DigiQ DX II vs 22.5" Lid Temperature


 
G

GreggP

TVWBB Fan
I'm probably crazy here, but I'm going to ask anyway. This is my first smoke with my new 22" and my first foray into an ATC.

The DigiQ is telling me the grate temperature is 225F while the (inaccurate, I know) lid thermometer on the 22.5" is reading 300F.

Is such a differential normal?

EDIT: GROAN. The pit probe fell and was laying on top of a rack of ribs. They sat at 325F for an hour. I wound up taking the ribs OFF of the WSM and I'm waiting for the temperature to drop before I put them back on.
 
They came out fantastic....I swear beef chuck ribs are the greatest deal in BBQ at $1.98/lb.

The grill took about 90 minutes to get down to a reasonable temperature (250ish). Had to use the kill plug to snuff out some coals. The Guru was set at 225 and never turned on over the rest of a 4 hour smoke. Temperature bottomed out at 240.

I am wondering if the initial ramp-up lit so many coals it was impossible to bring the temperature down.

I'm sure this is relevant, but the water pan was empty and foiled. No heat sink, but I was kinda told NOT to use water.
 
Gregg;

Welcome to the world of ATC use. Its all an experiment as you become familiar with the system and the way an ATC operates.
You seemed to experience an initial temp overshoot as you got into the 300 degree range. Are you using the minion start method?

With your Guru, you should have all bottom vents closed except the one where your fan is attached, and the foil tape covers non-used vent holes on that vent. I set my top vent about 75% open. This allows smoke to exhaust easily to prevent creosote (bitter, oversmoked)formation.

I make a mound of coals in the ring, then place maybe 15-20 lit coals evenly over the top of the unlit mound. Setting your Guru pit temp at your desired target will allow the minion to start slowly and come to temp. I use a clay saucer in my water pan, but this is a totally debatable subject. You'll have to try and see what works for you.

Enjoy your learning curve as even mistakes are usually pretty tasty.
 
Thanks, Morrey. The bottom vents were all sealed off. I started via the Minion method, but used a full chimney of lit coals spread over the top. In hindsight, that's too much considering the water pan was empty.

The top vent was 100% open as was the Guru damper. When things stabilized it was after I closed the top vent to about 33% and the damper on the Guru one notch.
 
Gregg,

You discovered the same thing I did with my DigiQ after some frustration and cursing - that is, there's a fair bit of air flowing into the pit through the fan even when it's not running. In warm temps if I'm cooking at 225* in my 18.5" I often have to close the damper down halfway or so (on a 10cfm fan) to keep the temps down.
 
Good observation, Dave. If your cooking rig is in a windy location, air will move easily thru the fan into the chamber even if its not cycling on. A wind break helps in this regard.

With a 22 WSM and a 10cfm fan, it is recommended to operate the fan with the baffle open at about 50%. Smaller fans or smaller WSM's will require setups to be individualized.
 
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