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Dan C. FL

Dan C. FL

TVWBB Pro
Happy Saturday, TVWBB!!!

I’m looking for some advice. Since I moved to WI, I’ve used the WSM some, but not as much as I’d like. There are lots of reasons, but one of them is fighting the wind. In my little village, it is always windy. So much so that calling Chicago “the Windy City” is laughable. That means that I’m fighting temps frequently. In FL, it was rarely this windy. So, I could set the vents and adjust maybe once or twice a cook.
I have thought about building a shelter. I have also thought about getting a temp controller. I’m leaning towards the latter (specifically a new SmokeX and Billows). This leads me to my question: Do the ATCs really work well in windy environments?
 
Dan, if the wind is pretty much from one direction all the time a shelter will work fine. Here in the mountains of AZ the winds swirls from all directions and that made it almost impossible to get steady temperatures. That's why I sold my WSM and got the camp chef and that solved my problem.
As far as temp controllers I really have no experience with them, but I'm sure those that do will chime in soon.
 
I hear you Dan. If there's no wind where I live it's a sure sign the earth has stopped rotating!
Before I moved to my new house, (which has a sheltered corner), I used a heavy duty cardboard box and slid it over the top of the smoker. Not the most desirable option granted, but effective until you get something more permanent.
 
Rich Dahl said:
Dan, if the wind is pretty much from one direction all the time a shelter will work fine. Here in the mountains of AZ the winds swirls from all directions and that made it almost impossible to get steady temperatures. That's why I sold my WSM and got the camp chef and that solved my problem.
As far as temp controllers I really have no experience with them, but I'm sure those that do will chime in soon.
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@Rich Dahl Hi Rich!!! It’s been a while since I’ve been on. It’s good to see you. Hope you and Barb are doing well! Here it primarily comes from two directions, but can swirl around the house. I think the controller would be a fun toy if it works. Otherwise, I might just build something to house it in. Not sure that I want to buy a new cooker. It’s amazing how different cooking is here!
 
TonyUK said:
I hear you Dan. If there's no wind where I live it's a sure sign the earth has stopped rotating!
Before I moved to my new house, (which has a sheltered corner), I used a heavy duty cardboard box and slid it over the top of the smoker. Not the most desirable option granted, but effective until you get something more permanent.
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This is a clever idea in the interim. No worries about it catching fire?
 
Dan, there’s a thread “My new windscreen” that has chronicled what I’ve done, not so pricey, and fun project, I still have a couple of things to do but, it’s getting there!
 
Dan C. FL said:
@Rich Dahl Hi Rich!!! It’s been a while since I’ve been on. It’s good to see you. Hope you and Barb are doing well! Here it primarily comes from two directions, but can swirl around the house. I think the controller would be a fun toy if it works. Otherwise, I might just build something to house it in. Not sure that I want to buy a new cooker. It’s amazing how different cooking is here!
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I grew up in the 'burbs of Chicago so I know what your going through. This is our second super hot summer in a row and no end in sight.
We are a mile up here in the mountains and it's been over 100 with a high of 110 for the last 10 days and it's just the beginning. 10:00am and it's105 already.
The CC is totally impervious to the wind it has no effect at all on it. So I can put what I want on it and hook up the smoke to it and go sit in the air conditioned house and monitor my cook staying nice and cool. At most I'll go out once to check the pellets to make sure there is still enough to finish the cook.
If you can find a reliable controller and maybe a wind break also you should be good to go.
 
If plywood was not so expensive I would suggest taking a sheet and cutting it into 3 sections then hinging them together . This three sided shelter can be rotated to provide shelter from the wind
 
76F6EC47-5BA0-4D0B-95C4-C4E6F39A418D.jpeg
This what I did above is after I found these great solar spotlights at Costco!
And, in daylight:
27873D78-E11B-4C2F-8D8E-26AE40B408BF.jpeg
There are more that go into a little more detail but, you get the idea.
 
Dan...
If it can not be controlled manually (due to the wind), neither will the atc be able to....
Once the wind issue is under control, the atc should work just fine...
 
Bob Bass said:
Dan...
If it can not be controlled manually (due to the wind), neither will the atc be able to....
Once the wind issue is under control, the atc should work just fine...
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@Bob Bass I had that thought, but was thinking that would only be true if there were bigger leaks elsewhere. I didn’t think it’s because of that necessarily. Mine kills the fire quickly when I close it down. So, I was leaning more towards the air speed coming through the vents. (10-15 mph with gusts to 20-25 are common.) So, since you close down the vents with an ATC, my theory was that it would work.
 
Dan... What I was trying to say was that an ATC will not work IF you are having the wind issues, as you stated in your opening post. And this statement comes from years of actually use. (and decades of use of Automatic Temperature Controllers, but on a major scale... ie not bbq)

And if you do what others above have suggested... ie, wind breaks / shelter, you will be ok.

Let me reiterate... A simple ATC, as are your bbq atc units, will NOT control a system that is OUT OF CONTROL.
 
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I agree with Bob - High/steady winds present two problems (1) messing with air flow into the smoker and (2) cooling of the smoker's side walls [aka heat loss]. An ATC will help a bit with the air flow issue, but not the heat loss issue. The heat loss issue is going to be significant in Wisconsin, at least 8 months out of the year so I'd probably go with both solutions.

The fan on the ATC can allow a little air flow thru it even when it isn't running, so when the wind is blowing, the air flow side of the equation less stable compared to when conditions are less windy. Also, the fans for ATC may not really be designed to move "turbulent" air. There is probably some complex mass flow equation for blowers pulling from turbulent vs non-turbulent conditions but I'm speculating on that.

The Thermoworks SmokeX and Billows is a good set up. I noticed that T-Works has a cover now for their fan inlet to that allows users to cover the fan inlet partially and reduce air flow when the fan runs. My billows tends to cycle on and off quite a bit so I might try blocking off the fan a bit to see if the fan will run longer when it comes on. Maybe I could improve my temp control from +/- 5 to +/- 2 ;)
 
Bob Bass said:
Dan... What I was trying to say was that an ATC will not work IF you are having the wind issues, as you stated in your opening post. And this statement comes from years of actually use. (and decades of use of Automatic Temperature Controllers, but on a major scale... ie not bbq)

And if you do what others above have suggested... ie, wind breaks / shelter, you will be ok.

Let me reiterate... A simple ATC, as are your bbq atc units, will NOT control a system that is OUT OF CONTROL.
Click to expand...
Thanks @Bob Bass! I appreciate sharing the expertise.
 
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