wsm 22 - Digiq dx2 help

[Rick B.]

Hi all,

I purchased a DigiQ Dx2 to go with my WSM 22. While I love the setup, I have been experiencing a problem that I cannot seem to figure out.

I have gone over my WSM extensively to find leaks and seal it. I have metal duct taped every bottom vent, sealed the door with foam tape and RTV'ed the bottom of the lid receiver. With this done, I have been able to get my WSM almost leak free with the exception of two very small spots on both sides of the door.

When firing up the WSM, I am laying in hardwood charcoal (Cowboy Brand) and wood chunks in a doughnut shape in the fire ring and pouring in white hot, ashed over charcoal briquettes. After 25 min or so the WSM will climb up to 250 and stay pretty constant.

The problem usually occurs about 4-5 hours into the cook. I usually begin to see the temperature drop steadily to about 175 or so even though I still have PLENTY of fuel left and the blower is at 100% duty cycle. If I jimmy open the bottom of the door the temps immediately start to climb again.

I think the problem maybe that I am getting too much ash under the fire grate and the fire is being choked out, which is why jimmying the bottom of the door is helping. Unfortunately, I don't know of a way to remove the ash safely while the WSM is still burning. I am wondering if going to the larger 25cfm Pit Viper could help over come the issue. I would just change hardwood charcoal but the Cowboy brand is the most readily available in my area.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dave Penn]

Rick,

Sorry you're having trouble holding temps. The first thing I'd check is that the DigiQ's adapter is fairly well centered over a vent hole, that the nozzle on the inside is pointing down and isn't plugged and, of course, that the blower's damper is open.

When you're done cooking, is the ash piled up close to the bottom of the coal grate? In my experience, it has to be piled up pretty deep to cause a problem. I'd think since you're burning lump that you would be pretty much immune to ash buildup problems, but anything can happen. I've gotten into the habit of emptying the bowl before every cook so ash buildup is out of the equation.

Once in a while on a long or hot cook I'll take a shovel and give each leg of the WSM a few taps to knock the ash off the remaining coals. You can try that, I guess.

I did add the 25 cfm blower to my "kit" for hotter cooks with bigger loads, but I never had any trouble holding 250-275 with the 10 cfm blower, even in sub-freezing temps. It does get the 22.5" up to temp nice and quick and holds high temps really easily. Somehow I think your issue isn't directly blower-related though.

 

[Rick B.]

Dave,
Thanks for the reply.

I am pretty sure that I have the adapter centered over a vent but I will check it again to make sure.

I always thoroughly clean out the bottom of the WSM before a burn, but I still get a good bit of ash in the base of the unit after a burn. I wouldn't think it would be enough to cause the issue but I cannot come up with anything else that could be causing it.

Thanks for the info you provided. I'm just stumped at this point.

 

[Rick B.]

After adding an additional 10cfm blower, I noticed I was still having the same issue. Here's what I did differently that solved the issue after using the DigiQ II two more times. Hopefully this will help those in the future:

1. I was using Kingsford original briquettes in a chimney to light my Cowboy lump charcoal. Mistake. The briquette turned to ash which contributed to the lump charcoal not lighting in some areas. Ditch the briquettes and use the lump charcoal instead to light the lump charcoal.

2. Instead of making a doughnut hole in the middle of the charcoal inside of the fuel ring, I offset the hole to the opposite side of the ring from the blower. The fire burned its way back to the source of the air (the blower) which burned the charcoal more efficiently.

3. Ditch the water in the water pan for clay saucers wrapped in foil. This I think was the biggest factor. The fire spent a lot of time heating the water pan instead of radiating that heat to the cooker. Once the water is gone the fires energy moved to cooking and was much more efficient.