Does Use of an ATC affect top vent position?


 
Leave your top vent about 1/4 open and set it and forget it. Sleep well while your DigiQ does the rest. Trust me, I learned the hard way.
 
Originally posted by NickB:
Greetings Learned Forum:

After reading many posts and recipes from this site, the conventional wisdom seems to be "always leave the top vent fully open." In fact, I have not found a single recommendation to the contrary.

Well, you have a recommendation to the contrary now. I have a 18 1/2 WSM and a Guru DigiQ 2 Temperature Controller. I close ALL my vents except I leave the very top one on the lid half open. The little fan puts oxygen in from the bottom onto the coals and the top vent half open allows some of the heat to escape. My temp controller always stays "Nailed" on my target temperature. I have never done it any other way and I get good solid stable temperatures with a half-open top vent using the DigiQ. I hope this helps and happy smoking.

But by adding an ATC into the equation, does this change things? Are there instances where partially closing the top vent is helpful? Or is fiddling with the top vent the "third rail" of good BBQ? Any thoughts and experiences are greatly sppreciated. Thank you.

NickB
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Originally posted by r benash:
A.J. - I would rather think you skillfully selected the correct components and have come up with superior design
icon_wink.gif


George, just curious if you experimented with closing down the fan port using the slide first if you would have reached the same result (with the top vent full open).

Actually, I have the damper half closed on the DigiQ fan on all my smokes, as that fan is plenty big for an 18 1/2 WSM. The top vent half open, and the fan half open has worked very well for me and the temp stays nailed for the entire smoke, whether it 6 hours or 14 hours. Just have to play with it, but anyone using a DigiQ probably should plan to close the slide damper on it to half open, especially on a 18 1/2 WSM. Hope this helps somebody.

Not suggesting one way is right or wrong at all but just thinking that the root issue may be with the Guru fan putting out full 10CFM that your problem is being resolved by cutting down the total draft/flow by 50%. This can be accomplished I believe by either cutting the input or damping the stack flow IMHO.

In the end you solved your problem and that's all that matters.
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Ok, sorry to drag up an older post but this seemed the one to do it on. I am new to a WSM. I have two 18.5's. This post is all about the top vent but I am a little confused. All of the cooking advice on the WSM's say to leave the top vent 100% open to keep creosote from getting into the meat. Does the use of the vents/fans/openings on the ATC stop this from happening when the top vent is closed?
Sorry if this is a silly question or worded incorrectly, but I am trying to figure everything out and also to see if I want a ATC.

Thanks
 
I think ATC(s) are required equipment for most of the competition teams due to precise planning for turn in times. The average backyard/weekend warrior using a WSM would probably not need one. Some folks have them anyway. I had one myself but sold it when I learned how well the WSM holds temps without an ATC. 99% of my cooks can be completed within waking hours so I figured I would do better by learning how to set the WSM up for a clean burning fire that holds steady temps without the ATC. I can do that now and don't futz with it much. I find it way less stressful just to let it go than worrying about overshoot, maintaining a specific temp, being done on an exact time, etc.


...but to answer your question, I think the ATC needs something to "push" against so the vendors say to reduce the top vent to a certain degree.
 
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My WSM top vent is just barely cracked when trying to achieve low temps in the 225-275 range with my DigiQ-DX; I've experienced - like a number of other folks - that it's kind've hard to achieve higher temps. I experienced this when I smoked my first turkey (an 18-pounder) on the WSM this past Thanksgiving, but found I was able to maintain a tad over 340 by opening the top vent 100%, and opening the blower damper to 100% as well. Perhaps with the remaining two bottom vents open to 100% as well, it could go even higher...
 
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