New Pitmaker Safe, Anyone cooked on one? - Page 2

SHERIFF · 06-27-2012, 10:00 AM

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rabeb25 · 06-27-2012, 05:24 PM

I am not knocking the construction, they are REALLY nice. I am just saying they run like ****. I have done a plethora of mods to try and keep mine stable, I even have all the stoker graphs to prove it.... Oh yea my door thermometer is off 25f too.

WhiskeyPigBbq · 06-27-2012, 08:51 PM

I planning on doing 2 pork butts on friday and 10 racks on Saturday for a party I am having and I gotta say that with temp forecasted to be in the mid 90's I am not looking forward to babysitting and trying to keep the temps in check. Hopefully I can figure something out.

ATXBBQ · 06-27-2012, 08:54 PM

I had a vault....they are built really well. They are, however, not the greatest choice for low and slow. Even with a full pan and vents closed my vault would run well over 250. The door thermo on mine was also off around thirty to forty degrees.

jasonjax · 06-27-2012, 09:16 PM

My immediate thought would be how many lit coals did you start with? Are you using the "Minion Method" ??

Hozman · 06-27-2012, 09:31 PM

Our comp team has a new one (3-4 months old) you have to use water. We run digiQ and even then it would run away. Also close valve to where it is barley open on fan. Our goes through a lot of fuel and boiled the water off like crazy. We had a 1/4" piece of steel cut to pl;ace between water pan and fire box which has helped a ton. Also had a deeper firebox made with a maze system and that has helped with fuel consumption. With the above things done we can run 230 all day long.

Couple other things we do is preheat the cooking chamber with weed burner so digi dont work so hard to get to temp. Also looking at your pic, you have a roof on your porch? beware that with water you will get a lot of steam/grease accumulate on your roof and will have to wash it after use.

I was not impressed with pitmaker at all on the process the main guy went through getting the safe. Poor communication and for the price no wway you should have to do any mods to get it to work right. I would never buy one after what I have seen with the one we have now.

El Ropo · 06-27-2012, 09:33 PM

Kind of sound like an air leak somewhere to me.

I don't see any mention of trying to run it without the draft controller either. That is possible to do isn't it?

If you can get it running nice without the controller, than by process of elimination....

If it still runs too hot, might be a leak around the intake like is mentioned above.

IMO, you shouldn't "need" water in the pan to keep the temps down. It's about too much O2 getting to the coals.

stephan · 06-27-2012, 11:06 PM

Ok correct me if I am wrong but if you can choke the fire out by shutting eveyrthing down then you should be able to control your temp? I mean on my WSM if it gets to hot I just cut back on the air intake to bring it under control. I am only wondering because I am about to buy either a Stumps or a Pitmaster.

WhiskeyPigBbq · 06-28-2012, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephan

Ok correct me if I am wrong but if you can choke the fire out by shutting eveyrthing down then you should be able to control your temp? I mean on my WSM if it gets to hot I just cut back on the air intake to bring it under control. I am only wondering because I am about to buy either a Stumps or a Pitmaster.

One would think that is the way to get it to come down, but everything is closed off with only a 1/4 inch open on my guru slide.

WhiskeyPigBbq · 06-28-2012, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hozman

Our comp team has a new one (3-4 months old) you have to use water. We run digiQ and even then it would run away. Also close valve to where it is barley open on fan. Our goes through a lot of fuel and boiled the water off like crazy. We had a 1/4" piece of steel cut to pl;ace between water pan and fire box which has helped a ton. Also had a deeper firebox made with a maze system and that has helped with fuel consumption. With the above things done we can run 230 all day long.

Couple other things we do is preheat the cooking chamber with weed burner so digi dont work so hard to get to temp. Also looking at your pic, you have a roof on your porch? beware that with water you will get a lot of steam/grease accumulate on your roof and will have to wash it after use.

I was not impressed with pitmaker at all on the process the main guy went through getting the safe. Poor communication and for the price no wway you should have to do any mods to get it to work right. I would never buy one after what I have seen with the one we have now.

Any chance you could send me some pics of your mods to the fire box? You are right for what this thing cost we shouldnt be dealing with mods to get it to operate at a reasonable temp.

Murray in N.Z. · 06-28-2012, 07:41 AM

Might be far off here.. but if youve got her really shut down and its still runnning away either y'all have rocket fuel firewood or there is a air leak. Is it possible to seal up the exhaust with plastic bag n tape then blow low pressure/high volume air from a vac cleaner in the inlet. Go around all the doors n welds with a paintbrush n bubble mix of watered down detergent splashing it everywhere to see if'n it blows great big bubbles from somewhere. Hey presto y'all found yer extra air inlet hole, just gum it up with JB weld and see if the heat is more controlable without any extra air coming in.

What about a fat/dripping drain to the outside.. maybe its cocked open?

Muzza.

stephan · 06-28-2012, 08:19 AM

Have you tried a cook without the guru. It could be the source of your problems.

WhiskeyPigBbq · 06-28-2012, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephan

Have you tried a cook without the guru. It could be the source of your problems.

I have tried shutting down the Guru and the temp still rose. I am cooking a couple of shoulders tomorrow and I am only going to use a chimney of lump and use some heat tape to make sure the inlet is sealed tight. If that doesnt work it looks like I will have to fab a new charcoal basket and see if that will help.

jasonjax · 06-28-2012, 08:32 AM

Interesting post. I guess it goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover, because by looks one would think the vault would hold temperature awesomely.

stephan · 06-28-2012, 08:49 AM

I have to agree it is interesting to me also. I was about to pull the trigger on the Pitmaker safe. Im waiting to see the outcome to this thread.

