Refurbishing the Big Green Egg - Restoring the Daisy Wheel

[@ianscott5293]

Why was it covered in creosote?

[@richardball6320]

Not sure if you watched the previous episodes, but I mentioned that I bought this used from someone and I think it was used quite a lot, like almost daily, and it was not cleaned much. So over time it just developed the thick creosote film. I clean mine after each use but I don’t think most people do that. But even cleaning it periodically would keep that film from developing. He had it for almost 15 years before I got it and I would venture to guess he never cleaned it.

[@ianscott5293]

@@richardball6320 I get that it was old and used by someone else, I just don’t understand why it was covered in a wood staining chemical

[@richardball6320]

@@ianscott5293 lots of wood is burnt in the egg. That is what is used primarily for the smoke flavor. I use charcoal to create a fire bed and help keep it going, but use wood blocks to provide smoke. However, you have to wait until the wood is combusted which means for about 10 minutes you have dirty smoke before it starts smoking clear blueish smoke. That early dirty smoke is where you get the creosote.

[@ianscott5293]

@@richardball6320 aha! I get it. Can’t imagine actually using creosote soaked wood to cook food with! Good way to catch a nasty illness I think!

[@salvadorgarcia9108]

Threw mine in the fire and now it’s rusting out. Finna paint it with high heat spray paint.

[@littlebitofeverything4489]

Hey Salvador, thanks for stopping by. So the cast iron will rust if you get it wet but you can clean the rust off with a wire brush and then go through the process of baking on a finish like I do here in this video. You don’t have to paint it. But if you do decide to go ahead and paint it, I’d make sure to check the paint to see what temps it can withstand. Some of those high heat paints will only stand up to 500 degrees max and the egg can get a lot hotter than that! Good luck!!

[@GregOrangeDoor]

Not sure if the benefits of “baking on a finish”

[@littlebitofeverything4489]

Yeah as it turned out, the finish was just fine, I just needed to clean it to find it!!