Flame Boss 200 HELP....

corey24

Just got in my new flame boss today and I've hooked it up for a test run. No meat just to get used to temp and controls. Set pit at 225, it's been running about an hour now and it's at 270 and hasn't stopped climbing. What gives? I thought it would cool down or heat up if needed. 

I'm doing an all night brisket for Christmas eve. That's why I bought the controller. Can't be cooking at these high temps. 

Ozzie_Isaac

Is the fan still running?

All pit controllers can do is add air.  You need to make sure your exhaust is almost completely closed.  You want the FB to have to run with ~30% duty cycle.

If you have air gaps in the inlet, gasket, or the exhaust to far open you will have over shoot.

corey24

Exhaust?

I don't have gasket leak. Fan runs on and off. Pulsing guess you would say. Seems like it would not run at ask if temp has over shot 

Ozzie_Isaac

Process I use:

1.  Fill up lump.
2.  Light lump in one area.
3.  Put fan on inlet and close top.
4.  Almost completely close top vent.  On a smokeware cap I have less than about 1/2 credit card width.
5.  Set temp to 30 degrees below target.  After temp settles bump up to final temp.

I prep my meat between steps 4 and 5.

By that time my smoke has cleared and I am sure everything is under control.  I have left my exhaust open 1/2" before and my temp overshot by 80degrees.  Closed the exhaust and it eventually settled.

corey24

I have daisy open as  least add possible. 

What do you mean by exhaust? 

stlcharcoal

Temp controllers have a tough time keeping the temp down on a something as efficient as the BGE.

Best way to combat this is to set it up the exact same way as you would WITHOUT a temp controller.  Your ideal scenario is that it never kicks on once.

If you fire up the egg and put the controller on it right away, the fan is going to be running non-stop trying to get the pit up to 225F.  The ceramic is cool and acts as a huge heat sink.  You have a ripping fireball in the firebox and when the ceramic hits 225 that fireball keeps going on very little air.  Best thing to do it let it stabilize first before turning on the controller, OR set it 170F, then bump to 190F, 210F, etc.

Ozzie_Isaac

corey24 said:

Exhaust?

I don't have gasket leak. Fan runs on and off. Pulsing guess you would say. Seems like it would not run at ask if temp has over shot 

The top vent.  Daisy wheel.

Fan should have to run at about 30% to keep the temp.  If fan stops you want the fire to die down and temps drop.  That is a slow process.

Ozzie_Isaac

PM sent

corey24

Down to 247 now. Seems to be on fall. Maybe it's learning my cooker. 

Is it capable of keeping egg at 225. Best I can do manually is 235-240

Ozzie_Isaac

Yup, 225 is no problem.  Key is not to overshoot on initial fire up.  Lowest I have personally tried is 210 on my XL.  No problems.

My medium I have never tried below 235.

Make sure your daisy wheel is almost totally shut.

corey24

Just talked to Ozzie _Issac and he helped me out a lot. Super nice guy. So great to have guys like this on the forum. 

Thanks again brother!!!

Ozzie_Isaac

Anytime!  Glad I could help.

babalabashabalaba

I updated firmware when I got mine. Could be a possibility

corey24

Update: back down to 225. Fan starting to kick in again. Let's see if it holds!

corey24

Update: back To 235. Doesn't seem to take much fan to raise temp. 

Not sure how close this will keep you to set temp? 5-10 degrees?

Ozzie_Isaac

Try your set temp at 215 and see what happens.  Also try closing your daisy wheel completely.

It holds my temps within +/- 3 degrees without much issue, but don't get hung up on that.  If I'm within 15 degrees I don't really worry.

Can you post a pic of your fan arraingment?  I push the fan adapter as far left as I can and pull my lower screen and door over the adapter.  This seals everything well.

Jeepster47

My experience has been slightly different than @stlcharcoal expresses.  I throw the FB200 on as the electric starter is removed from the lump.  In the graph below I let the size of the fire get too big, which caused the overshoot during the start-up.  As @Ozzie_Isaac suggested, you can set the temp controller 25 or 30 degrees below target temp at start-up help prevent over target start-ups.  The sharp dip at 4:00am was when the butt when on the grill.  Notice that the lid wasn't opened for the next 12.5 hrs.  I adjust the top vent (ugly daisy or Smokeware cap) within the range from slightly closed to slightly open ... it will be different for different eggs.

Electronic controllers (with one exception that I'm aware of) can only blow air into the egg to increase the temperature.  They CANNOT reduce the temperature.  The only thing that can cause the temperature to go down is the top vent.  The ideal setting for me has been to set the top vent such that it will cause the temperature to drop below target temp when the fan doesn't run.  Notice two things: 1) the pit temp (red curve) keeps bouncing along the bottom of the target temp line (blue) curve 2) the fan is running approximately 20 to 30% of the time.  This is the setting that works the best for me ... and, is achieved by playing with the top vent setting ... and, is different for my two eggs.


Hopefully Ozzie_Isaac has explained this over the phone and you have it figured out already.

stlcharcoal

Keep in mind, you don't have a huge hunk of meat in their sucking up the heat.  No evaporation from the moisture in the meat or the drip pan.  There's going to be more wild temp swings without that "buffer".

Also, where is the pit probe?  As the fire moves around the firebox, the probe could be exposed to direct heat or be far from the fire.  I always put it over the plate setter let, at least one inch from the meat and one inch from the dome.  The grate temp will never be equal to the dome temp either.

Don't get to into the temps......it's going to fluctuate under that dome a LOT more than what you are seeing.  It's a 3000 y/o design of cooker--doesn't matter how much computerized stuff you strap to it, it's not going to run like a convection oven or an autoclave.  If it's within 20-30F, that's fine for me--because it's only a representation of that one square inch under the dome.

Ozzie_Isaac

Also, do you have a felt gasket around your daisy wheel?  Some older eggs have no gaskets and get more air leaks.

Jeepster47

babalabashabalaba said:

I updated firmware when I got mine. Could be a possibility

@babalabashabalaba ... when you link to the Flameboss computer it checks your firmware and automatically brings it up to date.  So, if it's on and running, it's got the latest firmware installed.

Ozzie_Isaac

Jeepster47 said:

babalabashabalaba said:

I updated firmware when I got mine. Could be a possibility

@babalabashabalaba ... when you link to the Flameboss computer it checks your firmware and automatically brings it up to date.  So, if it's on and running, it's got the latest firmware installed.

If on and connected to wifi.  It can run just like a FB100 with no wifi.

Ozzie_Isaac

@corey24 any luck?

corey24

Yes. Just shut it off. Once it went back down to 225 the temp never exceeded 235 again. Mostly stayed around 230. I consider that a success. I also agree that a huge piece of meat will help stabilize things a bit.

Thanks guys for everything and when I do overnight brisket cook in a couple of days I will update you again. 

pgprescott

Keep in mind that even high end ovens fluctuate temps much more than that. No worries.