ATC with a heat sink/diffuser


 
E

Everett J

New member
I have read here and elsewhere using a heat sink /diffuser with an atc is not recommended. However, I could not determine any real reason pro or con.
What say you?
I am on the verge of ditching all the water pan, clay saucer, and foiling for a firedial but if it’s not going to play well the billows, I’ll save my money.
Tia
 
I'm a bit confused..... are you talking about something controlled by the ATC that will cool down a cook chamber? Personally, I've really never wanted for such, my HeaterMeter does pretty well at ramping up the fire to recover from cool downs (think door/lid open,) and not significantly overshooting. What sort of use case would this be for?
 
Please pardon my confusion. It’s because I just don’t get the whole diffuser use thing possibly being a problem with an atc.
My atc cooks have been reasonably successful using a empty water pan and clay saucer both foiled. I want to eliminate the pan, clay saucer and foiling in favor of a firedial or similar (pizza stone)
 
My Firedial and Billows work fine together in my 18 WSM.

Since the ATC is holding the temps pretty constant, there's not much of a reason to have a big heavy mass (pounds of water, sand, etc.) sucking up BTUs to act as a temp stabilizer.

With an ATC, a low mass diffuser (Firedial, pizza pan or dry pan) is there mostly to shield the food from direct flames a bit, keep drippings out of the fire, and to even the heat out a bit vertically. When I use water, it is for moisture not temp regulation.

Without the drag of the big heat sink, you can change temps pretty quickly. Just turn the ATC setting up or down and the cooker adjusts in a few minutes. You also get better fuel efficiency.
 
Thanks for taking the time to reply Jim. Clear and helpful.
Water, if needed, will come from a throwaway pan on the bottom cooking grate I never use. Assuming the grate will fit over the Firedial?
Thanks again.
 
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