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CyberQII. . . Arrrghhh??!!??

Dan in StL
Dan in StL Posts: 254
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
When I did my initial test of this, and the fan was on, I could tell the RPMs on the fan were high and the out put was very significant. Now that I have this thing in use (in 20 degree temps) I'm thinking the fan has just about crapped out.

The pit temp is low, the Guru thinks the fan is pumping at 100%, but the fan is barely turning. . and it doesn't sound good. This thing hasn't been exposed to any moisture, shock or anything that would stress it other than the cold temps.

When I first hooked the thing up outside tonight it was behaving 'normally.' But after about a half hour in, the temp started to drop and that's when I noticed the fan not cranking like I would expect it to.

What I'm seeing doesn't seem right, but since this is my first time out of the gate with this, I don't wanna jump to conclusions. For now I've fully opened up the apeture on the fan. The other thing I noticed is if I don't have the small openings on the daisy wheel almost fully opened. . I lose temp... This can't be good. . .

Comments

  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
    You positive you had an established fire before using the Q?
  • Hoss
    Hoss Posts: 14,600
    Wish I could help but I cook sans GADGETS.Good luck and HNY! :)
  •  
    Hey Dan,

    I'm just shooting in the dark here, you said "This thing hasn't been exposed to any moisture, shock or anything that would stress it other than the cold temps." Do you happen to have a hair dryer you could try warming the fan up with? If it works you know what your problem is, if not . . . at least you tried.

    Wish I could be of more help. Good luck and Happy New Year,

    Gator
  • Yup. . . had a very good fire going. I dumped in a pretty fair amount of lump that I started in a chimney to get the fire going. I know that's not an issue. Plenty of heat source available. The flipping fan is just putting out.
  • I just brought the fan in to let it warm up to see if that's the problem.
  •  
    Good luck Dan, I hope that does it.

    Gator

     
  • Gator - appreciate the well wishes, but I think the fan is a lemon. I brought it in, let it get to room temp, hooked it back up with the guru at 100% fan, and the thing barely turns.

    I am not a happy camper. :angry:
  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
    Sorry Dan.... :( ... It's been a bullet proof product for us for years. :pinch: Time to fall back to the old fashioned way....the VENTS! You can still do it!! Shooting for 250* dome? 1/2 inch bottom and top till you hit it...then close to about 1/4 inch till stabilized. It will be alright!
    And did you fill the lump up to the bottom of the fire ring??? I cant help but think the initial tests burned more lump than expected....you sure you have plenty of fuel/lump?
  •  
    Hey Dan,

    Sorry to hear about the fan, that is the first one I have ever heard of being bad. Little Chef knows what she is talking about and gives great advise. With a little care you should do fine with the vents.
    Get that fan replaced and the CyberQ should be back in business. It should be a great tool. You will love it when it is operating properly and you can sleep much better at night during a low n' slow.

    Good luck,

    Gator

     
  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
    Not trying to be a meanie....but this is exactly why we didn't invest in the CyberQ until 3 years ago.....Been cooking on the Egg for 15 years now. Though it would be a killer to business, I think CyberQ's/Gurus/Stokers etc should be forbidden until you have at least 5 overnights under your belt.... :whistle: JMHO! :whistle:
  • I've done 3 butts and one brisket before tonight. Doing brisket tonight. Not exactly a veteran, but not a total rookie :)

    So far so good, temp is holding. Even if the fan isn't working, I can still monitor the temps without having to go outside. I hear that support at Guru is good, so if I do have a fan problem, I'm sure it will get resolved.
  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
    Guru will take good care of you....NO worries.... ;) Their customer service is top notch!!! ;) Let's just get this cook off the egg in top notch condition!! :laugh: You'll be just fine, though you will miss a few extra hours of sleep..... :blush: As we have invested time in this too...please be sure to post results. ;) This is the part of "love" in food that the 'blood, sweat, and tears' kicks in!! B) It's going to be fantastic!!! Happy New Years to you and yours! B);)
  • LC - The saga continues, and you were oh so right in your prediction of a lack of sleep!

    Thought I had the thing stable at 235 pit temp. Went to bed around 3:30 AM - Probably around the 220 minute mark on the graph below. Checked on it at 6:30, pit temp alarm beeping like crazy. Temp is at 352!. I go outside to find that even though the guru says the fan % is 0, the fan is now blowing like a champ. . . :angry:

    At this point I pull the fan and am going full manual temp control. Still using the Guru to monitor temps. I'm not sure how the image of the graph I captured is going to show up, but I'll try to post and see.

    guru2.png

    This shows the graph along with the rest of my settings:
    guru1.png
  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
    Dan, it looks like the CyberQ is doing what it's supposed to, output-wise. If it's still blowing, make sure you have it hooked up properly.
  • Brad - The reason I don't think it's working right is that right at about the 400 minute mark, the controller said the fan output was at 0%, which is what it should be since the pit temp was WAY above the set point. But when I checked it fan itself, it was blowing.

    In terms of the hookup, pit1 & food1 probes are where they're supposed to be, as is the blower.

    If I were you, I'd be questioning user error too. It's typically a reliable piece of equipment and I'm a newbie. But I've read the manuals and have been careful. If I disover that I've hosed something up, I'll post it.

    For now, I've got a brisket in the plateau and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that with all this drama, it still turns out.