Flame Boss 200 - First cook

TexasCurt

I just got the Flame Boss 200 set up, and man am I impressed!  Super easy setup.  Great phone interface.  Love the graphing feature.  

I am cooking chicken breasts and drumsticks for tonight's dinner, then later tonight will put on an 11 lb pork butt for tomorrow's lunch.  I started the Egg at 4:30 pm and my plan is just to let it run at 225 until noon tomorrow.  I figure that will be a good test of its abilities.  

Will post as the cook progresses.  

jaydub58

Oh, yeah, will sure be looking forward to seeing how that comes out. 

Durangler

Looking forward to the progress.
Thanks for posting. 

TexasCurt

I'm pretty frustrated.  I've had problems with the fire going out in the past when doing low n' slow... but I was trying to maintain 225-250 by manually controlling the vents.  

Tonight I cooked a bunch of chicken at 225 for 2 hours and had no problems.  Then I put on a 11-lb pork butt and it was good for about 30 minutes before the temp started dropping.  It was 9:00pm and I was watching TV and monitoring the temps every now and then from my phone.  It went all the way down to 200 before I started to panic.  I went outside, opened the lid, and the lump was DEAD.  I removed the butt, grid, and plate setter, added a little lump, and relit.  After temps were stable I put the butt back on and resumed my seat on the couch and monitored the temp every once in a while.  One time it dropped to 203, but recovered and stayed nearly dead-on 225 for a long time so I thought I was good.
  
I fell asleep on the couch, woke up at 1:00am and checked the app.  Temp was at 200 degrees and falling!   I went outside and stuffed a small wad of oil-soaked paper towel into the lump and lit it, and opened the top and bottom vents so it would get going.  By this point it had gotten down to 178.  It started going back up, then kind of stalled out around 187.  I just now raised the temp to 250 thinking that it might have an easier time holding that.... so we will see!

I keep reading about people cooking at VERY low temps with no problem with Flame Boss and DigiQ... so I don't know what the heck is going on.  225 should NOT be an issue, right?!??

A few more details:  XL egg, Royal Oak lump, I vacuumed out all the ash and debris before lighting, I mixed about 6 chunks of hickory into the lump.  

Your help is greatly appreciated.  

TexasCurt

It's been rock solid at 245 since 1:30am.   I don't get it! 

MichaelCollins

Hi Curt, this is an uncommon problem. I presume that you were not running out of fuel since if so you would know what caused the fire to go out. Using a very small top vent setting, Flame Boss blowers are designed to continue flowing a small amount of air even when the blower isn't running. This should be enough to keep your fire going for a few hours even if the power goes out.

You may need to open your top vent a very little more. I shutter to say this because I am almost always advising users to close the top vent more, even completely closed for those with a leaky egg. Please let us know if you continue to have trouble.

Durangler

Something is amiss, to be sure. 2 hours with chicken at 225 then a few hours later the fire is out? That XL should run 30 - 36 hours on a FULL load of fuel at 250. By full, I mean half way up the fire ring, just below the platesetter. Don't skimp on the lump if planning a long cook. You shouldn't have to add fuel after 3 hours, running an XL for a 11# butt.

You ran the temp up to 250 & things got better. That's a good thing. The butt will cook just fine at that temp. No different than at 225, other than a negligent-able amount of time.   Good luck the rest of the way! 

TexasCurt

Thanks for the response @MichaelCollins.  I had the daisy wheel open just a hair originally, but since the fire went out I opened it a little more and it's been stable.  Everything I've read said that it should work fine even with the vents completely closed.   

@Durangler I had the KAB full (although not to the bottom of the plate setter).  I just added more since I already had everything opened up and it seemed like a good chance to do so. 

I'm happy that it has been stable at 245 but I'd like to be confident that I can set it at 225 (or 200!) and go to sleep without worry.  

dstearn

Is there a damper on the fan that you can adjust? The Pit Viper Fan for my Cyberq has a damper on the fan that I can set to insure that the airflow low temps like 225. After you restarted the lump, how long did you let it got before shutting the dome and reattaching the fan? You may have overshot your target temp by letting it get to hot. Once I light my starter cube, I only let it go for 4-5 minutes. I let the CyberQ ramp up the temp slowly to my target.

MichaelCollins

I encourage you to try lower temperatures again with your current top vent opening. You shouldn't have any trouble cooking at 200-225˚. We are working on the new feature that you requested by email. We will add it to your Flame Boss 200 with an online update when it is ready to release.

Durangler

@TexasCurt  I can understand your frustration. Get past this cook & keep experimenting with airflow & temperatures. You'll be the winner!!  

Jeepster47

When the temp dropped and you checked on it, was the blower functioning?  It's super quiet, so you had to really listen closely - or removed the blower and check the airflow that way.  If the blower was working, then the Flame Boss registered the low temp and was doing it's best to keep the fire going ... in that case, the problem was most likely with the egg/lump set up.

Your first picture shows a good set up for the probes with the pit probe and lead protected by the plate setter.  No problems there.

Since you have had trouble with the fire going out when controlling manually, that also suggests a physical problem rather than an electronic one.    The XL breaths quite well with the standard fire grate, so no worries there if you've left it in under the KAB.  Royal Oak burns well, so brand isn't a problem ... if it was damp, two hours at 225 degrees surely dried it out.

