Stoker Blower door does not close. Please help.

Rockaway BeachBQ · Aug 9, 2008

I am using a stoker for the first time. I picked it up used from Guy with a medium large custom Spicewine also used. Thank You Guy!!!

I have the 25 cfm blower and when I first tried to use it the auto closing damper door was broken. It is cut from very thin metal. I questioned from the beginning how it would close when the blower turned off. Should the fan be mounted horizontal instead of vertical? I put it together the way Guy had it assembled before I took it home.

Jim_Beam · Aug 9, 2008

Are you sure it isn't upside down? If it is, it will always stay open.

Rockaway BeachBQ · Aug 9, 2008

Would upside down mean with fan below damper or above damper opening? I have the fan below and it seems from the few images I could find of WSMs with 5cfm blowers I may be upside down. I will go flip it right now.

Rockaway BeachBQ · Aug 9, 2008

Yep, that was the problem. I guess my memory of the setup was off. Luckily the temp only climbed up to 240 and my target is 225. Door thermometers on the spicewine read about 15* lower than the stoker. But that could be because I have such a minimal load right now, two butts and a brisket. Six ribs and six chickens and some brats will be added as the day progresses.

Thanks for the help Jim.

WannaBeBBQueen · Aug 9, 2008

phew glad to hear you got it worked out, spicewines, spiking stinks O and opening the door to let it vent doesn't help either...lol, I only know this from personal experience.

O another really important thing to do is put pins in the doors...so you don't have a "Ginny", we almost did :eusa_clap.

I would suggest this for anyone who has a spicewine, safety first!

Mo-Dave · Aug 9, 2008

Rockaway BeachBQ said:
Yep, that was the problem. I guess my memory of the setup was off. Luckily the temp only climbed up to 240 and my target is 225. Door thermometers on the spicewine read about 15* lower than the stoker. But that could be because I have such a minimal load right now, two butts and a brisket. Six ribs and six chickens and some brats will be added as the day progresses.

Thanks for the help Jim.

I guess I don't understand, the stoker has an automatic door closing system? How does that attach to the fan. If you or someone has a photo of that I sure would like to see it, thanks.
Dave

Mo-Dave · Aug 9, 2008

WannaBeBBQueen said:
phew glad to hear you got it worked out, spicewines, spiking stinks O and opening the door to let it vent doesn't help either...lol, I only know this from personal experience.

O another really important thing to do is put pins in the doors...so you don't have a "Ginny", we almost did :eusa_clap.

I would suggest this for anyone who has a spicewine, safety first!

Yep letting the Sw get too hot is probably about the worst thing that can happen with one, it takes a long time to get it back down to where you need it. Ditto on the door pins.
Dave

Rockaway BeachBQ · Aug 9, 2008

I take it back. The pit is at 235 and the door is stuck open again. It seems like the door is perfectly vertical, so I don't understand how it is supposed to close automatically. If I mount it horizontally will that put strain on the motor? I am sorry for all of the questions, but the manual only covers the software and configuration, not what to do when the most basic mechanical element fails to function properly.

Jim_Beam · Aug 9, 2008

Mo-Dave said:
I guess I don't understand, the stoker has an automatic door closing system? How does that attach to the fan. If you or someone has a photo of that I sure would like to see it, thanks.
Dave

The fan blows the door (thin piece of metal) open. If its upside down, it just lays open.

Jim_Beam · Aug 9, 2008

Rockaway BeachBQ said:
I take it back. The pit is at 235 and the door is stuck open again. It seems like the door is perfectly vertical, so I don't understand how it is supposed to close automatically. If I mount it horizontally will that put strain on the motor? I am sorry for all of the questions, but the manual only covers the software and configuration, not what to do when the most basic mechanical element fails to function properly.

Does it close when removed from the cooker and power source?

Sledneck · Aug 9, 2008

I did that once and it was during a comp

Rockaway BeachBQ · Aug 9, 2008

Jim_Beam said:
Does it close when removed from the cooker and power source?

No. Should I mount the fan so the door hangs down horizontally? I think that is what I am going to do now when I add the ribs. Because I do not want the temps to go out of control now that I am starting to fill it up. I only have the way Guy had it mounted and pictures of WSMs on the net. But a WSM vent is on the bottom so gravity will close it no matter which way you put it on.

Rockaway BeachBQ · Aug 10, 2008

So mounting it horizontally did the trick and I am going to assume it is correct. Only problem I had was when I removed everything except the brisket the temps ran away to 270. I have a feeling the five minute door open delay may have been to short, but I had my hands full and could not monitor the cooker. Pulled the brisket a little early and will reheat today wrapped in foil with some beef broth. If I have to shred it I will.

