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Q-talk *ON TOPIC ONLY* QUALITY ON TOPIC discussion of Backyard BBQ, grilling, equipment and outdoor cookin' . ** Other cooking techniques are welcomed for when your cookin' in the kitchen. Post your hints, tips, tricks & techniques, success, failures, but stay on topic and watch for that hijacking.


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Old 10-22-2012, 08:10 AM   #1
ccarter
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Join Date: 07-05-12
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Thumbs up Big Green Egg Turbo Grate

I've been having problems with my BGE taking a LONG time to get to temp for cooking. By a long time I mean that 90 mins after lighting I was barely reaching 300-350*. I've been doing the best I can to keep the pit clear of ash, but it just couldn't get up to temp anymore.

So, for my birthday I got BBQ Guru's Turbo Grate. It seemed good in principle, but after I ordered it (while waiting for it to arrive) I managed to convince myself that it probably wouldn't make any huge difference. Afterall, there's no such thing as a magic cure. Well, it arrived and I started installing it. It doesn't take much time, but I did take the time to remove all the inner pieces of my BGE and insure that all the ash was cleaned out of the back areas of the bottom. There really wasn't much back there, it seems like I've been doing a good job of getting back there when I scrap out the ash, but I figure that once a year it's probably good to get back there.

So I did all this 2 nights ago. I installed the grate, and poored fresh lump into the BGE, then poored about 3 softball-sized scoops of the old lump on top of that. I put a BGE firestarter brick right next to the top of the grate and went inside to prep chicken. I came out 30 minutes later to an inferno in the pit. I closed the lid, choked down the air intake, and watched as the dome temp climbed like a bat out of hell straight up to about 800*. I was able to bring it back down to the 350-400* range for my chicken without too much hassle and away I went with cooking.

Last night I went out, topped off the lump and cranked her up for some salmon. I watched the fire a little closer this time, and settled her down at 400* for the cook. It probably took 20 mins to get to temp.

There's no such thing as a magic cure, and I know that if I took the time to sort pieces of lump for each cook instead of just dumping more in the pit I could've probably solved my problem without the additional part. But honestly, I'm fairly lazy and I'm more than happy with the way the grate is working so far.

So that's my testimonial for the Turbo Grate. I'm not associated with BBQ Guru, or any other company for that matter. I just wanted to share my findings with the group... it's at least worth thinking about if you're having any trouble like mine.
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Old 10-22-2012, 10:36 AM   #2
swamprb
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This is the first review I've seen on the Turbo Grate, glad it worked out for you.

I was at the PNW Eggfest a couple years ago and they gave away one as a raffle prize. The guy that won it doesn't own an Egg and when I asked him what he does with it he replied that he hung it up and made a wind chime out of it!
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Old 10-22-2012, 11:00 AM   #3
Midnight Smoke
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Sounds to me that you are having issues with Fire Management. I have no problem getting my Egg to 700º within about 30 minutes, it all depends on how you light your Lump, what brand you use and Air Flow.
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Old 10-22-2012, 11:07 AM   #4
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Sounds to me that the charcoal you use is full of fines and charcoal dust. Dumping straight from the bag then clogs the intake holes. Perhaps the turbo vent will allow you to do that and not stifle the fire.

You could try a better brand of lump, even with the turbo grate, to get a cleaner burn.
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Old 10-22-2012, 11:12 AM   #5
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Agreed. It's a problem of airflow with variable laziness. No matter how much time I have, I'd rather not sort charcoal.

I'm still using BGE's lump, which is supposedly provided by Royal Oak. There's plenty of big pieces. The problem is that over several cooks more and more small pieces end up down at the bottom clogging the grate holes. I'll probably lose some if those smaller pieces now, but as long as it doesn't end up being excessive I won't cry over it. If it continues to work this well the price will be worth it for me.


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Old 10-22-2012, 11:29 AM   #6
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I have heard good reports on the tubograte and have see Guru use them in their cooks Take the time to build the fire- big chunks in the bottom to cocver the vent holes then med size chunks to cove the holesleft by the large pieces. I do mine this way and it works wel Also Ross from Ventura posted a site a while ago of a stainless grate givef to him by his wife I got one and it work great Allows for a lot more air flow the the BGEs Grate
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Old 10-22-2012, 12:11 PM   #7
Abelman
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I live at 5400 feet in elevation. Plus, where my BGE sits, not optimal for aif flow until winter when we get north winds.

I had similiar problems getting a good fire built and sustained as well. Been running a LG BGE for about 3 years now. Anyway, I simply bought the stainless grate to replace the stock grate at the bottom of the fire box a year ago.

It's simple and easy. Made a world of difference and does not interfer with coals or wood. Takes a little more cleaning as smaller burnt pices will fall through buy it's no bother to me.

You can find them on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Stainless-Charcoal-Fire-Grate-Large-Big-Green-Egg-Grill-Free-Shipping-/271037524029?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DS IC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%25 2BUFI%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D230802740949%26ps%3D54

I paid around $30 so this is too enpensive but you get the idea.
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Old 10-22-2012, 12:34 PM   #8
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You could probably use a Weber charcoal grate as well, they are available everywhere that sells Weber kettles...
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Old 10-22-2012, 12:57 PM   #9
Abelman
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jon s View Post
You could probably use a Weber charcoal grate as well, they are available everywhere that sells Weber kettles...
A 9" grate? Cool, you find a link and I'm sure that will help a lot of folks. It would have helped me.
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Old 10-22-2012, 02:17 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Abelman View Post
A 9" grate? Cool, you find a link and I'm sure that will help a lot of folks. It would have helped me.
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Old 10-22-2012, 05:31 PM   #11
early mornin' smokin'
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i've never had a problem lighting my egg and getting to temp quickly. Low temp cooks electric starter till I have a nice little fire going in the middle. In a rush for low temp cooks, weedburner inserted into the bottom air intake for a minute, quick blast of the top after that, insert guts and it's almost 200. High temp, blast the lower air intake with the weedburner. I like doing this because i know I'm also clearing out all the air holes in the process.
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