Where I would focus is on the volume of lump and smoke wood.  You stated that you "filled" the KAB.  If you filled to the top ring of the KAB, than that's really too little lump for a long low-n-slow.  Mixing in six chunks of smoke wood further diluted the amount of lump and made it harder for the lump to keep burning.  Please consider filling the egg with lump up to at least the middle of the fire ring and cutting down the amount of smoke wood to three or four widely spaced pieces.

PS ... please consider an empty drip pan spaced above the plate setter to catch the drippings so they won't burn and impart a bad smoke to the mix.

tjv

when having problems with controllers, here is my checklist with the controller:

- see if fan turns on/off when adjusting pit temp up and down. 

- check bottom for proper installation and if applicable damping on the air flow.  usual problem, too much air and temp to high.

- check to make sure the pit probe is attached securely to the grid.  can't slip off with slight movement.  the pit probe clips (guru) can be too small to hold onto the cooking grid wire securely.  

- try a new probe.  I always keep a spare, you'll eventually need them.

- make sure probe connection(s) are secure in controller,  with guru they need a little extra push.

The XL's lump grate is wide, almost 18", so you'll get burn travel during the cook.  Important to have plenty of lump to minimize travel problems.

after the cook, you might drop a hand full of wood chips on the fire and get it  smoking real good.  close the top vent, turn on the controller to force air and see where your leaks are and how bad.  It's just a check step so you are more informed on how the cooker is working.  

t
 

TexasCurt

Still super steady!  15 hours in now, and 11 hours since the last problem

LKNEgg

Flowing along!  Im interested in one of these controllers, but havent decided on type yet.
Glad to see Temps have stabilized.  Sounds like @Jeepster47 is on to something with the lack of fuel and being further displaced by smoke wood.  Good luck to the finish!

Durangler

Just a thought @TexasCurt  If you find time, run a test.
Fill'er up. Fire'er up. Run'er up to 225 for an hour or so. Then run'er up to 275 for a couple hours. Then slow'er down to 220 to get an idea of how the rig runs at various temps with your controller controlling. 

bettysnephew

@TexasCurt   Just out of curiosity, are you using the cast iron charcoal plate? On my XL I had fires going out at times also. I then followed someone's advice on this forum and bought a Weber charcoal grate and used it in place if the cast iron one with the holes. My fires stayed lit after that change. I know there should be plenty of air coming through those holes but this helped mine out.

TexasCurt

@bettysnephew  no I am using the Kick Ash Basket w/o the iron under it 

Gamecockeggman

Where did you get the device and how much did it cost if you don't mind me asking?

Gamecockeggman

Do you have to pay extra for the app or does it come with it?

TexasCurt

@Gamecockeggman

https://www.flameboss.com/store/p/34-Flame-Boss-200-WiFi-Kamado-Smoker-Controller-Fits-Big-Green-Egg.aspx

There isn't an app....the Flame Boss connects to your wifi and logs to a web page that you access.  You create a login where you can adjust the temp and set alarms.  

Gamecockeggman

Thx for the info!

sctdg

Texascurt ;This may sound stupid but I have to ask,do you have (and I can't remember the exact name) the bowl that holds the charcoal installed correctly .What I mean is that the bottom has to be positioned on an angle to line up with your bottom vent .From what I've heard it is a common mistake for it to be facing straight forward and not aligned with the vent and restricting air flow. Just a thought .Also I spoke to Flameboss the other day(Nice guy) and he said that top vent should only be opened the thickness of a dime,that is like almost closed .I do that with my Auber control and it works fine ,Auber uses same capacity blower motor as Flameboss .Air or bad charcoal are the only two reasons you will loose fire .

MelSharples

It's all about hitting the sweat spot on the top damper. Too much of an opening and you'll run hot, too little and your fire will snuff out.  Once you find the right opening your temp will hold as long as the fuel. 

MelSharples

FWIW, I have the FB200 as well and had a similar issue the first time I cooked with it, only I had the damper opened too much and ran hot.

Griffin

Sorry to hear that you are having problems. I hope with all the advice you've gotten that you get it worked out. I've never had problems with mine and I've held 150 for hours while smoking sausages. Best of luck.

TexasCurt

Gonna try this again tonight, with a brisket.   I double checked the alignment of my bottom ring to the vent and it was good.  Here's how I have the lump filled:




Lump is Vision Grills Natural Mesquite Lump from Sam's Club.  Lots of huge chunks.  

Jeepster47

Good spread on the smoke wood.  That distribution will allow for better lump burning.  It looks like you've filled with lump almost to the top of the firebox ... it needs to be filled another four inches for an overnight cook. 

TexasCurt

So it should pretty much touch the bottom of the plate setter?

Jeepster47

Yes ... the extra lump will help with keeping the fire going.

You'll have lump left over, but it's reusable.  Lump is like altitude for a pilot ... better to have too much than too little.

Good luck ... don't forget to post the results in the morning.

sctdg

I wouldn't fill chacoal so it is up against bottom of plate setter but you can go half way up the fire ring .You want charcoal so it is flowing over top of Kickash but try not to butt it right up on platesetter .