06-27-2012, 05:24 PM	#17
rabeb25 Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 09-15-08 Location: Albertville, MN	I am not knocking the construction, they are REALLY nice. I am just saying they run like ****. I have done a plethora of mods to try and keep mine stable, I even have all the stoker graphs to prove it.... Oh yea my door thermometer is off 25f too. __________________ Few Eggs, FEC100, Custom Bates, Midnight Smoker, UDS, and A Pitmaker Vault

06-27-2012, 09:31 PM	#21
Hozman Take a breath! Join Date: 09-07-11 Location: Grain Valley, MO via Big Sky country	Our comp team has a new one (3-4 months old) you have to use water. We run digiQ and even then it would run away. Also close valve to where it is barley open on fan. Our goes through a lot of fuel and boiled the water off like crazy. We had a 1/4" piece of steel cut to pl;ace between water pan and fire box which has helped a ton. Also had a deeper firebox made with a maze system and that has helped with fuel consumption. With the above things done we can run 230 all day long. Couple other things we do is preheat the cooking chamber with weed burner so digi dont work so hard to get to temp. Also looking at your pic, you have a roof on your porch? beware that with water you will get a lot of steam/grease accumulate on your roof and will have to wash it after use. I was not impressed with pitmaker at all on the process the main guy went through getting the safe. Poor communication and for the price no wway you should have to do any mods to get it to work right. I would never buy one after what I have seen with the one we have now. __________________ 18.5 & 22.5 WSM-Weber one touch. Cyber Q Wi-Fi. Head cook Thick and Thin BBQ

06-27-2012, 09:33 PM	#22
El Ropo Quintessential Chatty Farker Join Date: 10-06-10 Location: Austin, TX Name/Nickname : Roger	Kind of sound like an air leak somewhere to me. I don't see any mention of trying to run it without the draft controller either. That is possible to do isn't it? If you can get it running nice without the controller, than by process of elimination.... If it still runs too hot, might be a leak around the intake like is mentioned above. IMO, you shouldn't "need" water in the pan to keep the temps down. It's about too much O2 getting to the coals. __________________ 22.5" WSM nicknamed Fuel Hog! Rescued 22.5" OTS. 18.5" OTS. SJS Mini-WSM. Building UDS ver 2.0. HEB briqs (rebranded Royal Oak). Pecan/Hickory/Cherry/Apple/Peach woods. 2016 Fuji Absolute 2.0 LE (for burning off all the great BBQ)

06-27-2012, 10:00 AM	#16
SHERIFF Got Wood. Join Date: 07-14-11 Location: Deer Park, Texas	ImageUploadedByTapatalk1340808457.372220.jpg ImageUploadedByTapatalk1340808556.816724.jpg

06-27-2012, 08:51 PM	#18
WhiskeyPigBbq Knows what a fatty is. Join Date: 06-23-12 Location: Chicago	I planning on doing 2 pork butts on friday and 10 racks on Saturday for a party I am having and I gotta say that with temp forecasted to be in the mid 90's I am not looking forward to babysitting and trying to keep the temps in check. Hopefully I can figure something out.

06-27-2012, 08:54 PM	#19
ATXBBQ Got Wood. Join Date: 03-29-11 Location: Austin, TX	I had a vault....they are built really well. They are, however, not the greatest choice for low and slow. Even with a full pan and vents closed my vault would run well over 250. The door thermo on mine was also off around thirty to forty degrees.

06-27-2012, 09:16 PM	#20
jasonjax Babbling Farker Join Date: 12-20-07 Location: Ponte Vedra, Florida Name/Nickname : Jason	My immediate thought would be how many lit coals did you start with? Are you using the "Minion Method" ??

06-27-2012, 11:06 PM	#23
stephan is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 07-02-10 Location: lake grove, new york	Ok correct me if I am wrong but if you can choke the fire out by shutting eveyrthing down then you should be able to control your temp? I mean on my WSM if it gets to hot I just cut back on the air intake to bring it under control. I am only wondering because I am about to buy either a Stumps or a Pitmaster.

06-28-2012, 07:41 AM	#26
Murray in N.Z. On the road to being a farker Join Date: 04-13-11 Location: Auckland New Zealand	Might be far off here.. but if youve got her really shut down and its still runnning away either y'all have rocket fuel firewood or there is a air leak. Is it possible to seal up the exhaust with plastic bag n tape then blow low pressure/high volume air from a vac cleaner in the inlet. Go around all the doors n welds with a paintbrush n bubble mix of watered down detergent splashing it everywhere to see if'n it blows great big bubbles from somewhere. Hey presto y'all found yer extra air inlet hole, just gum it up with JB weld and see if the heat is more controlable without any extra air coming in. What about a fat/dripping drain to the outside.. maybe its cocked open? Muzza.

06-28-2012, 08:19 AM	#27
stephan is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 07-02-10 Location: lake grove, new york	Have you tried a cook without the guru. It could be the source of your problems.

06-28-2012, 08:32 AM	#29
jasonjax Babbling Farker Join Date: 12-20-07 Location: Ponte Vedra, Florida Name/Nickname : Jason	Interesting post. I guess it goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover, because by looks one would think the vault would hold temperature awesomely.

06-28-2012, 08:49 AM	#30
stephan is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 07-02-10 Location: lake grove, new york	I have to agree it is interesting to me also. I was about to pull the trigger on the Pitmaker safe. Im waiting to see the outcome to this thread.