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Fireboard Thermometer/Fan Control with Pit Barrel Cooker
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Which side is best for the control probe? Is there a preferred max fan setting?
First use with the Fireboard and Pit Viper and I'm quite pleased so far. But I did find the temps would swing 30 degrees every so often. Regardless, I was able to keep it around 225 for 7 hours and 325 for 5 hours on a 35 degree day.
When I first purchased the PBC temperatures were running away from me quite a bit. I sealed the lid with Lavalock and I wonder if it was a little too sealed. Now its been difficult to keep tenps up without the occasional lid cracking or removing one rebar. The fan helps - but I'm wondering if I need more airflow?
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Founding Member & Pit Barrel Cooker Queen
- Jul 2014
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My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron GriddleGrill Grate for SnSGrill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:Extreme BBQ Thermometer PackagePit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:Thermapen MK4 (pink)Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
Originally posted by gpalton View PostWhich side is best for the control probe? Is there a preferred max fan setting?
First use with the Fireboard and Pit Viper and I'm quite pleased so far. But I did find the temps would swing 30 degrees every so often. Regardless, I was able to keep it around 225 for 7 hours and 325 for 5 hours on a 35 degree day.
I always put the control probe in the front, above the vent area, 2" away from the wall of the barrel. I do that for consistency.
I put a second ambient probe on the opposite side of the barrel, also 2" away from the wall.
Checking back on several Fireboard Drive/Pit Viper-controlled cooks, I see that in a few of them, both probes tracked pretty well, agreeing within 5 to 10 degrees. In the rest of them one or the other probe was higher, 20 to 30 degrees or so, often switching leads during a long cook.
This is the exact same behavior I see when running the PBC without temperature modulation. That is, in its wild state, the temp differences between the two probes behaved similarly to the Fireboard/Pit Viper controlled cooks.
Originally posted by gpalton View PostWhen I first purchased the PBC temperatures were running away from me quite a bit. I sealed the lid with Lavalock and I wonder if it was a little too sealed. Now its been difficult to keep tenps up without the occasional lid cracking or removing one rebar. The fan helps - but I'm wondering if I need more airflow?
If you're still seeing falling temps with the fan in place, you may need to adjust the fan speed. I've not had that problem, so hopefully others who have experienced falling PBC temps with the Fireboard/Pit Viper in place can jump in here and comment.
Kathryn
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Thank you!
I found the falling temperatures were an issue before adding the Pit Viper, even when I would get the temperature up to around 370 initially using the 15-10-10 method.
With the fan, it would kick in and the temperature would rise around 30 degrees. Then once it shuts off the temperature would fall and the process repeated itself. It was a little more stable when I turned down max fan speed to 40%.
The following day I ran it on a 325 degree cook. Temperature swings were about 20 degrees and it required the fan to be at full speed.
On each day it was about 35 degrees outside. Despite using the 15-10-10 method, the temperature only reached 335 at the onset.
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fzxdoc It’s been a while since this thread was active but just set up my viper plus fireboard drive for a pork shoulder and chicken tomorrow. I’ve seen references to folks saying they light the PBC differently when using the fan (less time to let the fan bring the smoker up to temp), but the Fireboard website says "We recommend getting your pit to the desired temperature and then maintaining it with the blower."
any lighting tips?
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