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Not a great first performance by my DigiQ

SaturdayFatterday
SaturdayFatterday Posts: 468
in EggHead Forum
Luckily, it's a pork butt cook, and they're pretty hard to hurt.

I set the DiqiQ for 235*F, and made sure the "Open Lid" feature was enabled so that it wouldn't overshoot (or, at least, by much) when I put the butts on.  I closed the daisy wheel to the normal sliver at which I have it when doing low-and-slow.  When the Egg got up to temp, I stuck the butts on.  When I went to bed, everything looked perfect.

When I woke up, the Egg was at 385*F.  The DigiQ's alarm was going off, but I can't hear that in the house, so I have no idea when it happened.  Timewise, the meat was way ahead of schedule (probably ending up with cubed smoked pork instead of pulled).

Obviously, either my Digi isn't operating correctly, or air got in somehow.  The only ingress of which I can think is around the lid, because I run sans gasket.  Is that really enough to spike an Egg 150* above temp with a digital controller enabled?

[Northern] Virginia is for [meat] lovers.
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Comments

  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,674
    Still go to 200, you have to work hard to screw up a butt.
    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.   

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  • SaturdayFatterday
    SaturdayFatterday Posts: 468
    Definitely not scrapping the meat.  

    NOTE:  The blower's physically been off the Egg for twenty minutes and the pit's at 250* dome, so whatever excess air problem was there appears simply to have been solved by the removal of the blower.  Doesn't make me feel good about using it in the future, though. 

    [Northern] Virginia is for [meat] lovers.
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  • Jeffroe189
    Jeffroe189 Posts: 273
    I had a problem with my stoker on a windy day. I could hear the door opening and closing as the wind blew when the fan was off. I was over shooting my temp then. I just put something around the fan to block the direct wind and everything started to work like it should again. Just make sure you don't prevent the fan from pulling air into the egg when the fan comes on. I just used a disposable container and cut a slit in it so it would fit down over top the fan but it was still open on the bottom. 

    Im not sure if this is what was going on with yours or not but I figured it was worth a mention. I could have been if it was windy.

    Also I also let my stoker get my egg up to temp. I think it takes a little longer but prevent the fire form getting to big in the beginning.


    Jeff from Winston-Salem, NC  - LBGE, MiniMax, Blackstone
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  • CAT Seller
    CAT Seller Posts: 208
    Where was your pit probe attached, and at what opening is your fan set at?
    If it ain't a CAT, it's a dog!!! 2 LBGE's & BGE Backyard Chef Edition Cart
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  • TheShaytoon
    TheShaytoon Posts: 420
    I use the CyberQ...and love it.  makes things so much easier.  Like everyhting else though, you have to learn the tricks.

    I suspect that that the Daisy Wheel opening was too open.  The DigiQ/CyberQ can only control the temp by pushing oxygen to the fire. So if the top opening was too open, oxygen was flowing in from the top.

    I can tell you that my settings are no where near the same with and without the cyberQ. 


    I have a very hard time engaging in passive relaxation. Twitter.Instagram.
    Dallas, TX

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  • grege345
    grege345 Posts: 3,515
    I always hear about air getting thru the fan door.
    LBGE& SBGE———————————————•———————– Pennsylvania / poconos

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  • plumbfir01
    plumbfir01 Posts: 725
    How much is your damper open on blower? How bout the daisy wheel? Did you get your egg to start burning hot then back it down?
    Beaufort, SC
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  • JeffCowley
    JeffCowley Posts: 35
    I too had some initial challenges with my DigiQ.  Some tips that I found helpful:  

    First, I close the damper on the blower unit to about halfway; Regardless of what the instructions say. Similarly, I close the daisy wheel almost all the way (seriously to barely a sliver of opening).  As others have mentioned, the DigiQ can't do anything about bringing the temp down.

    The probes and their wires must NOT be exposed to any direct heat or flame.  You've gotta keep the wires covered by the platesetter the entire time.  I learned this the hard way as I burnt up my first set of probes.  Was the DigiQ pit temp wildly different than the dome thermo?  If so, you might have burnt up your wires/probes, thereby giving you funny readings.  

    I hope this helps.  Good luck!
    Eggin', craft beer and good cigars.  Tampa, Florida
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    CAT Seller said:
    Where was your pit probe attached, and at what opening is your fan set at?
    This, I think. I clip my probe to the dome thermo probe and the fan is open about 1/3. I have a DigiQ 2 DX, 10 CFM fan, large egg.

    As for the opening of the DFMT, I don't think it really matters. That's the impression I got from my conversation with Kenny at BBQGuru shortly after I bought mine. The intake is much more important.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • SaturdayFatterday
    SaturdayFatterday Posts: 468
    Going through the checklist you've all provided (probe's clipped to front of the grid, wires are shielded, daisy petals are barely open (I use the point of a wooden skewer to measure), temp on dome thermo is consistent with DigiQ's, brought the Egg up to temp with the DigiQ, etc. ), I think the issue is the damper setting on the blower unit.  Thanks, everybody, for all the help!

    [Northern] Virginia is for [meat] lovers.
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  • Fred19Flintstone
    Fred19Flintstone Posts: 8,168
    When I use mine, the fan damper is set to 1/3 open.
    Flint, Michigan
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  • Miked125
    Miked125 Posts: 481

    Fred19Flintstone said:
    When I use mine, the fan damper is set to 1/3 open.
    Yes same as me. I have the 10cfm fan as well which I used for my old pit. When I start the fire, I close the dome and let the digiQ go to work. I also set the temp 15-20F lower than I want increase of overshoot, then increase it.
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  • jeroldharter
    jeroldharter Posts: 556
    For low and slow, I set the fan slot to the smallest opening. The daisy wheel is open just a slit. Otherwise it can overshoot. For 350, my fan is wide open and the daisy wheel slits about half open.
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  • tjv
    tjv Posts: 3,830
    may need to reduce the fan opening. I run mine at half open or less.

    t
    www.ceramicgrillstore.com ACGP, Inc.
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