just did my first cook on my new 22.5. I purchased a pitmaster 1que 110 as well. I installed handles and probe eyes. I loaded 2 chimneys of kingsford blue and put in the bottom. then lit of 1/2 chimney of KB. poured over the unlit charcoal after it was ready. hooked up the ique and waited. set it for 250. it took 20 minutes to get solid green on the ique. then it went to red, which means at least 10 degrees over set point. it stayed there for 5 hours with the fan never coming on. I understand this is a very leaky cooker and maybe that is why the temp was up?? as it was drawing air somewhere. I plan on getting the cajun door, hopefully this will help. Any ideas why this might have happened? thanks in advance. Brian by the way the therm on the cooker read almost 300 when the ique said it was running at 250
first cook on the 22.5
- Thread starter Brian O.
- Start date
i think using 1/2 of a chimney of lit coals is what might have done you in. by my estimates, that is at least 25-30 lit coals or more. i would recommend using only about 12-15 lit coals and spreading them out over the top and that should help prevent overshooting the desired temp.
you are right in that you might have been getting some more air in there from somewhere but that would require some closer inspection.
the oem door that comes on the unit isn't the greatest, but it's design gets the job done. if your door is a bit warped then bending it back into shape would definitely help. also, since you mentioned that this was your first cook on the 22, that would explain why it ran a little hot. once it gets seasoned and builds up some the gunky goodness, the cooker will help seal itself. mark my words, it will get better.
did you check to see that you other vents were opened too much?
what were your vents set at during the cook?
was the smoker in a particularly windy area?
was it a very sunny day and the wsm placed in direct sunlight?
sometimes the smallest factors play a major role in controlling temps.
i still believe that the combination of the smoker being brand new and the amount of lit charcoal that was used were the culprits.
you are right in that you might have been getting some more air in there from somewhere but that would require some closer inspection.
the oem door that comes on the unit isn't the greatest, but it's design gets the job done. if your door is a bit warped then bending it back into shape would definitely help. also, since you mentioned that this was your first cook on the 22, that would explain why it ran a little hot. once it gets seasoned and builds up some the gunky goodness, the cooker will help seal itself. mark my words, it will get better.
did you check to see that you other vents were opened too much?
what were your vents set at during the cook?
was the smoker in a particularly windy area?
was it a very sunny day and the wsm placed in direct sunlight?
sometimes the smallest factors play a major role in controlling temps.
i still believe that the combination of the smoker being brand new and the amount of lit charcoal that was used were the culprits.
i did try and tweak the door some. I guess I might have to try some more. I had all the bottom vents closed, except the one that the controler was hooked up to. the top vent was wide open. it was a bit windy that day. I tried to shelter it as much as possible. It was a partly cloudy day. I did fail to mention that the cooker was empty. My main purpose for the first burn was to get some idea of how long I could keep temp using different amounts of charcoal. I guess the cooker being empty might have helped with the overshoot as well?? I don't know. I am used to my big stick burner, this cooker is quite different. Thanks for your ideas, I will try your recomendations Brian
Alan F
TVWBB Pro
The ique has a learning curve.
Next time let the cooker come up to temp and then hook up the ique. I can't explain the temps. You can put the ique and a probe in your oven and see that the ique is accurate. But on my cook today there was 20 degree difference between the ique and the grate temp. Once that was figured out temps held extremely stable. Also, I removed the washer in the end of the tube and that made a significant difference.
Once you figure it out you'll love it.
Next time let the cooker come up to temp and then hook up the ique. I can't explain the temps. You can put the ique and a probe in your oven and see that the ique is accurate. But on my cook today there was 20 degree difference between the ique and the grate temp. Once that was figured out temps held extremely stable. Also, I removed the washer in the end of the tube and that made a significant difference.
Once you figure it out you'll love it.
What did you use for a heat diffuser? Water? Empty foiled pan? Clay pot or sand (etc)?
Water in the pan should definitely help prevent temp overshoot, and would have brought your temps down, if you filled the pan with room temp water. Do this next time your WSM overheats.
Water in the pan should definitely help prevent temp overshoot, and would have brought your temps down, if you filled the pan with room temp water. Do this next time your WSM overheats.
