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DigiQ issue

HungryNephew
HungryNephew Posts: 267
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow a digiQ and I cooked a few butts. I had a problem that I have not seen anyone else mention.

I put the butt on at 10 pm. Set the pit to 250 and the meat for 198.

I lit the egg and let the guru get it up to temp. When it hit 250, there was some blue smoke still coming out so I let it sit for a while before putting the but on.

About 20 mins later, I looked and the pit temp was 270 (20 over what it was set to). I closed off the vents and waited for it to cool off. Once it got down to 250, I opened them up and put the butt on.

I woke up at 6 am to check it. The meat was at 215 and the pit was at 375!!!!

Here were my settings:

6.5 lb butt
daisy wheel barely cracked open (1/8 in?)
The blower opening 1/2 open.
Brand new lump. Biggest chucks on the bottom.

For the record, I have no issue keeping the dome temp at 250 for 5 + hours when cooking ribs.

What in the world did I do wrong?

Comments

  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    Was the pit probe possibly touching the meat or very close to it? Was the fan blowing when you found it at 375?
    The Naked Whiz
  • TomM24
    TomM24 Posts: 1,366
    To hold 250 I need to have the fan choked down to 1/4 and the top almost closed.
  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
    Where was the pit probe attached?

    Was the fan adapter firmly in place with no places for air to leak in? Were the probes pushed into the DigiQ firmly? Were the temp readings on the Digi, the thermo, or both?

    I cut the fan down to 1/4 open and have the daisy petals cracked also for anything under 300*.

    Did you notice the percentage of fan use? The temp will flash 1-10 times, then pause, then repeat. This correlates to amount of fan use. If it flashes 3 times, the fan runs 30% of the time, 5 times = 50%, etc.
  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    The DigiQ doesn't keep the temp down, only up. The issue was you let the egg cool to your desired temp and then you opened it up.

    You should have just left the vents alone once the egg was down to your desired temp.
  • HungryNephew
    HungryNephew Posts: 267
    Was the pit probe possibly touching the meat or very close to it?

    Where was the pit probe attached?

    it was about 3 to 4 in away sitting, on the grate.

    Was the fan blowing when you found it at 375?
    I do not recall

    Was the fan adapter firmly in place with no places for air to leak in?
    Yes, as far as I can tell.

    Were the probes pushed into the DigiQ firmly?
    Yes

    Were the temp readings on the Digi, the thermo, or both?
    When the digi said 250, the thermo said 270. When the digi said 375, thermo said 400

    Did you notice the percentage of fan use? I did not notice.
  • OKCegger
    OKCegger Posts: 38
    Whiz,

    You are right on with food getting to close to the pit probe. I cooked a brisket for 17 hrs yesterday at 225 with no problem. At the end of my cook, I removed the brisket, then put on some hot links and raised the pit temp to 350. After a little bit, one of the hot links rolled over against to temp probe. I caught it just in time, as the pit reading on the DigiQ had dropped to 302 but my temp probe on the egg was going passed 420. :sick: No harm done and lesson learned! :)
  • HungryNephew
    HungryNephew Posts: 267
    The egg cooled because I closed the vents. I had to open it (the top) to put the butt in. Are you saying the I should have left the daisy wheel closed?
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    Wondering if you stopped using the Q2 during the cook.

    If the Q2 pit was set to 250° and the pit ended up at 375° there are are only a few reasons that I can think of.

    . Bad Q2 (not likely)
    . Probes not fully plugged in (mose likely you would get a --- error)
    . Bad Probe - not likely
    . Probe somehow shielded from the heat - not likely
    . Pit temp somehow set wrong - possible

    Most likely reason.

    . DFMT open and Q2 blower vent open enough to allow natural airflow into the lump - 1/2 open could possible allow that high of a pit temp overshoot.

    However the fan should not have been be firing at all (no display pulses).

    I usually set the Q2 vent at 1/3 open (with the 10 cmf fan)and the DFMT closed with a small crack on the petals.

    The Q2, may possibly overshoot but it will correct itself to the pit set temp within time.

    Just like without using the Q2 playing with cause one to chase temps all through the cook. You need to let the q2 and egg do the work by leaving vents alone.

    When I am using the q2 or stoker I set the device up and then light the lump. Or I will light the egg and when the dome reaches about 200° I install the powered vent system and let it take charge from then on.

    GG
  • HungryNephew
    HungryNephew Posts: 267
    Thanks to all that responded. I have a feeling that leaving the blower 1/2 was my mistake. I never noticed the fan blowing about the target temp so I makes sense that the natural airflow was causing the issue. Unfortunately, after 2 plus weeks of borrowing the DigiQ from Uncle Hungryman, I did not want to deprive him of his toy any longer. I mailed it back today. Maybe he will be kind enough to let me borrow it again in the future! If not, I will have to post pictures of him from the 70's!
  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    What I am saying is the vents should be open just enough to maintain temp.

    The guru is not going to stop the flow of air into the egg. It is up to you to do that.

    By shutting down the vents and temp reopening to them you really didn't stabilize the temp. The temp should be stable for at least 30 minutes.
  • HungryMan
    HungryMan Posts: 3,470
    If you broke my toy you will need to send me a new one! I don't care if you're my favorite nephew.
  • MN_Chuck
    MN_Chuck Posts: 26
    I did a 12 lb shoulder with DIGIQ my dual fucntion cap was set to one vent hole open about a thickness of paper.
    I set the DIGIQ to 215 the damper was at about 1/2 and it went for 22 hours before the meat hit 200. I used about 2/3 of the charcoal that originally at the top of the fire ring. I started at 8:30 PM and it was done at 6 PM the next day.