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PartyQ/NanoQ Opinions?

OLD NORTH STATE BBQ CO.
edited March 2012 in EggHead Forum
Team, I'm considering the PartyQ or the NanoQ.  Just wanted to hear some pros and cons of both from eggers who have used them. I'm a little concerned about the battery life on the PartyQ.  Will I get more then one low and slow cook from a set of batteries?  If not should I just spend the extra money for the NanoQ or something else?  What fan system should I get with the NanoQ (I have a Med BGE) Any other thoughts or opinions are welcomed and appreciated. 

 "Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great, Here's to "Down Home," the Old North State!"

Med & XL

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Comments

  • chad408
    chad408 Posts: 140
    I also have looked at the party que but can not find out how long the batteries would last. I like the party que because it does not have to be pluged in to anything. I am going to end up with one of the guru products. Might end up with the digi because it is the one with the nicer fan and meat and grill temperature on it. Will be interested in what every one has to say on this post.
  • xraypat23
    xraypat23 Posts: 421
    The party Q is nice, but gimmicky. Id go for the digi-q. Not a fan of hoping a set of batteries doesn't die. I believe you'd be fine with the small fan from guru, 5cfm.  Also look into the ique110. It's a heck of a lot cheaper and if you don't need pit temp ramping functions and meat probes, for $150 it's a steal
  • Smoker_Guru
    Smoker_Guru Posts: 372
    I have the Digi QII and love it!! Use it all the time.
  • waegger
    waegger Posts: 88
    I have the partyQ and i'am very happy with it. I can set it up in 3 min, no power cord to worry about. I have done 3 cooks with it a total of 20 hrs and battery is 45% full.I live in nw washington st so winter temps are not to extreme. hope this helps.
  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    edited March 2012
    The Party Q (I was told by BBQ Guru) should be able to get 40-50 hours of low and slow cooking on a single set of batteries.  Tee hee!  I will be checking this out and let you know.  The Party Q has a battery indicator, so you should know how much juice you have left and possibly decide to swap out the batteries before you start a 15 hour cook.

    Alkaline batteries don't perform well below freezing, as I recall, so for cold cold weather usage, you would want to use lithium batteries.

    You can use the 5 CFM blower on the medium easily.  You can use it on the large Egg easily.  The 10 CFM blower isn't that much more, so you might get it anyway in case you ever want more power later if you bought an XL, say.

    If it were me, and I weren't hung up on the battery thing, I far prefer the Party Q because it has a display and you can see what you are doing.  With the Nano Q, you have no visual confirmation that you have actually pressed the up button enough times to get it set to 350 or what have you.  But that's just me.  I like the thought having the Party Q in the drawer, sticking it in my pocket, hooking it up and going, vs. having a probe wire, a blower wire and a power wire to hook up on the Nano Q.  Good luck whatever you choose.  BBQ Guru makes great products and you should be very happy with either model as long as you pick the one that suits your needs.
    The Naked Whiz
  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    edited March 2012
    I would never buy a controller that ran on batteries. Certainly not for home use. Just another thing you need to concern yourself with during a cook.  Unless you are out in the middle of a field somewhere or camping, you should always be within an extension cord of an outlet.  I have the DigiQ DX and am very happy with it.
    Packerland, Wisconsin

  • OLD NORTH STATE BBQ CO.
    edited March 2012

    The Party Q (I was told by BBQ Guru) should be able to get 40-50 hours of low and slow cooking on a single set of batteries.  Tee hee!  I will be checking this out and let you know.  The Party Q has a battery indicator, so you should know how much juice you have left and possibly decide to swap out the batteries before you start a 15 hour cook.

    Alkaline batteries don't perform well below freezing, as I recall, so for cold cold weather usage, you would want to use lithium batteries.

    You can use the 5 CFM blower on the medium easily.  You can use it on the large Egg easily.  The 10 CFM blower isn't that much more, so you might get it anyway in case you ever want more power later if you bought an XL, say.

    If it were me, and I weren't hung up on the battery thing, I far prefer the Party Q because it has a display and you can see what you are doing.  With the Nano Q, you have no visual confirmation that you have actually pressed the up button enough times to get it set to 350 or what have you.  But that's just me.  I like the thought having the Party Q in the drawer, sticking it in my pocket, hooking it up and going, vs. having a probe wire, a blower wire and a power wire to hook up on the Nano Q.  Good luck whatever you choose.  BBQ Guru makes great products and you should be very happy with either model as long as you pick the one that suits your needs.

