R L Bagwell
TVWBB Pro
At 0445 this morning, I put two pork butts (8 lbs and 7 lbs), as well as an 8 lb brisket flat, on my 22.5 WSM. I had previously loaded the charcoal chamber to the top with K briquettes, although I DID have a 3/4-full chimney of lump that I wanted to get rid of (I hate lump, BTW - apologies to you die-hard lump fans), so it went in first; additionally, I used 4 -5 chunks of hickory. Ambient temp was 79 degrees, RH was 78%. ZERO breeze.
I started the coals using the MM, adding 12 lit briquettes to the pile. My DigiQ (DQ)DX, which I have used successfully before, was set to 225. The temp on the DQ climbed to 88 degrees, and after about 10 minutes, would not budge, although the dome temp of my WSM indicated 220. Forgot to mention in my original post that I'm using a foiled clay pan.
I unplugged the pit probe from the device, and plugged it back in. The DQ temp then jumped up to 225, and continued to climb until it reached 275; it slowed its rise a bit, although it continued to climb until it reached 310. An oven thermometer that I had placed next to the pit probe read 305. As expected, the blower fan, which was - as usual - 50% closed, never came on again once the DQ temp read 225.
In an effort to reduce the temperature, I left the lid off until the DQ temp dropped to 225, and replaced it; additionally, I closed the top vent to just a crack open (it was set originally at 25% open, as in the past.) All bottom vents were closed, per DQ instructions.
At this writing (0938, EDST), the DQ temp is down to 264, and the dome temp reads 260.
While I doubt the use of that lump contributed to the overshoot, I'm thinking that I may have used too many lit coals to begin with. I KNOW the pit probe was connected correctly, so I'm unsure as to what caused THAT particular glitch.
Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated.
Regards,
Rooster
I started the coals using the MM, adding 12 lit briquettes to the pile. My DigiQ (DQ)DX, which I have used successfully before, was set to 225. The temp on the DQ climbed to 88 degrees, and after about 10 minutes, would not budge, although the dome temp of my WSM indicated 220. Forgot to mention in my original post that I'm using a foiled clay pan.
I unplugged the pit probe from the device, and plugged it back in. The DQ temp then jumped up to 225, and continued to climb until it reached 275; it slowed its rise a bit, although it continued to climb until it reached 310. An oven thermometer that I had placed next to the pit probe read 305. As expected, the blower fan, which was - as usual - 50% closed, never came on again once the DQ temp read 225.
In an effort to reduce the temperature, I left the lid off until the DQ temp dropped to 225, and replaced it; additionally, I closed the top vent to just a crack open (it was set originally at 25% open, as in the past.) All bottom vents were closed, per DQ instructions.
At this writing (0938, EDST), the DQ temp is down to 264, and the dome temp reads 260.
While I doubt the use of that lump contributed to the overshoot, I'm thinking that I may have used too many lit coals to begin with. I KNOW the pit probe was connected correctly, so I'm unsure as to what caused THAT particular glitch.
Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated.
Regards,
Rooster