PartyQ on the PBC - First Run, Strange Temps

[dpsphotos]

Inspired by BigBear I put a PartyQ on the PBC. I do not have electricity where the smoker is so I went for the battery operated fan. I have a 7.5lb PB on the grate and running the PartyQ for the first time.

One thing that is strange is the temp difference between what the PartyQ is reading and what my Maverick 733 is reading. They are nearly 20-degrees off. The Maverick is reading lower than the PartyQ. That to me seems like a lot. I started with both probes (alligator clip on the PartyQ) hanging through the grate about 2-inches below it and about 4-inches apart. After seeing the difference, I clipped the PartyQ one to the grate next to where the Maverick probe is hanging and it was no better. Anyone else that uses a fan experience this? Could my Maverick probe be going bad? I guess I could test with my other maverick probe, but its in the PB right now.

Thanks,
Daniel

[Spinaker]

I had the exact problem with my GURU and Mav. Not sure why it happens. I replaced the probe for the GURU and I still had the same problem.

[Jerod Broussard]

I tie my probes together, then they read within 2 degrees.

[dpsphotos]

Jerod Broussard interesting idea. I pulled the one out of the PB and stuck all three next to each other. Lets see what happens. Also you ever seen a strange red bubble thingy form on the top of your PB while smoking? It kinda looked like a small sponge. This is the first time I've seen anything like this on mine.

Thanks,
Daniel

[Jerod Broussard]

Perhaps the end of a blood vessel?? Sorry, due to sleep deprivation I thought this was a PM and it somehow got deleted. Hence the pm.

[dpsphotos]

Yep, that's exactly what it was. First time I've seen that happen.

[fuzzydaddy]

Like Jerod Broussard, I get the most similar readings when they are together. I clip the PartyQ's alligator clip to my Thermoworks probe and usually get 1-5 degrees variance max.

[dpsphotos]

fuzzydaddy I'm going to give that a try next time. I moved all three probes next to each other and was able to get them all within 7-degrees of one another. The two Mav probes were 2-degrees apart and running slightly lower than the PartyQ's probe.

I am surprised the probes can be nearly 20-degrees off but only 4-6 inches apart in the pit. Makes me wonder how scientific we really are when running a single pit temp probe and thinking we've pegged the temp where we want it.

[dpsphotos]

fzxdoc I decided to run a little experiment given your comment about possible ash blowing concerns with the fan being so close to the coals on the PBC. I never really gave it thought but it made perfect sense after reading your comment in another thread. A few things I noticed... The fan does not blow hard and once the temp stabilizes it gives short bursts of air that are much weaker than I thought it would be. Also, depending how you mount the bracket, I did mine like BigBear to where the hole for the fan is on the top side of the PBC opening. This places the fan blowing right at the solid PBC coal basket ring. If you were to flip that around to where the hole is on the bottom side, it looks like it would blow more air under the coal basket possibly disturbing the ashes more.

For the experiment... After my PB cook I pulled one rebar out and set the PartyQ to 350-degrees. This got the fan blowing harder and constant. I set a shallow pan of water on the grate to see if it collected anything. After about 15-minutes things were starting to equalize and I had nothing in the water pan. I also did not see any collection of ash sticking to the sides of the barrel. I may try this again for a longer period, but I thought I would let you know what I found so far.

Cheers,
Daniel

[Jon Solberg]

...

Makes me wonder how scientific we really are when running a single pit temp probe and thinking we've pegged the temp where we want it.

This is a great point dpsphotos Makes me think the single point is just a good heat indicator. I had to stop running multiple probes a while back because it made me all stressed hehehehehe

[fuzzydaddy]

dpsphotos, I don't think I've ever seen 20 degrees difference on my Egg but I started putting them together a while ago. For me, 5-10 degrees difference for pit temp probes does not bother me (it used to ). I chalk it up to probe accuracy and air flow. I have found that the different readings for mine becomes less once the grill is up to temp and steady, which is why I think that most of mine is air flow related in my Egg. My ChefAlarms from ThermoWorks have an accuracy of:

±1.8°F (±1.0°C) from -4 to 248°F (-20 to 120°C)
±3.6°F (±2.0°C) from -58 to -4°F / 248 to 392°F (-50 to -20°C / 120 to 200°C)
±5.4°F (±3.0°C) from 392 to 572°F (200 to 300°C)

I have no idea the accuracy of the PartyQ probes, but I have a spare probe on hand in case I ever need to check if my primary has failed.

[fzxdoc]

fzxdoc I decided to run a little experiment given your comment about possible ash blowing concerns with the fan being so close to the coals on the PBC...

Daniel, dpsphotos thank you so much for doing this experiment. It helps to alleviate that concern. I'm not certain whether I'm ready to add an Auber or Party Q to my PBC, but it's always a temptation hanging out there in the "what BBQ toy can I buy next" part of my brain. For sure if I did the high-volume long cooks like Jerod Broussard does with his 5-7 brisket loads, I'd get one in a heartbeat.

Keep us posted as you research this further and/or have other findings to report on the Party Q/PBS combo.

fzxdocI am surprised the probes can be nearly 20-degrees off but only 4-6 inches apart in the pit. Makes me wonder how scientific we really are when running a single pit temp probe and thinking we've pegged the temp where we want it.

Daniel, it's exactly for that reason that I have, for the past year or more, hung two smoker probes in the PBC, both a few inches away from the meat at the mid level of the hanging meat, but on either side of the meat. I label them "vent side" and "house side" in my log, since I always position the PBC so that the vent is away from the side of the house.

I have an Imation whose one probe has gone wonky, so I use its single remaining probe and the smoker probe from my Maverick to monitor the temps. Almost always I find a 20 to 40 degree difference in the readings to start with, then the readings come together after a few hours, and then they begin to diverge again. It's all about what part of the basket is doing the work at any one point in time. Certainly whenever a probe is hanging directly over a really hot nest of coals it will read higher than the other one that is over a cooler part of the basket.

Anyway, whenever I report my Ave PBC Temp for any cook, it is the average of the readings from both probes.

I find having two smoker probes chills me out--I don't feel the need to fiddle too much with the fire because the average is usually right in the PBC's sweet spot, temperaturewise.

Kathryn

[CeramicChef]

dpsphotos - first thing out of the box I check the accuracy of all my thermometers and temp probes using the boiling water test. I don't want any surprises. I also recheck my probes about twice a year to insure integrity. Electronic probes can become quite fickle if they aren't treated with TLC.

I only use the boiling water test as I've never cooked anything near the freezing point of water!

I've found 2 defective probes this way that saved a lot of grief! Better safe than sorry.

Here's to great cooks and even better memories with family and friends!