Finally Ordered a DigiQ II!!


 
K

Kevin K.

TVWBB Member
I borrowed my brother's Competitor to smoke a Christmas turkey and instantly fell in love with the BBQ Guru. I'm 19 hours into smoking two 8.5 butts (still not done yet) and I finally had it with chasing temps and fiddling with the vents. I just finished placing an order for the DigiQ II. I'm looking forward to a restful overnight cook with the DigiQ II!
 
You know, I'm really bummed they don't make the competitor anymore, (yes I have one). Does the DigiQ II have the ramp feature like the competitor has? Just wondering.
 
Yes, the DigiQ II has the ramp feature. From what I can tell, the primary difference is the DigiQ II has a digital readout whereas the Competitor has the bar graph. The DigiQ also has a "door open" feature which stops the fan when there is a sudden drop in chamber temp. The Competitor uses the power button to accomplish the same thing. I also hate that the BBQ Guru folks discontinued the Competitor as it would have met my needs and would have been cheaper.
 
The DigiQ II is only $10 more than the Competitor was with many, many improvements. I am very happy with the huge upgrade for an absolutely minimal increase in cost.
 
I went with a Digi II. Very compact, accurate, and water resistant. Nice to have the additional features as well. You won't be sorry. Easy to set. Used mine now 4 times and am simply amazed at how it holds temps steady within about 5 deg or so. Really like the open lid and ramp feature.

Ray
 
I have a competitor and recently purchased the Digi II. I purchased the Digi II for some of its better features. A wider temperature range (32-475 deg), you can set the beeper to silent and it stayes that way forever (never could get that feature to work on the Competitor), digital display of temps, open lid detect, and better probes. I did two batches of jerkey and was able to set the temp at 160 and leave the unit alone. Also I like smoking fish at low temps. I am happy with it.
 
For those in the Know, Ive looked on the BBQ site and can't seem to find a answer to my ? And yes, I have a email in to Fred, So here's the million dollar question. Can a DigiQ II be hooked up to the Comepetitor? I have the 10cfm fan and Comepetior Base along with the WSM mount.
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The face on my Comepetitor is wearing away and is getting unreadable,
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so I might want to upgrade.
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Bryan - let me try to understand the question. I beleive you are asking if you can remove the Competitor controller from you current system and just by the DigiII controller and then connect your existing fan, etc.

Pretty sure that answer is yes. Except that you will not be able to hang the Digi II on the fan bracket. You will get a separate customizeable bracket for the Digi II controller. It's basically a flat plate that you bend to your requirements. They show that on the web site. There is also an optional magnetic bracket. A some what u-shaped affair (long back on the "u"). It has a center mounted stud with a brass thumb nut. This accepts the Digi II standard bracket mentioned above.

I get confused when you are saying "connect the Digi II to the Competitor".

Email or their online forum is not the best way in my view to talk with BBQ GURU. Direct calling is best for quick response Ask for Shotgun Fred or Shotgun Fred Jr. Either one will help you.

I have visited the business and talked personally to both. Either of them can help you.

Ray
 
I logged into my account and then did the email us thing. Figured being a past customer and all would help with getting a reply, seemed to work? I sent the email Fri night and had a response Monday AM.
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This is the Email reply from Bob Trydnak of The BBQ GURU.

"Bryan. You can buy the DigiQ and it hooks up to the fan and mount. You can
either keep your Competitor as a second unit or trade it in for $25 off your
purchase.

Thanks,

BBQ Bob"
 
Glad you got taken care of. Yeah, you can get the Digi 2 to hang on the slot of the fan unit, but only from on of the buttons on the back. The Digi II has to buttons on the back that a are spaced to fit the new customizeable mount. You'll see what I mean when you get it.

Either why I think you will love it, and the fact that they are still offering the upgrade discount is pretty cool.
 
Well, I used the DigiQ II for the firt time last night smoking an 11 lb brisket. It set the pit temp for 235* and went on to bed. For the firt time on an overnight cook I actually got to sleep through the night without the Maverick ET-73 alarm going off. The DigiQ definitely puts the fun back into smoking again! The cook lasted 18 hours and I never had to add charcoal! In the pre DigiQ days I would have been adding charcoal around hour 13. If you don't have one of these things you really need to consider taking the plunge. You won't regret it!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Kevin K.:
Well, I used the DigiQ II for the firt time last night smoking an 11 lb brisket. It set the pit temp for 235* and went on to bed. For the firt time on an overnight cook I actually got to sleep through the night without the Maverick ET-73 alarm going off. The DigiQ definitely puts the fun back into smoking again! The cook lasted 18 hours and I never had to add charcoal! In the pre DigiQ days I would have been adding charcoal around hour 13. If you don't have one of these things you really need to consider taking the plunge. You won't regret it! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Kevin, did you have the ramp on mode enabled during your smoke?
 
Hi Ed,

Since this was my first brisket cook and first cook with the DigiQ I did not use ramp mode. I'll give the ramp feature a try on my next long cook.
 
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