BBQ Guru Pit Viper fan to PK360 tutorial

[Larry Grover]

This guide will show you how I installed a BBQ guru Pit Viper fan to the PK360. Credit & thanks to PolarBear777 for the help. First here is a picture of the whole setup in action:



You have to have a fan controller and a fan. I use the Fireboard controller with 'drive fan control cable' (sold separately on Fireboards website.)

The fan is a Pit Viper from BBQ Guru. They also sell fan controllers that work fine as well (per other users input.) Here are the parts shown:



MOUNTING THE FAN:

The PK360 comes with two intake tubes. During cooks one will be set in the closed position and the other needs to be sealed on both sides with the fan mounted to it.

In addition to the fan you'll need a 'Weber Attachment' from BBQ Guru. It's just a small round stainless steel piece that mounts onto the Pit Viper leg.

You also need a 1.5" x 1.25" coupler, found in Home Depot plumbing. This fits nicely over the intake's rubber handle. It's a tight fit but with a little effort you can slide it right on. The coupler comes with two clamps but I removed one due to the fit being so snug.

From left to right: Intake tube with attached coupler / Weber attachment / PV fan.



Now mount the Weber attachment on the fan leg then clamp the coupler onto the Weber Attachment. Do not clamp all the way to the fans base, the leg needs to be exposed for cooling purposes.



SEALING THE REAR:

With the front completed now you have to seal the back of the intake tube. Also from Home Depot I picked up a 1.5" Oatey Gripper, when you turn the wingnut the rubber expands and seals the inside of pipes.


The only problem was that the face plate and wingnut were too big so I replaced them with a 1.5" x 5/8" Fender washer and smallest wingnut I could find.




Home Depot had indentically sized Fender washers from two different brands. The outside diameter on one was just shy and this one barely fit. I recommend you take the intake tube to the store to ensure sizing. They have a million washers so you can find something that works.

They had a 3/4" Flat washer that was a perfect fit but the donut hole was bigger and it was thicker. If it's too thick you'll run into problems screwing the intake tube to the base of the PK.

You might find an all-in-one solution online if you search "mechanical pipe sealers" but everything has to be perfect so I'd rather buy in store.

You want to tighten the wingnut so the arms are facing west to east with the intake holes up.


Slide it in & out that way too or the wingnut will bump or prevent you from turning the tube.



PolarBear777 suggested the following which i think is a great idea. During long cooks eventually ash will start blocking intake blowers. To keep air flowing run the fan on the opposite side of the coals, not underneath them.

In this setup coals are on the right with the fan mounted to the left intake. Lay some heavy duty foil on the charcoal grate and push it down the edges so the air has nowhere to go but to the right towards the coals.



Upper Vent Settings: Right vent closed. Left vent 1/2 open for 325 and 1/3 open for 225. If it's too open the fire doesn't settle down quickly and if it's too closed you get a smoky/ashy burn.

This has been long so I'll post more stuff such as test results etc in a separate post.

[Larry Grover]

And as a 2nd option here are links to PolarBears setup and results. His is more of a press-fit solution while mine is more of a mounted one.

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/grills-and-smokers/charcoal/448991-need-advice-to-keep-temps-going-longer-pk360?p=449159#post449159

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/grills-and-smokers/charcoal/448991-need-advice-to-keep-temps-going-longer-pk360?p=449382#post449382

His Fireboard tests:

​​​​​​https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...192#post452192

Just an FYI his "charcoal load" is bigger than a chimney because he made a large custom charcoal basket for long cooks.

[Larry Grover]

And here is my first test with the Fireboard & fan, it was a replicated turkey cook with a target of 325 degrees. I put a full chimney of KB (100 bricks) in the PK then lit a lighter cube in the corner and closed the lid. I ran it for almost 20 minutes before realizing I had both intakes closed, but no problem the fan kicked in at 100% and brought it back to life.

It ran a solid 325 for 5 hours before crapping out - totally untouched, no lid lifting or shaking of ashes. The Fireboard came with 3 probes, so I placed one on the far left of the cooking area, one middle and one far right near the border of the charcoal. I also put 1-2 inches of water in a pan on the charcoal grate (under the meat zone.)

[Bumby]

What thermometer do you use to give you this precision measurement during and after the fact?

[Larry Grover]

I used the thermal air temp probe which comes with a Fireboard.

[Larry Grover]

@Bumpy That chart had 3 temp measurements. On the left and right I used the included meat probes mounted in a wad of foil. The middle was the air probe.

The charts came from the Fireboard app which you can view live & it saves all the data when done. Its runs wireless off my router so I get on my cell to check progress, and you can set up custom alarms if temps get too high or low.

[Larry Grover]

L&S Pork Butt still going strong into the wee hours of the night...



And finally "Old sad eyes" DOG gets to eat some HOG:

[Mr. Bones]

Great lookin hog, super-cute doggy!

[Larry Grover]

Thanks man, he said "This don't taste like chicken?!"

[Bumby]

I always love how dogs sit and act like perfect angels when there is smoked meat involved. Great cook!