    Whiz,
    Good point on the nanoQ. Didn't realize it lacked a display screen. Looks like the Party Q is the way to go except that I'm looking to add an XL to the arsenal in the next few months.  It looks like the fan system on the PartyQ is too small for the XL. With all that information, looks like the DigiQ with the Pit Viper 10 CFM may be the way to go.  Do you concur or have any other suggestions?  Is there any truth that a DigiQ wifi will be coming out soon?  The Stoker looks pretty amazing, but a little expensive.

     "Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great, Here's to "Down Home," the Old North State!"

    Med & XL

  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    A BBQ Guru employee has posted that it's real, so yes, I think it's real.

    It would be interesting to know if anyone has used the 5CFM blower on an XL and what the results were. I've no experience with an XL.
    The Naked Whiz
  • skotdee
    skotdee Posts: 17
    I have a Party Q and LOVE it. I have done three 6+ hour cooks with it so far and Im showing 62% battery life left. Holds temps perfectly for hours on end. I wouldn't let the battery issue keep you from picking one up. Once it gets to temp the fan only comes on every so often anyway since the egg holds temps so well, so its very efficient with battery power.
  • I just ordered one this morning.  I was told to purchase a good set of lithium rechargeable batteries and charge them between long cooks.  That's what I plan to do.  Not for sure on this, but I want to say she said the batteries last something like 30 hours with 40% fan usage.
  • Cowdogs
    Cowdogs Posts: 491
    A BBQ Guru employee has posted that it's real, so yes, I think it's real.

    It would be interesting to know if anyone has used the 5CFM blower on an XL and what the results were. I've no experience with an XL.
    I think the 5 CFM fan would be fine on an XL as long as you are near your target temp when you engage it. Holding temps would not be the issue, but using the Party Q to make large upward moves in tempature might take a while, and might be tough on the batteries.
  • hogsfan
    hogsfan Posts: 128
    edited March 2012
     I have an XL egg. It's fine for low temps but 5cfm fan is really not enough umph for higher temps. 

    I must have gotten an older model. Mine did not have a battery life left indicator. It just had an arrow that came on when my battery life was low. It was actually not a very helpful feature because you couldn't even see that unless you were right up near it (it was a small arrow). I wish they would have made the color of the blinking light change instead of relying on the tiny little arrow. Also, it's not even close to 50 hours of battery life. I would say MAYBE a third of that with my large. I would never kick off a overnighter without a fresh set of batteries and I would certainly be keeping an eye on it the next morning.

    Having said all that I really did like my PartyQ but the combination of the tiny fan and shorter battery life made it not the best product for my cookers and cooking habits. If it had a bigger fan and the option of plugging it in for longer cooks, I would have definitely kept it and loved it. (though I also wish it had a detachable/replaceable probe). I ended up going back to my digiQ.
  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    hogsfan, i should get mine tomorrow so i'll check.  I'll be doing a review of it after a little encounter with a knee surgeon.....
    The Naked Whiz
  • Thanks everybody. Really good stuff. I'm definitely leaning toward the digiQ dx since the partyQ has an under sized fan.. Whiz, best of luck with the surgon.

     "Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great, Here's to "Down Home," the Old North State!"

    Med & XL

  • hogsfan
    hogsfan Posts: 128
    hogsfan, i should get mine tomorrow so i'll check.  I'll be doing a review of it after a little encounter with a knee surgeon.....
    Hope everything goes well and you have a swift recovery.
  • Egts
    Egts Posts: 27
    edited March 2012
    I've got XL and have the Party Q. It works great for slow and lows. I've found that I get my fire near the desired temp then start the Party Q and let it go. I have about 30 hours on my first set of batteries and the green indicator light is still on. I've checked probably 12-13 times during the cooks out of curiosity and the controller never seemed to veer anymore than 3 degrees from set point. In my opinion it is the perfect set up for slow and lows. I did try it with the probe outside the grill to see how high I could get the temp, but lost interest after 20 minutes. I will say it is no eggcellerator or hair dryer, but that isn't what I bought if for. Mine has the probe that you can unplug. I love the fact that I can set it and forget it and not have to worry about having cord strung all over. Again, if you are looking for a slow and low controller, I would look no further, especially when used in conjunction with a ET 732.
  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    Ok, I just got my PartyQ and checked a couple of things.  First of all, it does now have a pluggable probe, so if your probe gets damaged, you won't need to send the unit back to the factory.  They can just send you a new probe.

    Also, the current unit has a battery indicator on the setup screen that tells you what percentage of the battery life is left.  There is also the little "battery low" indicator on the display.  So, before you start any cook, you can check the state of the batteries and decide if you need new ones.


