Jeepster & DigiQ - Final Chapter

Jeepster47

No, I didn't chuck the DigiQ out in the weeds.  It's that finally the DigiQ turned today's six hour cook into a boring afternoon ... everything worked just like the advertizing suggests it will right out of the box.

Stuck the electric starter in the center of the lump pile for five minutes.  Pulled the starter and left the lid up for about five more minutes while installing the blower adapter, blower, grid probe and the Maverick pit probe.  Closed the lid, opened up the SW cap fully, and set the DigiQ to 225 degrees.  Went inside and prepped the ribs until the Maverick alerted me that the egg had hit 250 degrees.  Closed the SW cap to 1/8" open and reset the DigiQ to 250 degrees ... that effectively captured the start-up overrun as the correct setting.  The DigiQ and the egg played well together for the rest of the cook ... except for two overruns to 260 degrees, the DigiQ was nailed at 250 degrees. 

For this cook I changed three things:

1) Took off the alligator pit probe clip that comes with the DigiQ and used a standard spring type grid clip.  My reasoning was that the alligator clip shields the end of the probe and makes it less sensitive to deviations in temperature.  Here is the set up:



The interesting thing is that the Maverick probe was right next to the DigiQ probe, and yet, the Maverick wandered plus or minus 10 degrees during the day.  Thus, pit probe placement seems to be a critical decision ... a few inches one way or the other will change the out come.  The dome probe on a large egg is only 5.5 inches above the felt line, and yet, the grate and dome temps can easily vary by 100 degrees during a cook.

2) Removed the OEM fire grate and used a Kick Ash Basket.  Counted on it to provide unimpaired airflow ... think that's what happened.

3) Used Rockwood lump instead of the Nature Glo and Royal Oak that I've used in the past.

Think I've uncovered every mistake that can be made with the DigiQ and am now comfortable with it.  Will sleep like a baby during the next overnight low and slow.

Thanks for the previous feedback which helped me figure out the Bubba-Guru.