[Larry Grover]

The Oatey Gripper was pretty tough to find in Home Depot so I'll include the links to the main hardware. If you enter your location on the Home Depot website it will tell you what aisle and section to find these items in your local store.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Fernco-1...-125/100044154

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Oatey-1-...3400/100342630

BBQ GURU HARDWARE:

https://bbqguru.com/storenav?Categor...mp;ProductId=6

https://bbqguru.com/storenav?Categor...p;ProductId=44

Also, I had no regrets purchasing this probe organizer from Fireboard:

https://www.fireboard.com/shop/probe-organizer/

[Danjohnston949]

(larry) Grover, I Think You Have The Temps and the Pit Viper Fan Figured Out‼️ Let Me Know When You
Get Your S--r Bird Mutt Figured Out‼️
From a Backyard Cremator I'm Fargo ND, Dan

[Danjohnston949]

(larry) Grover, Mr. Bones, Belle (Black) is Going on 13 Years Old‼️ We Don't Know Exactly, We Rescued Her and She Had Been With Two Previous Owners❓ Lena (Blonde) Will be 10 Years Old in July❗️ They Run the Household‼️
🤗😇🤗 , Dan

[Larry Grover]

I love the tongue sticking out. My Lab in the pic is a rescue too - guessing about 11 years old now. Still in great shape, still loves to retrieve and eat!!! He runs the house too

[Bumby]

Love the picture, Dan! Those look like a couple of dogs who enjoy their smoked meat!

[Spinaker]

Awesome writeup! I want to get one of these really bad. They are so cool.

Thank you for taking the time to put this together.

[Larry Grover]

Not a problem buddy, happy grillin!

[Troutman]

Very cool Larry, that was an awesome write up. Just did the same thing to my WSMs. Looking forward to an inaugural cook this weekend.

[HawkerXP]

Thanks for the tutorial! We also had a black lab, from a rescue league. Still missing her Danjohnston949

[Larry Grover]

Just got these cast iron grill humidifiers in today, figured they can act as a wall to keep the charcoal separated and use for moisture if needed. They came in a pack of 2 from Amazon for $20 and made by Charcoal Companion. I stacked them one on top of the other and it fits just under the grill grate but unfortunately not long enough. I think I'll push it over to the right where the grooves on the PK wall are, because they will keep the charcoal from falling into the gaps.

Shown in the image is 80 Weber charcoal briq's which is close to two chimney's. After moving the humidifiers over & adding wood chunks I figure I can get about 1.5 (KB chimney's in there. Everything shown fits under the grill grate so I can also remove the side grate & stack higher.

I wouldn't use this configuration for searing because your not supposed to place charcoal next to the cast aluminum (PK melting point 1070F). However, I think it's safe for L&S because all the data I've seen shows briquet's burn from 500-1100F but they tend to measure in the middle of the hot fire with bordering charcoals also putting out radiant heat. Someone stuck a probe in the middle of a hot chimney and that registered 1800F. Aluminum has an oxide layer which is what protects it from corrosion and has a melting point of 3762F - so that along with the thick aluminum reflecting & dissapating heat I think it's safe for L&S. I'll be the guinea pig on this.

[Polarbear777]

Thanks for writing this up. I had mentioned the good fit of the guru adapter almost a year ago to both pk and the guru folks, neither was responsive. I didn’t think there was enough interest so I didn’t get around to writing it up. I’m glad you did.

[Larry Grover]

I didn't think I'd like the fan because too many wires and stuff make me crazy. However, the time it saves from constantly having to go out and check temp or fiddle with vents is well worth it.

[Polarbear777]

Another old thread.

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/grills-and-smokers/charcoal/288652-pk360/page2

[Polarbear777]

<— probe locations.

Calibration pics. Note that 475 is kind of hard on the probes I used

[Larry Grover]

Lordy, 20 hours on one load? How much charcoal does that custom basket hold? Also, you just light up a cube on top of coals? I thought the method was to stack a handful of coals on top of it?

[Polarbear777]

It holds a tad more than one chimney. I just put a Weber cube in the corner. Fan gets it going for 225. For 325 I drop a lit chimney in to get going faster.

[Larry Grover]

Edited, duplicate post.

[Polarbear777]

Are they heavy enough to not walk around?

Seems like a good solution for LnS.

The pk folks keep telling me they have a new basket design in the works, so I’m interested to see what they do. Their standard basket is nice for two-zone grilling, but only 2” tall so you can’t pile them up.

[Larry Grover]

The config shown weighs 5.75 pounds so I'm not worried about them moving. You could put sand in them if you were really concerned.

When I had the humidifiers placed more to the right (where the grooves are on the PK wall) the large Weber coals were locked in and couldn't fall into the gaps so that's gonna be the way to go.

The fit under the grate is super tight, just a hair of clearance.

[Polarbear777]

I can fit a full lit chimney in my SS basket. So I sear all the time.
It really isn’t hard to make since you can buy 4” width steel strips (the height from the coal grate to the cooking grate) from McMaster-Carr.com.

It runs about $50 in parts, but I’m sure if SnS or pk thought there was a market it could be manufactured cheaper and more form-fitting.

I was thinking of making a 2 piece basket with rails so you could select the width you want for what you are cooking, but that went beyond simple hand tools.

[Polarbear777]

I’d actually go wider to about half way across for two zone grilling and narrow it up for smoking.

[au4stree]

Polarbear777 What thickness do you recommend? I'm on McMaster Carr's website

[Polarbear777]

I used 306 steel 0.06” 4” wide. Plenty thick enough. I made a second basket one step thinner (.048” I think). to go halfway across the width of the grill. ( can see that one in my max temp tests.). Getting it bent to match the curve is the tedious part.
I used stainless bolts, washers and nuts with serrations under the heads just because I saw them on McMaster. So far my original basket has gone 2 years of weekly use and still working like a champ.

[Larry Grover]

Regarding if coals can damage the PK's aluminum surface, here are the only links I could find that discussed this topic. I called Kingsford and they told me a single briquet burns at an avg temp of 500-700F which I find a bit low so I dunno. And PK's customer service told me they haven't had a heat damaged unit come across their desk yet.

http://www.genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/srameasurements.html

https://etd.auburn.edu/bitstream/handle/10415/5013/FINAL%20THESIS%20DOCUMENT.pdf;sequence=2

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-charcoal-for-grilling/