Leave as is or Auto Temp Controller

[Don Gross]

A few years ago I got the bottom of the line PartyQ from BBQ Guru. Love it. When we were competing, we switched from the big Lang to two WSM when the team shrunk down to just two of us. It allowed me to get 5 hours sleep which was great. I would not go back. Use it for every cook now.

[JimZ]

How new are you to the WSM? I know when I first started, I fiddled with the vents constantly and never waited for the temps to settle. I had constant yoyo-ing temps and chased it all night. These days I'm way more relaxed in my approach and it works better. I seriously would have 227 instead of 225 and would go make a vent change, which is just silly. I'm pretty happy if I'm cooking low and slow to hit 225 to 250. I'm trying to cook a little hotter say around 275, I let it ride about 260 to 280. I also know roughly how many coals and what vent settings I need to roughly hit my temp.

I generally don't like temp controllers because I see them as less manly. I'm also the kind of idiot that thinks fruit woods are somehow more feminine than hard woods. I have issues. I think you'll get it either way.

Is there a formula for how many coals and what temp? Just curious- havent done my first cook yet buy am looking forward to this weekend!!!

[Roger R.]

Is there a formula for how many coals and what temp? Just curious- havent done my first cook yet buy am looking forward to this weekend!!!

Jim, For ribs, (for example) I like to fill the charcoal holder and heat up 25 pcs in my chimney and light it a la Minion Method. I have found that for me, 25 pcs is my sweet spot. Whenever I use 50 or a full chimney, I find that my temps go too high even using a DigiQ.

[Andy Harrington]

I use to be of the school of thought that there is no fun unless I'm tending the fire. Then I got an ATC, the cyber q. Had it a week, done two cooks will never go back. Temps are way more consistent, food is just as good and I don't have to get out of bed or set 3 am alarms to check things. I start things up and move on, where as before I had to have twelve to fifteen hours to devote, now I can start the night before, get a good night's rest, check fuel/water and off to work. If I get curious I can check/adjust temps using the webs. If food finishes early ramp mode kicks in lowering pit temp the closer the meat gets to being done and holding it at temp till I get home. To make a long answer short no one needs one but there sure nice to have.

[PHolder]

I used to do my overnights without the ATC. The Maverick would wake me up every few hours to alert me to temp swings. I guess I didn't have my alarms configured correctly. Oh well. I invested in an Auber about two years ago. Once I dialed it in with Auber's help, I can now sleep through the night.

[Dwain Pannell]

Bottom line: BBQ is not as much science as it is art. Precision is simply not required.

Sure, if you’re a competition BBQer looking for a paycheck you need precision so they are a requirement. But if you are a backyard BBQer (like me) then the WSM will set in on a temp and stay there forever all by itself. Now, that temp may be a bit higher or lower than you think it should be but I figure the WSM knows more about BBQ than I do so why argue with it.

Now, I don’t do overnight cooks. Everything cooks within daylight hours. And I’m not sure where all these temp swings come from: My well seasoned WSM is rock solid without an ATC. Needle never moves despite me watching it.

[Timothy F. Lewis]

The more I do, the less “stuff” I feel like fooling around with. I have just gone back to basics across the board with cooking almost everything. I’m not saying I don’t do complicated projects but, fewer things between effort and food seem to work for me better than too many gadgets.

[Larry Clayton]

I would probably get one for my 22.5 because I can’t seem to get it past about 7 hours on a load of charcoal. That is with the bottom full. Was wondering if that woul maybe get me more life.

[Rusty James]

I used to do my overnights without the ATC. The Maverick would wake me up every few hours to alert me to temp swings. I guess I didn't have my alarms configured correctly. Oh well. I invested in an Auber about two years ago. Once I dialed it in with Auber's help, I can now sleep through the night.

Which Auber model was that?

I-40 business still messed up?

Headed that way soon.

[Lew Newby]

Everything posted on this thread is generally true. An ATC is not needed to cook with the WSM. Most of my cooks have been without one. However, in most cases, including mine, it's not a matter of need but of want. I like cooking Q and I have fun using my toys. It blows my Grandsons' minds when I break out some new electronic gadget that they've never seen. One advantage for me is I do less walking on these OLD legs so I don't get as tired.