xl spicewine, which guru fan is most appropriate/what are you running?

I use a 10cfm because that is what I have and most of the time I need to close it down some, in order to achieve the temp I want. On my Lg Spicewine I have to close the exhaust down a bit, maybe 1/4 for a better burn, that is with or without the air controller. I suggest you fire it up once or twice and try regulating temps to your liking, you may find you don't really need the air controller
Dave

Guru is not needed but it does help to keep it pinpoint accurate. 10 cfm is enough but I had a 25 even on my medium and I usually kept it choked back to 1/8 opening as I liked a very short but consistent intake of air.

early mornin' smokin' said:

thanks guys! i've never personally run one, so any tips would be greatly appreciated.things like 1 stack or 2, full open, throttled down. I'm clueless. but way too excited, I leave 4am tmrw morning to take the trip upstate.

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The best way I know to adjust the stacks, is to close them both, then turn the handle back and count the revolutions it makes until it stops, and is fully open. Then bring them to fully closed and count again to see if it is the same as when you opened them, which it should be. Now turn them one full turn, or whatever you feel will do the job on both sides. Now play with this until you are satisfied with the temps making sure to give it enough time to adjust its self, keep in mind that may take some time since they are built very heavy with a lot of metal that will need some time to level out. It will take awhile before you get over the learning curve and can adjust the intakes with the exhaust to get where you like it. By counting how many revolutions you get and dividing by 4 you then know when you are at 1/8. 1/4, 1/2. 3/4 ect, A weed burner will help get the temp up faster, just be careful not to hit the shelves with it they will warp.

Most will tell you to leave the stacks wide open but I have talked to several that own them, and we all agree they need some adjustment not normally done on other smokers. Remember a long burn is not the goal just an efficient one. Lots of things will make a difference as to how it will burn, these you will learn. Its not the destination, its the journey that will make it worth your while Grasshopper. :clap: Don't forget to grill Jay at Spicewine before you leave, on technic he is the Man.
Dave

early mornin' smokin' said:

i'm picking it up second hand, but i may just have to give jay a call. sorry for being a PITA, but let's say i run both stacks half open, any tips on where to start with my intakes?
How much coal to light up at first? 1 spot, 2? multiple? it doesn't have a maze, just the standard charcoal tray.

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Pat - you'll have no problem figuring it out after maybe 30 minutes of fiddling around after you get it near temp.

Here's what I'd do if you don't have a maze or a Guru and you were doing a long cook and you have time

- start off my pre-heating the cooking chamber by loading in 1 fully lit chimney and keeping bottom vent fully open.. Let that bring the temp up a bit ( I prefer this as you're not wasting wood just getting all that steel to temp). If you have a weedburner, you can do that as an alternative.

- after about 30 minutes most of the initial coals should be burned down a bit... move that over with a shovel.. then load in your unlit coal in a big pile in the center with wood chunks mixed in... then shovel the lit coals on top.. This will begin your Minion type burn.

- Now if this is too much work, then skip it all.. just load in a big pile of coal/wood and dump about 1/2 chimney of coal on top of the unlit pile.

- keep bottom vents open until chamber temp is about 25 degrees above your desired cooking temp.. Then as you add your meats, close bottom vents to about 1/4 open.. you're cooker should begin to settle in.

From here, adjust bottom vent open a bit more if needed, but it should be rare that you need to open the top vents more... if anything you will need to close them down a bit. Once that steel gets hot, it doesn't need that much air to keep temps steady with clean smoke.

Your going to love your Spicewine.
I have never used a Guru on mine. I usually control the temps from the intake. Once the cooker temp is set it stay steady for a very long time.

Good luck with your new toy.

I just ordered a medium Spicewine last week (6-8 weeks seems like an eternity). I had a million questions and Steve at Spicewine took the time to answer them all. I, too, was considering a Guru based on what I've read. Steve said he thought it wasn't necessary and pointed out that the Spicewine team doesn't use them. His advice was to cook with the rig a few times before buying any add-ons or gadgets. That seems to make sense to me.

early mornin' smokin' said:

thanks for the help guys! we're buying this, and hopefully in the near future opening a bacon and BBQ joint. I recently started a company called north fork bacon & smokehouse. We make high quality bacon out of pork, beef and duck. Gained a lot of momentum very quickly with just the bacon, but that alone won't sustain a store, so Bringing comp quality bbq to the masses is another one of my goals. Had to pull out of our old place of production. And an opportunity arose to take over a store, and it's too good to pass up. It's a tiny pizzeria, but the rent is low, so is overhead, and the price to get in the door is a steal with everything i'm getting. Helps that i've stood behind the counter of the place for the better part of the last 15 years. There's nothing like it anywhere even close to me. Going to be doing real BBQ, not the crap that gets pumped out of the few places that are around, but no where close. I'll be keeping the brethren informed of my progress, but we're looking at a september 1 opening.

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Good Luck Pat !!!

Based on this being for business purposes, I'd strongly suggest the $ investment in the Guru... You're time and ensuring consistency each time out will pay for itself very quickly.

rumpunch said:

I just ordered a medium Spicewine last week (6-8 weeks seems like an eternity). I had a million questions and Steve at Spicewine took the time to answer them all. I, too, was considering a Guru based on what I've read. Steve said he thought it wasn't necessary and pointed out that the Spicewine team doesn't use them. His advice was to cook with the rig a few times before buying any add-ons or gadgets. That seems to make sense to me.

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I looked at buying a Guru when i first got the Spicewine . I feel there is no need to put one on it , keep it simple . Spicewine is designed to run with just fine without one . Enjoy your Spicebox !!!

Like Vinny stated , for a business and catering I would run a Guru . Not for any fault in the Spicewine
though..