Till you find that formula that gets consistent results, do this.....
Double foil the plan with HD on the inside. Then next time the temps get above your target and stay for more than 20 minutes, add one gallon of water (room temp) to the WSM pan. The cooker should respond with a lower temp fairly quickly. Watch for 20 minutes to see if the temps rise too quickly. If so, add another half gallon or so.
I've always used 14 inch clay saucers in my 18 1/2 inch cookers, so a 16 inch should work fine. Actually the 14 incher will help some, as it's only to diffuse heat. Having a 14 inch saucer should help temps better than no saucer at all.
Double foil the plan with HD on the inside. Then next time the temps get above your target and stay for more than 20 minutes, add one gallon of water (room temp) to the WSM pan. The cooker should respond with a lower temp fairly quickly. Watch for 20 minutes to see if the temps rise too quickly. If so, add another half gallon or so.
I've always used 14 inch clay saucers in my 18 1/2 inch cookers, so a 16 inch should work fine. Actually the 14 incher will help some, as it's only to diffuse heat. Having a 14 inch saucer should help temps better than no saucer at all.
Brian,I bet you did have a time with temps. and a completely empty brand new cooker and starting with a half chimney of charcole. Cold food and a duild up of gunk over time will help. You can try the clay saucer but with ATC I don't think it is needed.
I also have an IQ110 and it does a great job, but it was a bit of a learning curve at first. I use just a foiled pan, that's it. I start with 10-12 lit Coles on my 18 and 16-18 on my 22. It generly takes about an half hour to get up to temp., depending on how much food you have in the cooker. At first I noticed it would always overshoot my set temp. by 20 degrees or so before settling down and holding temperatures to where I have it set. A little trick that helps is to set your ATC 20-25 degrees below what you want as set temperature, when it overshoots it should be close to what you want. After temps. stableize or start to drop slowly increase you temp.,say over 10 to 15 minutes to your desired temp. and it should hold for many hours.
If things don't work try something different, figure out what works best for you and stick with it.
I also have an IQ110 and it does a great job, but it was a bit of a learning curve at first. I use just a foiled pan, that's it. I start with 10-12 lit Coles on my 18 and 16-18 on my 22. It generly takes about an half hour to get up to temp., depending on how much food you have in the cooker. At first I noticed it would always overshoot my set temp. by 20 degrees or so before settling down and holding temperatures to where I have it set. A little trick that helps is to set your ATC 20-25 degrees below what you want as set temperature, when it overshoots it should be close to what you want. After temps. stableize or start to drop slowly increase you temp.,say over 10 to 15 minutes to your desired temp. and it should hold for many hours.
If things don't work try something different, figure out what works best for you and stick with it.
Brian,
For your 22.5 a full level ring of charcole using minion method, start with 16 to 18 lit coles and your IQ 110 set at 225(200 or so to start) should get you 12 hours easy. Example: last week I cooked 6 butts on my 22" using method above except I started with a little over a full level ring of charcole, I took the last butt off around 17 hours and still had enough charcole to last another 3-5 hours. Also times will vary with outside temps. and weather conditions. I also swear by Stubbs charcole sold at Lowe's for all of my long cooks, burns longer and more consistant than KB IMO. Though on this board you will find many that swear by KB, you should try both and see what works best for you.
For your 22.5 a full level ring of charcole using minion method, start with 16 to 18 lit coles and your IQ 110 set at 225(200 or so to start) should get you 12 hours easy. Example: last week I cooked 6 butts on my 22" using method above except I started with a little over a full level ring of charcole, I took the last butt off around 17 hours and still had enough charcole to last another 3-5 hours. Also times will vary with outside temps. and weather conditions. I also swear by Stubbs charcole sold at Lowe's for all of my long cooks, burns longer and more consistant than KB IMO. Though on this board you will find many that swear by KB, you should try both and see what works best for you.
Kendall Cook
TVWBB Super Fan
Lowes has a 17 1/2 inch clay saucer for 14 bucks, once the water pan is foiled and the clay saucer is foiled they fit together nicely, just about flush and can still get the bottom grate on
