Using Thermoworks Billows and Signals with PBC

[dpearce]

Afternoon all,

So I've had a PBC for about 6-7 years now. Cooking with it out of the box was always decent, never anything that wasn't good to eat, but I decided to try cooking lower and slower than the default air intake hinge was allowing for. I've run into some cuts that, in my opinion could've been better if rendered more slowly.

Rather than try to rig something, I've added a Billows fan, coupled with my Signals unit (and the intake flange from Thermoworks, originally for the Big Green Egg) to try and run about 225-235 degrees.

Trouble is, the heat tends to get higher and stay higher than I'd like. I was really hoping to keep a consistent, lower temp over the whole cook. I've tried plugging up the gaps around the bars with tin foil, lighting only a very few briquettes and starting slow.

The flange is sealed well with high heat tape (several overlapping layers), and has no air leaks that I can detect. So I'm pretty sure that's not part of the problem.

Am I barking up the wrong tree in trying to get the PBC to run that low and slow, or am I missing something? I usually set the fan temp on the Signals to 220, hoping that it will moderate the air flow for a long cook...

Love to hear what others with a similar setup have done.

Apologies if this has been discussed before... couldn't find anything in the forum about it...

Thanks!
--dave

[KuKuPuffs]

i have the opposite problem. I'm at sea level so my PBC will snuff itself out if I leave it alone, it cooks too low, so I had to put in thermostatic controls (pit viper fan + fireboard) to keep my temps up. I know that wasn't helpful but I think if anything, you might not be able to run it low based on your sea level.

[dpearce]

We're about 700-800 feet above sea level here in Central Ohio, which is pretty much the lowest setting on the default flange. My barrel always ran about 315-335 and that was one reason I started looking for some heat management solutions.

[BFlynn]

Mine runs just fine, in Houston. My house is at 56 ft above sea level.
And 2 feet higher than the 500 year flood plain.

I put the pit viper fan attachment on mine as well, but rarely use it.
If you take the fan out, the area of the hole in the adapter is almost exactly the area, of the PBC opening, with the slider set for sea level

[JHB]

I've found it necessary to add a Billows Damper https://www.thermoworks.com/tx-1609x-bd/ to control the temperature. It lets you control/throttle the airflow when the fan isn't running.

Without the Damper, Billows runs a good bit above 225 for me, but with the Damper open 5 ticks, it sticks at 225. (For higher temperatures, open the Damper more.)

[UncleSpike]

This guy nailed it. I had the same issue on a 22" kettle. That damper works great for this!

[gatorjj]

I start with a lot fewer coals (maybe 10-12) in the chimney plus the wood I'm using for flavor, and make a little pocket in the charcoal basket by the fan to dump it into. It results in less fuel burning and more of the fan doing it's thing. I do the chimney for 18-20 minutes so the coals are nice and ashy and the wood chunks are well lit. Works great and settles in nicely at temp for the duration.

I tend to cook at 250, but I think the same approach for 225 would work just as well. If I'm wrapping something like a butt or brisket I turn it down to 225 after wrapping and it will eventually settle down there as well.

[BFlynn]

I went down this path, when I got the PBC.

You CAN get it to run cooler.

I have a pit viper fan and Fireboard control.
For lower heat restrict your air intake. I think I had to cut the pit viper down to like 1/3 of its full intake. (It's been a few years since I did this- so my memory may not be 100% accurate)


Also, use half the amount of charcoal, in your chimney, to get started.


Personally, Ive found this endeavor to be more trouble than it's worth. I'm pretty happy running the PBC at normal settings.
But it's also a good excuse to add a SnS kettle to the collection.

[dpearce]

Thanks everyone! I used to use a half load in the chimney starter for a long time, but lately I've been using nothing more than a wax starter in the middle of the basket of coals. So starting really, really, slow, keeping the lid off until it get some ash on a few lumps of charcoal, then adding the wood (for smoke), loading up the meats, and closing up the PBC.

I've ordered the damper for the Billows, I'll try that on the next cook and see how it goes. Appreciate all the helpful comments.

And honestly, I'm not against buying more smokers, I envision a yard something like Steven Raichlen's backdrop on his series with about 20 different cookers in the shot. But I really do want to get the most out of the PBC before the addiction gets out of control (heh!), and yes BFlynn thanks for giving me something else to read about.

[dpearce]

I've found it necessary to add a Billows Damper https://www.thermoworks.com/tx-1609x-bd/ to control the temperature. It lets you control/throttle the airflow when the fan isn't running.

Without the Damper, Billows runs a good bit above 225 for me, but with the Damper open 5 ticks, it sticks at 225. (For higher temperatures, open the Damper more.)

Got my damper last week. Tried it out with your setting of five clicks, and had the barrel running at an even 225-228 for 10 hours on a pork shoulder last Sunday!

thanks for that tip, it worked exactly like I wanted!

[jecucolo]

Did you put a gasket on the lid? After I did that there were times it would drop below 200. The bellow damper may work but I think you have a leak in the lid.
I don’t use a fan or controller on my PBC .

[dpearce]

I did not install a gasket, but could try it out. So far, I've done a few cooks with the damper installed on the billows fan, and I've pretty much been able to hit the target temperature I set fairly consistently.

Thanks for all the tips!