Marty W
TVWBB Member
Well my wonderful wife and kids got me a Pitmaster IQ110 for Christmas and I pressed it into service that day for the Ham and Turkey cook I had planned for supper. I must admit I picked a tough day to test my new toy. For one thing I was shooting for temp of 325 which I have been able to achieve on a nice warm calm day this summer but from what I have found the WSM is not the easiest to get over and maintain the higher heat I was shooting for on this day. I wanted that nice crispy skin on the turkey.
Well as it turns out that day the Kansas weather blessed me with a nice 16 mph breeze and a chilly 26 degree ambient temperature. Nevertheless I pressed forward and filled my 22" WSM full and dumped a half chimney of lite on top. I let the temp come up to about 250 before turning on the IQ and set it to 300. I was wanting to avoid overshooting my target temp of 325. I closed down all my other inlet vents and closed the vent as far as possible on the vent with the IQ.
Well the IQ struggled to get my temps up to the target of 300. It did climb up to 280 but never got much higher. I didn't have much to make a wind block with so I had to let it ride with the 280 temp. About an hour before the cook was done I decided to open a second vent 100% and had some interesting results. The WSM climbed to 300 in about 20 minutes and just stayed there for the rest of the cook of about an hour. I just assumed that is all I was going to get with the wind and ambient temp. Well when I went out to remove the turkey and ham from the WSM I discovered I had the IQ set for 300 and that is why I never got above 300. The IQ actually was controlling the temp with the second vent wide open or at least it appeared to be controlling.
So l don't think I got a fair run with the IQ 110 but am anxious to see how it performs without the breeze. One thing about the IQ 110 I wish was different was the hose. I wish it was a little longer and I am going to have to come up with some type of battery pack. I am planning on cooking some appetizers for New Years Eve and should be able to get a better gauge on the ATC. Thanks for listening.
Well as it turns out that day the Kansas weather blessed me with a nice 16 mph breeze and a chilly 26 degree ambient temperature. Nevertheless I pressed forward and filled my 22" WSM full and dumped a half chimney of lite on top. I let the temp come up to about 250 before turning on the IQ and set it to 300. I was wanting to avoid overshooting my target temp of 325. I closed down all my other inlet vents and closed the vent as far as possible on the vent with the IQ.
Well the IQ struggled to get my temps up to the target of 300. It did climb up to 280 but never got much higher. I didn't have much to make a wind block with so I had to let it ride with the 280 temp. About an hour before the cook was done I decided to open a second vent 100% and had some interesting results. The WSM climbed to 300 in about 20 minutes and just stayed there for the rest of the cook of about an hour. I just assumed that is all I was going to get with the wind and ambient temp. Well when I went out to remove the turkey and ham from the WSM I discovered I had the IQ set for 300 and that is why I never got above 300. The IQ actually was controlling the temp with the second vent wide open or at least it appeared to be controlling.
So l don't think I got a fair run with the IQ 110 but am anxious to see how it performs without the breeze. One thing about the IQ 110 I wish was different was the hose. I wish it was a little longer and I am going to have to come up with some type of battery pack. I am planning on cooking some appetizers for New Years Eve and should be able to get a better gauge on the ATC. Thanks for listening.
