All nighter with some new gear


 
Andy Kaminski

Andy Kaminski

TVWBB Pro
Hi there guys & gals.
I am just starting an all night pork shoulder on my wsm 18 with a new DigiQ DX3 controller.

I’ve never used a temperature controller before and never thought I really needed one until I saw embers coming out of my wsm on my last all night cook and it wasn’t even real windy just a draft did it.
Having the bottom vents closed is much safer for me in my situation.

My deck looks bad.
I plan on water jetting it/ re-straining it in a couple weeks.
I will be replacing it with probably Trex or something similar when I build my outdoor cooking area next year.
I’d sure hate to replace the old deck or my house due to fire 🔥.
That would really suck.
So I got me this controller to be safer.

My setup sure needs some fine tuning.
I think I’m going to get a battery pack for this unit and a Tupperware chinga to clean this up.
What do you use to tidy up all the wires?
Being that this DigiQ doesn’t communicate with my iPhone or give me a chart I need to use my inkbird as well.

Tonight I’m doing this pork but at 225f with a deep dish pizza pan full of water, using Kingsford pro with apple and pecan chunks.
If it was a day cook I’d cook it around 275f.
I’m using the water pan to help keep the temp low but I’d rather not because of the clean up.
Do you think this controller can keep the temp at 225f without the water?

It’s running good so far.
Here’s a couple pics.
 

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Wood decks are tough smoke on. I found a pad I can put under my WSM on Amazon that has another layer of protection. The thing you got to watch for is not the top of the deck catching on fire it's underneath where all the dried leaves and other crap get stuck. Might be worth it wet that down that area just to be safe.
 
Wood decks are indeed tough.
I am still kinda new to them and this place.
Luckily we had some rain.

Some of my thoughts about this new controller kit,
This bbqguru kit doesn’t really look impressive to me.
The unit is about the size of a pack of cigarettes.
The display flashes like crazy and that is annoying.
It actually reminds me of an Arduino project that is being monetized.
Surprisingly it works well, very well, even in the rain and that’s all that matters to me.
I really like the simple stamped universal bracket plate that they supplied. I wish my Inkbird had that.
I also like not having to do any drilling to install the blower.
I give this kit a thumbs up 👍 rating.

The cook ran pretty steady at the 225 mark last night.
I never spritzed it or checked temperatures other than with Wi-Fi a couple times before I called it a day.
I more or less just let it ride last night

I wrapped the butt after a 10 hour run @ 148f a few minutes ago.
There was even some water left over from the gallon I put in when I started, which I found odd.

I’ve never really had any problems holding temps with my wsm 18.
It might need the coals raked in the middle of a long cook but it runs steady for the most part.

Pork butts are easy and this controller just made them even easier.
It’s kinda like cheating.
 
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Randy said:
Wood decks are tough smoke on. I found a pad I can put under my WSM on Amazon that has another layer of protection. The thing you got to watch for is not the top of the deck catching on fire it's underneath where all the dried leaves and other crap get stuck. Might be worth it wet that down that area just to be safe.
Click to expand...
A water heater pan is a good cheap option too.

Kind of makes the wheels useless, though.
 
I like the oil pan idea.
Those were quite common when I was younger and are harder to find now.
I’ve been watering the deck area and using a monster sized pizza pan near my open lower vent.
The new ATC really has helped with this issue by having all the lower vents closed.
I may even tape the other two vents shut for additional safety until I get a permanent bbq area.
 
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