first time bbq guru , xl,

 
Hey benny, what temp do you plan on cooking that bad boy at?

What size fan do you have on the Digi?

Blair

 

 
Cool! I am not a brisket cooker yet but do similar cooks. I will assume that you are cooking indirect with the platesetter and a drip pan. I have a medium egg and a DigiQ II, all very similar. When I do a butt or baby back ribs I will fill the egg to the top of the fire ring with lump, mixing in my smoke wood as I go. I like smoke flavor so I am generous with the lumps of smoke wood and distribute it well in the lump. On a low temperature cook not all of it will be smoking at once, the fire just isn't that big.
When everything is ready to go I will light the egg with my MAPP torch in the center of the bed of lump only. Not at three, six and nine o'clock as some will. When I have the center lit I will place the platesetter right on top of it, it should not go out, and place my drip pan in place and then the food grid and close the egg. I will have the DigiQ all set up in advance and will have the pit target set to 220º and the damper on the fan open half way. On your XL you can have the damper all the way open. My DFMT (daisy wheel) I will have shut all the way. The egg is not air tight and there will be plenty of circulation with it set this way. You will see the smoke start pouring out of all the leaks, spaces and cracks and know that if smoke is coming out then air is getting in and all is well with the world. It will take this set up some time to get everything up to temperature, allow an hour so you can watch it and observe. Let the fan on the Digi do all the work and let it bring the temperature up to your target temperature in this case 220º. This way the egg will never over shoot your target and will be perfect when you are ready to cook.
There are several ways to set up your probes. I place the meat probe near the center of my victim away from any bones, and the pit probe clipped to the food grid an inch or so away from the meat. You can clip it to the top of the meat probe or to the bottom of your dome thermometer if you wish. Each may give a slightly different reading but many use either place.
With the Digi turned on you should be getting a good supply of smoke out of the egg and as I said it will take a bit of time for everything to heat up. When ready put your meat on and set your probes they way you wish them. The addition of all that cold meat to the egg is going to make your dome thermometer take a nose dive! DO NOTHING ABOUT IT!!! A major mistake is to start to chase temperatures all over kingdom come! Let the Digi and the egg do their jobs and all will be all right. Again just give everything time. It may be an hour or more before your dome gets back to temperature. I add my meat to the grill cold from the frig, I think it gives a better smoke ring and doesn't seem to add much to the final cook time.
I like to keep a close eye on everything, even when I use the Digi. Nothing is perfect and stuff does happen. This should have you in good shape. All that is needed now is to keep an eye on it now and then.

Good luck, I will be looking forward to your finished post.

Blair

 

I set the initial target temp 25 degrees or so below my actual temp when bring egg up to temp...this way less chance of over shooting my target temp when I open the egg to add wood chunks and meat.

I agree. Set it and forget it. The reason you have it is for it to control the temp. Light the egg, set it and leave it alone. Add your meat and leave it alone. Simple.