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Installation issues resolved... DigiQ DX2 and 18.5" WSM

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    Installation issues resolved... DigiQ DX2 and 18.5" WSM

    Yesterday, I was cleaning up the 18.5” WSM from a weekend cook and decided to install my new BBQ GURU DigiQ-DX2 (DQ) that had arrived the day before.

    The DQ consists of three major parts… the digital control box containing the PID controlled "brains" of the unit; the fan; and a universal, two-piece component consisting of a Draft Inducer (outside) & a Deflector Plate (inside). I found everything to be well-built and exactly as advertised, right down to the heat-resistant tape to cover the two remaining holes in the WSM’s damper once the Draft Inducer had been installed in the lowest of the three holes.

    During my pre-purchase research, I had watched a couple of YouTube videos on the unit being installed on an 18.5” WSM. Both videos revealed that there was more than just the two extra holes to be covered, and one poor hapless soul had even gone to the hardware store to buy extra tape… his installation looked like the medics had taped it up after a train wreck.

    Recognizing that the draft-inducer was a universal assembly and the 18.5” WSM is a smaller cooker, I expected some issues during installation. I was right. There are three major issues to be dealt with when installing the inducer/deflector plate assembly into the 18.5” WSM…

    The first two revolve around the fact that the WSM’s damper is smaller than its big brother, the 23”. When the assembly is installed, both the inside deflector plate and the outside inducer do not set flush against the smoker because they are tilted by the rivet that holds the damper in place.

    Neither of those may seem at first not to be that big of a deal. However, the outside inducer holds the fan unit. It needs to be either flush or taped to allow the fan to deliver the proper amount of air to the fire. Additionally, because the fan is an interference-fit into the inducer, the long-term effect of a less-than-stable mount could cause unnecessary difficulty if the "tube" is not against the body of the damper.

    On the inside, the inside deflector plate’s job is to force the incoming air downward. If there is a rivet-induced "leak" at the top of the plate, some incoming air is not going down, as designed.

    Those first two "issues" may seem trivial and can obviously be cured by proper use of the supplied tape. However, the DigiQ’s whole selling point is that the unit can deliver the correct amount of air at the proper place, at the proper time, to maintain a given temperature. Given that, it seems foolhardy not to apply simple, permanent fixes to the air delivery system during installation.

    The last "issue" is the critical one, yet the easiest to overcome. When the inducer/deflector assembly is properly installed at the lowest point on the damper, the charcoal grate rim almost completely blocks the opening in the deflector. This may not be the case with the larger WSM, but is certainly true on the smaller 18.5” WSM. The deflector plate is not only blocked, but it impedes the proper seating of the grate itself… no one wants their charcoal grate tilted unnecessarily, or their controlled airflow impeded, when the solution is simple, as depicted below.

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    In conclusion, the issues discussed above needed to be resolved for the DigiQ to work as designed. My hat is off to the folks at BBQ Guru for marketing what appears to be a fine product, well designed and worth the cost.

    Last edited by Lowjiber; June 6, 2017, 12:55 PM.

    #2
    Nice work!

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      #3
      Always nice when a plan finally comes together! Nice work Brother!

      Comment


        #4
        Well done.

        Comment


          #5
          You are an engineer, right?

          Comment


          • Lowjiber
            Lowjiber commented
            Editing a comment
            LOL Guilty as charged. LOL

          #6
          Nice fix but that really makes me appreciate the simplicity/ease of attaching my Pitmaster IQ 110 adapter for my WSM.

          Comment

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