I need help tuning my HM


 
T

ThorS

TVWBB Member
I did a test run of my 22" WSM to try out my HM 4.3 for the first time today. What are some good default settings to start with? I calibrated my probes with the boiling water and put the correction values in. Here's my set up;

22" WSM
HM 4.3 with a thermocouple w/aligator clipped to the middle of the top rack. Running it through the rubber grommet on the side of the WSM
No gasket or seal kit for the WSM
Microdamper attatched via a dog bowl over one of the lower vents.
No water in the pan, just lined with foil.
regular Kingsford charcoal lit with a chimney.

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I did not light a full basket of charcoal, maybe 1/3 full. I didn't see the point for just a test run (I'm cheap and didn't want to waste charcoal)
I lit my smoker then got it mostly to temperature before getting the HM running. Very quickly it got a big temperature spike and wouldn't come down. I finally burped the lid to leat the heat out and closed the vent to a sliver. Later I closed the vent all the way but eventually opened it back up to a toothpick width.

Around 5:00 I had to go out to an event and just left the HM running. I think that's about the time the charcoal ran out. It never got back up to the target temp.

It seems like period when things were running correctly (2-5ish) I was still getting a pretty wide temperature swing. What do you recommend I do to the settings? Tomorrow I'm going to actually smoke some baby back ribs on it.
 
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I use for my WSM
P 4
I .0035 to .0090 (experimenting a little)
D 5

I also start with a full chimney but I use the smaller Weber one. So I guess 1/2?

I also use 50% max fan and 70% startup
 
How do I reset the HM when I'm doing a new cook? It's still showing the graph from yesterday and just adding on to it?
 
ThorS said:
How do I reset the HM when I'm doing a new cook? It's still showing the graph from yesterday and just adding on to it?
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You go to the LinkMeter -> Archive page then do Reset Database. The database is automatically reset if it has been longer than 24 hours since the last data, otherwise it assumes you are continuing the same cook.
 
I think I've finally have it running better. Unfortunately I didn't realize I was almost out of the Kingsford charcoal. I had to top off the basket with some natural lump stuff. I had to open the top damper more than usual for it to get up to temperature. It's finally hovering near the setpoint.


EDIT: Oh, I just remembered, I keep getting these weird, random temperature spikes. I tried setting the AC filter to 60hz. Any other suggestions? My thermocouple was calibrated with hot water (1 degree off) and used once for about 5 hours.

I noticed that the probe reads about 25 degrees cooler than the thermometer that comes installed on the WSM. I've been doing my cooks much hotter than I thought I was so it'll be very interesting to see how this one turns out.

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ThorS said:
I noticed that the probe reads about 25 degrees cooler than the thermometer that comes installed on the WSM. I've been doing my cooks much hotter than I thought I was so it'll be very interesting to see how this one turns out.
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Oh yeah, never trust those things. Absolutely horrible.
 
Any chance you're using the $10 alligator clip thermocouple from Amazon? I'm having temp spike issues as well, using that thermocouple. I ordered a new one from another site, hoping that fixes the issue.
 
JustinJ said:
Any chance you're using the $10 alligator clip thermocouple from Amazon? I'm having temp spike issues as well, using that thermocouple. I ordered a new one from another site, hoping that fixes the issue.
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Yes, I am using the same probe.
 
My Pid settings on my WSM 22.5 with rotodamper
B=0; P=4; I=0.02; D=5
Fan pulse; min 10%; max 30%; max at startup
 
I started getting better results when I opened the top damper. I started with the toothpick size then went up to a fat pencil. I think having the bottom damper closing all the way really shuts things down. Unfortunately on my last cook it took a long time for me to put my sauce on the ribs and get the lid back on so the timer kicked off and the HM started waking the coals up. Then when the lid went on my temperature really spiked then took a very long time to cool back down. I tried burping the lid once which helped but wasn't enough.

I think I need to practice with some more pork.
 
When using a MicroDamper and setting your top vent put it in the spot you'd run for a manual cook then close it just a touch. For those of you using a blower instead of a MicroDamper you have to close the top vent to around a little less than half of where it would be on a manual cook.
 
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SteveCK said:
When using a MicroDamper and setting your top vent put it in the spot you'd run for a manual cook then close it just a touch. For those of you using a blower instead of a MicroDamper you have to close the top vent to around a little less than half of where it would be on a manual cook.
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Opening a can of worms here, but I run with my top vent wide open, bottom vents all closed with my HM - no damper (yet....)
 
Andrew F said:
Opening a can of worms here, but I run with my top vent wide open, bottom vents all closed with my HM - no damper (yet....)
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You're running a WSM. A WSM/UDS should be run full open. My advice was more for smaller pits, but even if you take my advice a WSM/UDS is essentially still full open.

Didn't you "win" a MicroDamper, or was that a HeaterMeter. Seem to remember you getting something
 
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