Wow (First Cook) BBQ Guru DidgQ II

Hi everyone,
First cook using 22.5" WSM (6 slabs of spare ribs w/no racks!). It is 4:30 am 50 degrees outside, with pit temp hovering around 235. I have my blinds drawn about six inches on my patio and can see the brigh red readout from 25 feet away.

If you're on the fence about the DidgQ, in terms of simplicity it was pretty easy to set up. Realisticly it took about 15 minutes for me to set up and grasp the interface.

My only concern is that the WSM temp and the DidgQ temp are off by 25 degrees.

If you're comparing the WSM temp reading in the lid with the DigiQ at the grate level, that's not unusual.

Derek,
I would really be interested on what your thoughts are with your new 22 1/2" WSM and using the DIGIQ II in terms of how it handled controlling the temps. I have the DIGIQ II and the older WSM and I am contemplating buying the 22 1/2" unit, but wanted to know how it reacted to the QII

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ed Cardoza:
Derek,
I would really be interested on what your thoughts are with your new 22 1/2" WSM and using the DIGIQ II in terms of how it handled controlling the temps. I have the DIGIQ II and the older WSM and I am contemplating buying the 22 1/2" unit, but wanted to know how it reacted to the QII </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It worked well at controlling the temperatures, although the access door's draft caused the temp to shoot to 260. I sealed the openings at the top and bottom with aluminum tape and shut the exhaust vent. Once the temp dropped to 225 it held for 3 hours (w/vents at 2/3). Once the sun rose the temp spiked 10 degrees (I could have been getting a down draft).

I still have to master using it, my ribs were not as tender as they are when I use water pan. I also tried the texas crutch for the first time, which could have been a factor too. I also normally use the lid readings which was off by 25 degrees according to the DidgQ.

Saturday I'm going smoke a brisquet using the DidgQ, and some more ribs without the unit and crutch(to see if there is a difference).

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by dexter:

My only concern is that the WSM temp and the DidgQ temp are off by 25 degrees. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Did you put the probe in boiling water to see how accurate is was?

when you installed the blower on the 22, how did you cover the other holes in that vent?

I hooked up my Guru to the WSM last weekend after playing around with it on the LBGE and it just opened up a new door for me, I'm kicking myself for waiting this long to get it!
I covered the vents with 3/4" plugs from Lowes, much cleaner than the tape and they pop in an out as needed.




Added magnets to the universal mount and the Guru stays put.

Nice set-up! The " twins " must be Happy.

Brien nice setup. Just one question, Is your air diffuser inside the bowl above the charcoal grid or below the grid? At one point I had the diffuser below but the grid went inside the diffuser. I ground down half the rivit on the outside so it fit better. Not to crazy about the setup for mounting.

Mike- the adapter is above the charcoal basket with the diffuser facing downwards. It is a bit off centered because of the rivet, but not a big deal, the vent is scratched up from tightening it in place though.