    The Naked Whiz
  • ribmaster
    ribmaster Posts: 209
    Hey wiz I would guess the battery life would depend more on how much the fans runs rather than the length of the cook. It should not drain much power just monitoring the temp. Run a set of batteries until they are dead without a fire  to see how much "fan time" they have.
    I grill therefore I am.....not hungy.
  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    ribmaster, I plan to do some battery testing.  Not sure what the value is of how long the blower will run solid.  I plan to set the unit at 250 and see how long it will keep a large Egg going.


    The Naked Whiz
  • hogsfan
    hogsfan Posts: 128
    That's a great idea for a test. I wish mine had a detachable probe. I also now wonder if it had the battery life readout and I just never realized it. 

    By the way, I agree with Egts that the fan is big enough for low and slow. It's when you want to hold higher temps that you realize there is underpowered. It took FOREVER to get to 350 and ran the whole time to stay there. Big difference with the 10 cfm fan. 

    I really liked the unit, I just wish it had a plug in option. Changing batteries before every long cook takes about the same amount of time as dragging out the cords on the digi. 

    I guess what I'm saying is I found a lot to like with the PartyQ but I like the Digi better.
  • xraypat23
    xraypat23 Posts: 421
    I don't see why guru didn't just add a port for a power adapter, seems like a very poor decision. Just my 2 pennys
  • BGElovr
    BGElovr Posts: 83
    I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on one of these, just not sure which one; Digi or Party.
  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,669

    I just did not want to fool with the wires and sold (NEVER OPENED THE  BOX) my DigiQll. Got the PartyQ and used it WRONG. I got it to temp and then pluged in the PartyQ (called and found out you let it do ALL THE WORK and put it in from the start). WIll try again later but think I will be very happy with it. Once more all my trouble with both is self induced and not a problem with product.

    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

  • Cowdogs
    Cowdogs Posts: 491
    edited March 2012
    I don't see why guru didn't just add a port for a power adapter, seems like a very poor decision. Just my 2 pennys
    And even better if they made this power port double as a charging port ... so you could use NiMH batteries in the PartyQ, and charge them without removing/replacing them.
  • JayHawkEye
    JayHawkEye Posts: 196

    I have an XL with a PartyQ and I like not having to use a cord. I don't like the look of cords, and the way my outdoor space is setup the cords are very noticable. I also like the idea of being able to take it and use it anywhere, not just near electicity. Thus far I have only used the PartyQ for low and slows and it does a fine job on the XL. I do think it's a good idea to get near your target temp before using it though.

    "Take yourself lightly, but what you do seriously." - M. Martin XL BGE - Johnston, IA
  • Thanks mountaindewbass. I think you just sold me.

     "Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great, Here's to "Down Home," the Old North State!"

    Med & XL

  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,669

    Your Welcome. Im actually cooking up some Pork butt now...the Party Q is fantastic..only advice i would give(and thats with any temp. deal) would be to get the BGE up to or close to your target temp. then put in the Party Q, this saves the battery because it doesnt run constantly to get it up to temp.

    I used my PartyQ once and way over shot my temps. I called and they said it was because I put it on to late and should have put it on and let it get it up to temp. Now I have not used it again, just going by what Lisa said. You have and from what you are saying I must have something wrong with mine?
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

  • Your Welcome. Im actually cooking up some Pork butt now...the Party Q is fantastic..only advice i would give(and thats with any temp. deal) would be to get the BGE up to or close to your target temp. then put in the Party Q, this saves the battery because it doesnt run constantly to get it up to temp.

    I used my PartyQ once and way over shot my temps. I called and they said it was because I put it on to late and should have put it on and let it get it up to temp. Now I have not used it again, just going by what Lisa said. You have and from what you are saying I must have something wrong with mine?
    Looks like the Whiz will be coming out with a product review of the PartyQ soon. It will be interesting to see what his findings are related to the correct initiation of the PartyQ during a cook.

     "Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great, Here's to "Down Home," the Old North State!"

    Med & XL

  • Cowdogs
    Cowdogs Posts: 491
    I doubt the PartyQ is any different than the DigiQ.
    When running the DigiQ, I found that if you have the DigiQ damper wide open along with the BGE top vent open too wide, it has a tendency to overshoot the temp.  And this is when the DigiQ is attached early.
    These 2 devices don't have an automatic dampers, and a stoked up fire can draw a lot of air through the vents even if the fan is not blowing.
  • chad408
    chad408 Posts: 140
    Cowdogs if you have either one of these devices you should keep the top vent closed. The point of these two devices is to provide the air needed to keep the fire at a certain temp. If you you have the top vent open it allows air to get inside the grill and allows the fire to breath. With the top close your device should keep a constant temp. within a degree or two.