21Twelve wrote:
OK, here I go. For the past couple of years, I've been making some
pretty passable Q with my Mecco electric bullet. I finally got
around to digging out an old ECB from the shed that my dad gave me a
while back. This thing is at least 20 years old. Anyway, I did the
modifications to it and all seems to be well. A couple of questions:

The threaded stock that I got at Ace wasn't labelled as 'galvanized'.
How would I know otherwise? How dangerous is it to use galvanized?
It seems that the only part of the stock that would heat up at all
would be right where it goes through the fire pan. Would it actually
heat up enough to be an issue? I don't smell any 'off' smells, if
that means anything.

Can I add the lump to the existing fire without burning it in the
chimney first? Or should I burn it down like I did the first load?

Is there a way to cool the thing down besides opening the door on the
side? When I add a new load of lump, the temp spikes to 280+ for a
while. I know that isn't the end of the world, but I'd like to work
on my temp control...Damn, the electric was a whole lot easier to
keep between 200-250!

Thanks for all the past help, and for any light you can shed on my
current plight. Next thing you know, you b**tards will have me
buying a Kamado...

David

If it didn't say "galvanized" it prolly isn't. Galvanizing leaves a
pewter-colored coating on metal, if that helps you tell. Yes, you can add
unlighted lump to the pan and that should help keep your spikes down. As
you noted, brief spikes don't matter.
Yes, the ******* contingent here will eventually persuade you to buy a
Kamado. ;0)
Jack Curry