Ramp Mode.....Bryan S?


 

JimT

TVWBB Pro
Bryan, (or anyone else uses "Ramp Mode" on the GURU);

I didn't want to hijack Ed's thread.

In that discussion you described using the "Ramp Mode" on your GURU. I would be interested in your thoughts on when/how to use this mode, the benefits, etc.

It never really seemed to fit the way I planned to cook, and I've not heard of many people using that mode. I can see it maybe for butts if you're not going to be around near the finish time, but not much else!

Awaiting your insight,

JimT
 
Jim, In theroy it's great but the part that gets me is the ramping down 25 degrees away from internal set point temp. So you got a butt on and set the meat temp for 200 in the ramp mode it starts lowering the pit temp at 175 internal meat temp. Well that's just going to add a ton of time to the cook. Now if you plan on being away for many hrs when the meat is due to be finished, then yes it'd be great to use. I have gotten pretty good over the years at judging the time the meat will finish so it's not something I use very much. I do use it for over night cooks that I'll be taking into work with me the next morning just incase I get a butt that cooks very quick. I set the internal meat temp pretty high so it doesn't start ramping the pit temp down too early and I have 1/2 done meat in the AM. Hope I didn't confuse you on how I use it but I could live without it I guess.
 
No experience with Guru. But when I first implemented ramp mode in stokerlog for stoker, I ran into the same problem Byran mentions. Namely, the program lowered the temp and the food never got done. So I ditched the whole thing and use a different scheme where the food is essentially kept warm. I can't see much sense out of lowering the temp on a curve.

I have read their forum and such and I still can't figure out why they did what they did, nor did I run into people using it.
 
From the GURU Website -

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> While using the BBQ Guru in the low-and-slow Ramp Mode, it is possible to start your cook at a higher than normal temperature such as 275°F - 300°F to accelerate your low-and-slow cook </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Rather than set the pit temp at 225 it looks like they recommend starting the pit temperature higher to speed the cooking.
 
Has anyone tried to initally have the Ramp mode activated, and then turned it off in the middle of a cook?

A scenario I'm thinikng about now is that if I put something on at 9pm, but expect it to be done early next morning. Would it be feasable to have the Ramp mode activated thus lowering the temps, and delaying the cook a bit temporarily. That way when i got up the next morning I could deactivate the ramp mode & have the cooker shoot back up to 225 to finish the cook? Would that constant fluctuation in the temp effect the taste at all?
 
Interesting suggestion. But what would be the advantage of that, versus letting the food cook properly and then enter "keep warm" mode? That way, your food is ready, rather than boosting the temp and waiting for it to be done.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Amir:
Interesting suggestion. But what would be the advantage of that, versus letting the food cook properly and then enter "keep warm" mode? That way, your food is ready, rather than boosting the temp and waiting for it to be done. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm just not really sure what "keep warm" mode entails. Do you just let the Ramp mode run its course?
 
I can't speak to Guru but what it does in my stokerlog program is that you set a percentage. Once you achieve that percent of your target temperature, then the fire pit temp drops to 20% above your target. That way, the cook slowly progresses to the target but doesn't overshoot it due to momentum in the smoker. I found through experimentation that having less than 20% differentiation in the temp of the pit versus cook means that you can't achieve your target temp -- at least not until a few weeks later
icon_biggrin.gif
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For large smokers, people set the percentage to a lower number so that there is more cool off time. For smaller smokers, the default, 98%, seems to work well.

Once the target is achieved, the program tells the stoker to keep the pit at the same temp so that nothing overcooks. That way, the food is kept at a safe temp but is not allowed to have its temp rise or fall.

I played with making it work like Guru ramp mode but it just didn't work. I had the temp drop earlier like they show in their graph but the cook never finished. One needs to keep the temp high enough so that you achieve your target.

By the way, you can always do what you wanted with my program. Simply set the target to a lower temp before you go to sleep. And then when you wake up, you can boost it back up. Since you can control the machine from inside the house from any computer, it is a painless process. Indeed, many of us who use the stoker adjust things as we watch the progress over time. If the food is not getting done fast enough for example, I boost the temp 10 degrees or so.
 
Adding on, if there are other useful modes to have, I can easily add it to my program as it is just software. The stoker just acts as a controller with my program containing the logic so if there is better wisdom here, I like to hear it and I will implement it.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Amir:
Adding on, if there are other useful modes to have, I can easily add it to my program as it is just software. The stoker just acts as a controller with my program containing the logic so if there is better wisdom here, I like to hear it and I will implement it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Obviously your stoker provides you with much more functionality than the Guru with all the various modifications you can make to your program. I think i'm just going to have to roll with trial by error on getting the GuruII to do what I want.

Sounds like your program can do everything but eat the food.
 
I don't use the ramp mode often on the guru for the stated problems above. It is great for a cook you might not be close by on. With ramp mode you need to start with a higher initial temp. I used ramp mode on a brisket cook over the weekend with great results. The initial temp was 265.
 
Not to hijack the thread but Im looking into the guru and am unsure which model to get. From what Ive read above is it safe to say the consensus is that the ramp mode isnt really justified by the cost? I have an et-73 and will not be leaving the house for an extended period around the finish of the cook. Should I save the cash for meats and go with the basic model? Does the DigiQII have any other features that would justify the extra money?
 

 

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