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Problems with High-Q

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brownbw
brownbw Posts: 154
in EggHead Forum
Maybe I am just not using it right, but my fire gets WAY too hot when cooking at low temps.  I use a BBQ Guru - and maybe I need to restrict the air from the blower, but grilling, I am seeing way more flare ups and have burnt almost all my arm hair off.  Wasn't happening when I used the old one.  Any tips are appreciated!   
Opelika, AL
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  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,674
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    I am using 3 of them and no problem. Might want to start cutting back opening sooner. Now I also only control fire from bottom vent ( do not use the top at all ) top is wide open.
    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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  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    edited July 2013
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    What temp are you trying to cook at?

    I have high-que and have no problems maintaining low temps. With the high-que, just close the damper a lil more than you're accustomed to. If I'm cooking hot, I light 3 to 4 spots. For low cooks, I light two spots. It's also important to not let it get out of hand. Start closing your damper about 30-40 degrees before your target temp.

    Burp twice...that's what most do.
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
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  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
    edited July 2013
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    Are you cooking on a raised grate?
    Are you cooking with done up or down?
    Are you overshooting temp and then trying to choke back down?
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
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  • aem
    aem Posts: 146
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    With the Guru I find I have to close the damper almost all the way to stay at 250.  I take the blower off the adapter and look in the tube to get the opening right.  From the outside it looks like I have it closed all the way.  And then I close the daisy almost all the way too.
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  • Raymont
    Raymont Posts: 710
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    2 cents - You are getting to much air so your fire is growing past your desired temp. Close the screen on the lower damper before putting the blower in and try closing the top damper more than you have been.

    Small & Large BGE

    Nashville, TN

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  • mwraulst
    mwraulst Posts: 131
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    I agree with what everyone has said above and:

    supposedly the guru's ( depending on which model) learn how your egg cooks and adjusts. I could be going crazy but this is what i was told when i got the guru wifi. So if you just made the switch to the high que the guru may needs a couple of cooks to "learn" you've got a lot more air passing through.

    In addition, shut your vents down earlier. The guru is great at bringing the egg up to temp, so get the guru going early. It may overshoot initially but corrects itself fairly quickly.

    Also, don't know what size egg you have but i have a med egg and i have the damper on the guru almost all the way closed. the fan was overly strong in the beginning for the med. i've heard of people with larges doing the same.

    -my 2 cents

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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
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    mwraulst said:

    I agree with what everyone has said above and:

    supposedly the guru's ( depending on which model) learn how your egg cooks and adjusts. I could be going crazy but this is what i was told when i got the guru wifi. So if you just made the switch to the high que the guru may needs a couple of cooks to "learn" you've got a lot more air passing through.


    You are correct.  The Guru's learn,  However, I'm pretty sure they forget when you turn them off.  I believe that they learn fairly quickly into the cook.  In fact, here is what I wrote about it:

    The CyberQ II has a feature called "Adaptive Control", first introduced with the DigiQ II controller. The BBQ Guru describes it as an "All new full-time adaptive control algorithm learns your pit to control better stability/accuracy." If we understood Shotgun Fred correctly, over time, the unit learns how much effect the blower has so that it can more accurately and intelligently decide how long to run the blower when it needs to adjust or maintain the cooker's temperature. So for example, if the unit signals the blower to operate at 30% and it sees that the temperature overshoots a bit, it will gradually learn to run the blower at 20% instead. This "learning" is done on every use of the CyberQ II and it does not get "remembered" from one use to the other. If you turn the unit off, it will start the learning cycle over again. This is goodness, obviously, as you might wish to use the unit on different cookers, and of course, circumstances can change from cook to cook. The "learning" process can take up to an hour depending on different factors. Suffice it to say that if you are using the CyberQ II on a long term cook, the unit works well initially and improves its control over time. Once again, we'll point out that your average kitchen oven will vary up to 50 degrees or more, so there's no reason to sweat over a few degrees. The CyberQ II will do the job.

    The Naked Whiz
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  • brownbw
    brownbw Posts: 154
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    I haven't done a long cook for a couple weeks (yeah, I know, but biochemistry is kicking my butt this semester!), but I believe it's the opening on the blower... I am gonna try it soon as I can.  I'll update when finished.  Thanks for all the advice! 
    Opelika, AL
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