Just had a great PBX cook

[Lynn Dollar]

Been trying to run a Thermoworks Billows on the PBX. My last couple of cooks have been more like stickburner cooks, I've had to constantly adjust the Billow, the exhaust, etc.

But today, I hit the jackpot.

Last cook, I figured out that the exhaust was the problem. I was able to get control of the cooking temp by cramming aluminum foil around a couple of the rods. Well, today, I started with only two rods. I built the fire over to one side. And I cooked with two rods instead of three. I covered the empty holes with magnets.

This did the trick. I was able to run the PBX at a steady 325*, just by adjusting the damper on the Billows. I was very pleased.

The Billows is a 40 cfm fan. It has to be cut back to 1/4 open, so that its more like a 10 cfm fan. And the exhaust has to be balanced to the air intake.

It got a little wonky at the end of the cook, but that was due to pulling the each of the four chicken halves , one at a time. Thermoworks RFX probes told me the IT on the halves. But the cooker recovered quickly, from every time opened it up.

[HawkerXP]

PBX, PBX, PBX!

[RonB]

I'm glad ya got it worked out.

[Lynn Dollar]

I'm thinking, ( I know that can be dangerous, but hey ) That if I wanted to use all three of the rods, I could use the same foil tape I used to seal in the Billows adapter. And I could alternate rods, close off the end of one rod, then close the opposite end of another rod, so that the air flow stays balanced and its not all one sided.

It would probably work much better than aluminum foil.

Or I could just use the cooking grate instead of hangers.

I've been cooking on a WSM since 2002. And temp was controlled with air intake at the bottom vents. Closing a top vent was a sin, to even talk about it was blasphemy. But that's what Thermoworks recommends when using Billows on the WSM, they say the fan creates enough air flow, or something to that effect.

[WI Bubba]

You have to love it when you get something figured out.

[fzxdoc]

That chicken should pat you on the back for creating a perfect cook for it. It's always fun to have an aha moment. You did well.

Kathryn

[dpearce]

That's exactly what I found with the PBC and a Billows, the exhaust being the factor. I played around with less briquettes as well, and that seemed to help, although I did have to refuel a little during a loooong cook.

7 clicks open on the damper for the billows was the sweet spot for me, but that's a PBC, not a PBX. It was nice to be able to run the PBC lower and slower than it normally would with the default damper, but since I now have a weber kettle, and I can control the heat a little better, I returned the PBC to the default damper.