RobM (YankeeRob)
TVWBB Super Fan
Guys,I was doing a burn in on the SCATS project and I noticed something. Here's the setup--
-A WSM mounted with the SCATS, temps monitored by a stoker
-Started a full chimney of Kford and once ashed over I dumped it in the middle.
-Added maybe another 2 quarts lump on top of that and started the SCATS.
Temp rose quickly while I was prepping the meat. I put the meat on and noticed a sharp decline, popped the SCATS back on and it rose to a certain extent then kept on dropping even though the fan was on. Hmmm??? I mixed the charcoal up a bit and it held but then started dropping. I turned off the SCATS and opened the vents opposite to where the fan was mounted.
2 things happened:
1) the temps started raising
2) the color of the smoke gradually changed from white to blue
From this I think what happened was that the fan was so powerful that when it turned on it went through the fuel right next to it rather quickly. After that it was pumping cold air into a semi lit system which was decreasing the temps. When I opened the opposite vents the remaining fuel lit up and held the temps.
OK from this little experiment I learned the following:
- Place your lit fuel furthest away from the fan when using an ATS.
- In the comps you don't want billowing white smoke but rather thin blue. With a fan on this will be hard to achieve. Turn the fan off manually to achieve this.
-rob
-A WSM mounted with the SCATS, temps monitored by a stoker
-Started a full chimney of Kford and once ashed over I dumped it in the middle.
-Added maybe another 2 quarts lump on top of that and started the SCATS.
Temp rose quickly while I was prepping the meat. I put the meat on and noticed a sharp decline, popped the SCATS back on and it rose to a certain extent then kept on dropping even though the fan was on. Hmmm??? I mixed the charcoal up a bit and it held but then started dropping. I turned off the SCATS and opened the vents opposite to where the fan was mounted.
2 things happened:
1) the temps started raising
2) the color of the smoke gradually changed from white to blue
From this I think what happened was that the fan was so powerful that when it turned on it went through the fuel right next to it rather quickly. After that it was pumping cold air into a semi lit system which was decreasing the temps. When I opened the opposite vents the remaining fuel lit up and held the temps.
OK from this little experiment I learned the following:
- Place your lit fuel furthest away from the fan when using an ATS.
- In the comps you don't want billowing white smoke but rather thin blue. With a fan on this will be hard to achieve. Turn the fan off manually to achieve this.
-rob