I am a little confused with all of this talk about the pins. I put zip ties in when I move it, but are you guys saying you pin it closed during cooks?

Smokin Gator · Aug 10, 2008

This is the way it should look:

The wires are on the top. That way the door is hanging with the open side down. Then the fan it on it blows the door open (up). When the fan goes off the door closes (down).

In my opinion though that fan is way to large for the medium Spicewine. I have a 5 CFM on mine and it is fine. You want the fan to run and give small spurts of air. With that 25 you are getting big blasts of air. I would think that would lead to runaway temp problems.

Mo-Dave · Aug 10, 2008

Rockaway BeachBQ said:
So mounting it horizontally did the trick and I am going to assume it is correct. Only problem I had was when I removed everything except the brisket the temps ran away to 270. I have a feeling the five minute door open delay may have been to short, but I had my hands full and could not monitor the cooker. Pulled the brisket a little early and will reheat today wrapped in foil with some beef broth. If I have to shred it I will.

I am a little confused with all of this talk about the pins. I put zip ties in when I move it, but are you guys saying you pin it closed during cooks?[/quot

There should have been some pins that came with it, if not go to a hardware store and pick some up. They fit in the top corner of each door, probably where you put ties on it.
Dave

Rockaway BeachBQ · Aug 11, 2008

From looking at the pics on Rocksbarbcue.com I think the door in the 25 cfm is mounted differently than the 5 and 10 cfm fans, the door is hung parallel to the fan not perpendicular. That is where I was confused.

Transformer BBQ · Aug 11, 2008

you don't have it upside down... you have it sideways. the silver casing goes on top... the fan opening goes on the bottom... the wires come out the side.

like this:

http://picasaweb.google.com/TransfomerBBQ/StokerFirstRun/photo#5056295831341393090

and for anyone who is interested... the two pictures in the album before that one show the fan upside down (damper open), and the fan correctly positioned... (damber closed-- since its off)

Jim_Beam · Aug 11, 2008

Rockaway BeachBQ said:
Only problem I had was when I removed everything except the brisket the temps ran away to 270. I have a feeling the five minute door open delay may have been to short, but I had my hands full and could not monitor the cooker.

Five minutes is a quite a bit of time to leave a smoker door open. You're giving the fire ALOT of oxygen.

Did you stop the fan when you had the door open? If not (and I'm not that familiar with the spicewines) but you could have had a double whammy of pumping extra air in when the Stoker detected the temperature drop.

Transformer BBQ · Aug 11, 2008

Jim_Beam said:
Five minutes is a quite a bit of time to leave a smoker door open. You're giving the fire ALOT of oxygen.

Did you stop the fan when you had the door open? If not (and I'm not that familiar with the spicewines) but you could have had a double whammy of pumping extra air in when the Stoker detected the temperature drop.

JB-- I don't think he had the door open for 5 minutes, he's referring to the a feature on the stoker that turns the fan off for 5 minutes regardless of the temp in the cooker. You click it before you open then door so the fan doesn't spike the temp after you've closed the cooker back up. Depending on the situation and cooker 5 minutes "off" might not have been enough time.

Rockaway BeachBQ · Aug 11, 2008

Transformer BBQ said:
JB-- I don't think he had the door open for 5 minutes, he's referring to the a feature on the stoker that turns the fan off for 5 minutes regardless of the temp in the cooker. You click it before you open then door so the fan doesn't spike the temp after you've closed the cooker back up. Depending on the situation and cooker 5 minutes "off" might not have been enough time.

Exactly. I usually try to hit it off again after I remove the meat. So I get five minutes after I close the door. I know I did not do that when I pulled the remainder of the meat excluding the brisket.

I am trying to figure this whole setup out. Guy had the fan mounted directly to the side of the spicewine using a plate he cut himself without using the silicone hose as a buffer. The fan definitely gets a little warm. I know I can buy this
http://www.siliconeintakes.com/details.php?products_id=600&osCsid=3ba4ab66a3f3ec1e972d36327d42a2a1
for $15 less than from Rocks. But I still need the 2" flange adapter. I really wish there was a easy way to quick mount it right on to the butterfly vent. The $90 adapter from Rocks would not work and hell it is $90.

I think I will contact Jay and see if he has had any requests for this. BBQ guru site is down so I don't know if they have something I can adapt.

Stoker Blower door does not close. Please help.

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