Pitmaster IQ120 battery pack

[drallan81]

I've been using a Pitmaster IQ120 for the past couple of years on my 18" WSM and now my UDS with great success. However, I have occasionally been frustrated w/ the requirement for an AC power source. I cooked turkeys for Thanksgiving this year at my Father-In-Laws and had to run a few extension cords.

I have been really eyeing the PartyQ, but after Christmas couldn't justify the $150+ price tag at the moment. I was however able to find a cool rechargeable battery pack for only $30. It is almost the exact same L x W dimensions as the IQ and about half as thick. Currently it is just held on by rubber bands, but I plan on upgrading to Velcro.

I ran some ribs over the weekend for a test run and it performed flawlessly. I'm not sure what the total battery life will be, am going to try for a butt next weekend. But for now it looks like I have been able to eliminate the need for a power cord.

I'm not an electronics engineer, but I did some quick research and found out that the IQ requires 12v 5A. The battery pack I orderd was a 12v 6A. I'll get pictures up this weekend, but here is a link to the battery I got of Amazon.

[ame]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MF70BPU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/ame]

 

[NoNotTheDuo]

I'm not an electronic engineer either, so take all of this with a grain of salt.

Based on the link, the battery pack is rated for 6Ah (amp-hours). However, it looks like the max output from the power port is 3A, which means if your IQ required 5A, it wouldn't be able to get it.

I suspect that your IQ won't actually draw 5A. The small fan like what's inside of it will probably actually draw less than 1A when powered. I think you'll be fine, but it might be something to keep an eye on for the first few cooks.

 

[TroyA65]

I basically use one of these if I don't have AC. I think I paid around $25-$30 for mine on sale. I went to the local electronics store and bought a cig jack and the correct charging plug, wired the two together and presto!!

Hope that helps


[ame]https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-JC509-1000-Starter-Compressor/dp/B002X6VXL4/ref=sr_1_4?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1483581365&sr=1-4&keywords=car+battery+charger+jump+starter[/ame]

 

[kwas68]

I soldered a barrel connector onto one of these 12V battery holders (8x 1.5V D batteries). Cheap and easy! Plus you can get the batteries anywhere.
[ame]https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Plastic-Storage-Holder-Battery/dp/B00XI51ZQM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1483582468&sr=8-5&keywords=12v+d+battery+holder[/ame]

 

[Nuco59]

I hope your experiments work out for you.

Being the frugal (broke) type, I might have been more prone to just run the cookers naked on the rare occasion that I did not have access to 120v. Just one less thing to keep up with.

 

[IamMadMan]

There are so many ways to accomplish the task, looks like you have a good selection....

 

[drallan81]

I soldered a barrel connector onto one of these 12V battery holders (8x 1.5V D batteries). Cheap and easy! Plus you can get the batteries anywhere.
https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Plast...83582468&sr=8-5&keywords=12v+d+battery+holder

I had thought about doing something like that, but really wanted a rechargeable power source. D-batteries can get expensive and I didn't want to invest in rechargeable individual batteries.

 

[drallan81]

I'm not an electronic engineer either, so take all of this with a grain of salt.

Based on the link, the battery pack is rated for 6Ah (amp-hours). However, it looks like the max output from the power port is 3A, which means if your IQ required 5A, it wouldn't be able to get it.

I suspect that your IQ won't actually draw 5A. The small fan like what's inside of it will probably actually draw less than 1A when powered. I think you'll be fine, but it might be something to keep an eye on for the first few cooks.

Thanks, yeah, I probably should have looked a little closer to the pictures, especially since they have a 12A model available also. So far I haven't had any issues and rarely run the fan on high. Usually its just used for a quick burst to stoke the fire.

 

[drallan81]

I hope your experiments work out for you.

Being the frugal (broke) type, I might have been more prone to just run the cookers naked on the rare occasion that I did not have access to 120v. Just one less thing to keep up with.

The ATC can be a wonderful/terrible thing. Once you get used to the security blanket and a good nights sleep its hard to turn back. What really prompted me for this go around was the higher temp 325 turkey cook. Its one thing if I screw up a butt of my own. But not the family turkey on Thanksgiving. This way I can enjoy myself and family more w/o having to constantly worry about temps.

Don't get me wrong, I still use "I need to watch the smoker" as an excuse to escape outside, smoke cigars and enjoy a beverage. But nobody else needs to know that.

 

[THoey1963]

I knew I saw where they had built a battery pack.

https://pitmasteriq.com/blogs/blog/71727621-battery-pack

Not going to help if you don't want to buy batteries. Rechargeables?

 

[Bbq_lover]

I soldered a barrel connector onto one of these 12V battery holders (8x 1.5V D batteries). Cheap and easy! Plus you can get the batteries anywhere.
https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Plast...83582468&sr=8-5&keywords=12v+d+battery+holder

Would you happen to have a link to the barrel connector as well? Thanks!!