

[PCBBQCO]

I have two large BGE and use them all winter long. Have not noticed any increase in fuel consumption. Still do overnight cooks down into below zero temps. Have had several times when I could not even light the gas grill because the temps were so low. Charcoal lights at about any temp and works great. As for cleaning ash out, I wait until fire is completly out, remove unburnt charcoal and use a shop vac to vacuum out the ash.

[Norcoredneck]

Have used mine in a chilling 45 degrees here in So Cal without issue.

[Ron_L]

It's 45 in Chicago right now

The only thing that i have noticed, and this should be no surprise, is that it takes longer to stabilize at my desired cooking temp. All of that ceramic and the fuel are cold and it takes longer to get everything up to temp. I just allow extra time.

Here's a fun thread from a New Year's Day cook from a couple of years ago...

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=35637

[chillcoolcold]

Originally Posted by PCBBQCO

I have two large BGE and use them all winter long. Have not noticed any increase in fuel consumption. Still do overnight cooks down into below zero temps. Have had several times when I could not even light the gas grill because the temps were so low. Charcoal lights at about any temp and works great. As for cleaning ash out, I wait until fire is completly out, remove unburnt charcoal and use a shop vac to vacuum out the ash.

LOL I use my shop vac too for the webber. Lots of spare filters on hand always fun when I bang them on rocks to clean them out COUGH COUGH!!!

[Bacon_99]

I actually got my egg in February and started using it right away. I used it all winter even for long smokes like pork butts and it kept temp even in -20 Celsius (-4 F for y'all down south).... The ceramic makes for an amazing insulator...

I clean using an ash tool - scrape the ashes into a shoebox which fits nicely underneath the vent and doesn't make a mess... then just empty the box into the garbage. Usually only clean out the ash after every three or so cooks depending on the amount built up... Don't even touch the gasser till May...lol