PartyQ and WSM18 review


 

Matt Gonzalez

New member
I picked up a beautiful 10lb pork butt from the local butcher. I wanted to try a long low and slow. I set the WSM up in the normal minion config, added 15 lit coals and let the Party Q bring it up to 225. I placed the temp probe on my Maverick meat probe, so it was measuring the pit temp right where the meat was. I put the butt on at 2:20am then I hit the rack. I woke up at 7am and the temp remained at 225 all night. The temp began to drop around 1130, but I added some more charcoal and within 30 minutes it was right back at 225 steady. I ended up increasing the temp to 275 to speed up the cook so I could let it rest for an hour or two before dinner. The easiest cook I have had. No babysitting at all.

All in all I was very pleased.
 
I have the same setup as you do. I did the power adapter mod to my PartyQ so I don't have to worry about the batteries going dead. Haven't done a smoke without it in a long time.
 
I've also got the same setup and usually have the same results. I had an issue this weekend where the temp was fine (240 - exactly what it was set to) when I went to bed but somehow climbed to about 280 for several hours. I normally do the tin-can minion method but this time just spread the lit coals across the top. Maybe it was that or I just lit too many coals to start with (I normally count them out, but this time I just poured them into a compact chimney until it was about half-full, which should be about 15-16 briqs). At any rate, I'm going to go back to the tin-can method and meticulously counting each briquette that goes for starting.

When I first got the PartyQ, I looked at the AC adapter mods because I was only getting about 6-8 hours out of a set of batteries. Turns out the dollar-store batteries just suck. I started using the same AAs I use in my DSLR camera (Sanyo eneloops or the Amazon Basics equivalent) and it'll go for about 14 hours before the batter light starts blinking. Then I just swap in another set.
 
As a side note, the first PartyQ I received died after an hour. I contacted BBQguru, they issued an RMA and shipping instructions. They evaluated the unit and sent a new replacemnt out the next day. I read some negative reviews about their customer service, but it was great for me.
 
Could you tell us a little more about your $3 adaptor ?

Basically, the 4 AA batteries, wired in series, provide 6 VDC, so you just need an AC adapter that outputs that voltage at about 1 A. I have a box of old adapters I've saved from various devices over the years, and I know I've got a couple with the right specs, I've just never bothered to finish the job by cutting dowels down to fit the battery compartment and attach the wires to them. I'm sure someone who's done it has a photo.

See:
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?47825-PartyQ-AC-adapter-mod-for-less-than-10-bucks
 
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