Maybe I AM stupid

[CharlestonG8R]

We used a medium for nearly two years before upgrading to the XL. We would've gone with the Lg, but I couldn't pass up the deal we got... Anyhow, yes, the XL uses more fuel so we've learned to reuse wood that we haven't burned. It still takes more fuel to use the XL, but space is not a problem whatsoever when you want to simultaneously cook a 16lb brisket and 50 ABT's. The large would've been fine since we don't have kids, but I'm still happy with what we have. I use the Cowboy Brand lump charcoal from WalMart. Everything we cook is indirect so the sparks don't bother me. It's cheap and it burns long and relatively clean.

 

[JohnVee]

Update on the Egg that ties into the temperature probe issue brought up in another thread a few weeks back: I really think that the location of the factory temp gauge has something going for it. There's always been a discrepancy between it and other thermometers I've used as backups but never too bad for me. I think that placement is everything. On my Egg, one leg of the plate setter is right at front, in line with the handle and thermometer, keeping the thermo out of the direct draft. I think this might just be the ideal spot for the factory gauge - bear with me while I try to explain...

I baked cookies on it today. Recipe called for 375*F. I heated the Egg to that temp then stuck 2 long fryer thermometers into the upper vents; they both read 450*+. I realized they were angled toward the sides and might be in the direct flow of the convected heat so I held them in place over the center of the grill grate (lid still closed, duh...) No change. Hmmm. I then used my Thermo Pen and read the same 450*. Stock gauge still at 375*. I thought maybe the stocker had gone bad so I lowered the heat till the other thermo's read 375* (read 300* on the Egg) and put on a tray of cookies. It took 23 minutes to bake and didn't really brown on top as nicely as I'd like. Recipe usually takes 11 minutes in an oven. Hmmm.

For the next tray I raised the heat to 375* on the Egg gauge and ignored the other thermo's. Same cookie sheet and number of cookies. It was done in 13 minutes. Still not as browned as I'd like but definitely done. I attribute the browning issue to the physical differences between an oven and a grill shape. The cook times led me to believe that the BGE people know something we don't about measuring the temp. I figure that baking is less forgiving than grilling or roasting so this was a good test.

The tips of the long thermometers reached to about 3" from the grill grate. The Thermo Pen reached to 8" from the grate. All were calibrated in boiling water first. I thought that the long thermo's were going to be the most accurate read since they were closest to the cooking surface so I was surprised to see the Thermo Pen read the same. Can't figure why there's a 75* difference, though.

I finished the day using the Egg gauge as the only reading and the results of rest of the cooking were also in line with what I would expect from an accurate oven.