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PBC / FireBoard / Pit Viper Fan - Thoughts and Assistance Needed

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    #16
    JoeInTX - FireBoard sells a drive cable to run fans that is required, pricey and WORTH IT in my opinion. It comes with a contraption - outlet power comes to the contraption, and from there splits with one cable going from the contraption to the FireBoard, and the other going to the fan.

    Near as I can tell not only does this power both the FireBoard and the fan, but also provides the communication between the two (which is why I call it a contraption instead of calling it a simple power splitter).

    Its actually a clean, non-cluttered setup, which is one reason (along with the incredible performance) which makes me feel it’s worth the investment. Pricey, yes... but I had to learn the hard way that in BBQ in general and especially thermostatic controllers, it’s often best to pay up for a quality product. 👍

    Hope that answered your question, but if not (or if you’d like some pics) let me know. 😇

    Comment


    • JoeInTX
      JoeInTX commented
      Editing a comment
      gdsim1 Thanks for the explanation. I gather you don't have any experience with the battery pack? I'm just wondering if the one sold by Fireboard is powerful enough to power the Fireboard and the Pit Viper fan for long cook. A battery pack may sometimes be more convenient than an AC outlet.

    • gdsim1
      gdsim1 commented
      Editing a comment
      JoeInTX - correct sir, I did not pick up a battery pack. Being a PBC guy, a "long cook" for me is only 6, 7 hours... and with a full charge, the Fireboard’s onboard battery pack well exceeds that.

    • gdsim1
      gdsim1 commented
      Editing a comment
      One more for ya JoeInTX - give FireBoard a call on Monday and ask them about the capacity of the unit and battery pack. Great customer service, and they’re happy to chit chat and answer questions.

      816-945-2232

    #17
    Troutman & Polarbear777 - just wanted to drop a note to say thank you for the experience, wisdom and guidance you shared here. Your suggestions (along with locking my OCD up for a few hours to keep me from fiddling too much lol) really paid dividends on the next cook.

    Set the fan control to Channel 1, and turned lid detection down to 1 minute (and later completely off) and the fan performed MUCH better and held the ambient barrel temp much more steady at the desired level.

    Click image for larger version

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    Your help is is very much appreciated folks. 👍

    Tagging AverageJoe, fzxdoc and JoeInTX for loop - and temptation! 😇
    Attached Files
    Last edited by gdsim1; July 28, 2019, 08:49 AM.

    Comment


    • fzxdoc
      fzxdoc commented
      Editing a comment
      I'd say you shinnied up that learning curve pretty doggone quick, gdsim1 . Congrats. Looks like a pretty close to perfect cook.

      Kathryn

    #18
    That's much better, your trend line is very solid. I don't cook on a PBC, like I mentioned, but a WSM and I'm still a little confused by the spikes in your temp fluctuations even though it held steady. You can isolate your ambient temp graph, try toggling to that setting and post it again. Here is one from a recent cook on my WSM, notice the rock solid temps with almost no fluctuation and the efforts of the fan to keep it that way.


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    • IowaGirl
      IowaGirl commented
      Editing a comment
      "...I'm still a little confused by the spikes in your temp fluctuations..."

      It would be good to compare the fan speed with the temps. Your fan speed is generally in the 10% to 20% range which is telling me your system is pretty stable and under control. If GD's are more variable or if the average fan speed is quite a bit higher or lower than yours, that might give some insight about why his system is less stable. Just a thought.

    • Troutman
      Troutman commented
      Editing a comment
      That's why I suggested he post his fan speed graph, I had the same thoughts.

    #19
    Troutman - agreed on all sir. I’ve got some more fiddling to do to smooth out the barrel temp, but your assistance has gotten me to a place I’m happy (if not completely OCD satisfied) with.

    1) My PBC is starting to show its age a bit, and I think my lid is a bit leaky. Going to try the ol’ "couple bricks on top" trick during the next cook, to see what difference that makes.

    2) I did two racks of ribs and a pork butt on this cook, and I used the hinged grate to do it. I think the edge of the hinged grate, in the up position, may have been holding my lid up juuuuuuuust a scooch - operator error on that one, but all the meat came out perfect, so mostly no harm no foul.

    3) I do have one "oopsie" drill hole in the adapter plate from installation. Not all the way through so I don’t think it’d be messing things up TOO much, but I’m still going to put a small piece of magnetic tape over it just to be on the safe side. 👍

    Like any process there’s a learning curve involved, but your help has gotten me MUCH closer to where I want to be - thanks again for the assistance!

    Comment


      #20
      Spikes could be coals settling or the wood you had in there starting or finishing. Those narrow time spikes don’t matter much to the overall cook.

      If if you had a lid leak I think it would be worse. Though for what it’s worth, I installed a gasket on my PBC lid when it was new and never had issues, but I never gave it a chance to.

      You can use high temp gasket sealant if you are concerned about the small holes, though I doubt it will matter.

      Plot looks great to me.

      Comment


      • gdsim1
        gdsim1 commented
        Editing a comment
        Thanks Polarbear777, heading this really helps me feel like I’m definitely on the right track here. And you’re right, it didn’t affect the cook... as a matter of fact, maybe the best StL style ribs I’ve ever produced, and everything else came out great as well.

        Still going to try the bricks and covering the small hole (because the OCD won’t let me NOT try it lol) and if that pays any dividends I’ll be touching you up for more info on that lid gasket of yours for a more permanent solution. 👍

      #21
      gdsim1 Beautiful installation. Here's what it looks like if you follow the directions from BBQ Guru. Here's the quote from the email they sent me:

      "We had a pit barrel here in the showroom, and we were able to install our XL grill dome adaptor. We bent it a little by hand so that the adaptor plate mimics the radius of the barrel then we put the bottom lip of the adaptor inside the barrel and it sits down into the small groove that goes around where the bottom and side walls of the cooker come together. The adaptor port goes outside the cooker then we drilled a hole where the existing damper door screw goes and then just used the screw and nut that came with the cooker and it pulls up nice and tight."

      I'm thinking about putting two more screws in at 5 o'clock and 7 o'clock, but that would mean that I'd have to get down on my knees again which is never much fun.



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      Last edited by AZ Fogey; August 4, 2019, 05:21 PM.

      Comment


      • gdsim1
        gdsim1 commented
        Editing a comment
        All due respect AZ Fogey, I think you’ve got it backwards - YOURS looks like the beautiful installation! 😃🙌 Mine? Ghetto functional at best! LOL

        I think the difference is the groove you mentioned... with the patina my PBC has built up over the years, I couldn’t even SEE it much less hit it! 😂😂😂

        Exemplary job sir! 👍

      #22
      I'm glad to see that the port of the XL Grill Dome adapter comfortably clears your PBC's rolling dolly rim, AZ Fogey . Does the Pit Viper fan also fit on well with no interference from that dolly as well?

      Kathryn

      Comment


        #23
        fzxdoc Yes, the Pit Viper fan fits well. The humped side of the fan is pointing up which helps to keep the fan from sucking debris off the floor and also makes adjusting the fan's output orifice very easy.


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          #24
          Thanks so much for the photo and the additional information, AZ Fogey .

          K.

          Comment

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