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Trouble using Fireboard w/ insulated cabinet

onemanlan said:
Fair points. I haven't used a Fireboard product. Thought the info might be relevant. He was using a Kamado style grill though. They have a tendency to retain heat and overshoot unless you're on top of it. I never used a PID on my KJ when I had one for that reason.
Click to expand...

Yeah I could see a kamado needing maintenance since they have such a small coal bed yet last so long. A cabinet is a little more forgiving, though insulation definitely presents a challenge. I'm used to WSMs and large offsets in the past, so an insulated cabinet has been a totally different beast.
 
nickmv said:
Thanks, this is very helpful. Last thing, and I apologize for being persistent here, but are you turning down the fan speed on your Pit Viper in the controller settings?? I understand you're keeping the damper on the fan itself open usually, but most controllers have a max fan speed % setting as well that allows you to keep the fan from blasting too much air and stirring up ashes and causing an overdraft effect.

Are you just letting it run at up to 100% speed for max output, or are you capping it much lower?[/QUOTE


The Fireboard controls the fan speed and duration. I don't set a speed limit in the Fireboard app. The graph shows the fan running nearly continuously until the pit temp nears the set point. At that time the fan runs intermittently at full speed as the temp stabilizes at the set point. After that, the graph shows that the fan duration and speed varies to maintain the pit temp. At this point from looking at the graph, I would guesstamate that the fan actually runs <10% of the time and at a reduced speed.

I have not had a problem with flying ashes on the Battle Box, which is a reverse flow smoker.

If the Fireboard could speak, I believe it would say "I got this" and I would agree.
Click to expand...
 
Well I had a very interesting test run I did last night. No food, just a pure temp test.

Setup:

  • Snake setup, half the firebox filled (dont wanna burn a whole box of col)
  • Start point oriented to opposite side from where blower blows
  • 1/4 chimney used to start
  • 70% fan max
  • 2.5 gals tap-hot water in the pan

I dumped 1/4 chimney in, set exhaust vent to about 35-40%, and let the Fireboard take over. Now this is where it got weird. It took > 2.5 hrs to get it to hit setpoint, which is really odd. And I had to help it out by opening it up wide for a little bit. I figured the fan would do a pretty good job of spreading the snake and getting it up to temp pretty quick. But it got more interesting. After being 2 hrs in, I figured I would've completely overblown the snake and lit the entire thing up. Nope -- It was about halfway through rounding the first corner. Eventually I opened up the stack more and it climbed up to where I needed, but it was just very strange how hard it was trying and yet advancing so slowly.


I'm going to run another test in the next couple days where I put in a tad more coals to start, and I open the stack all the way until I hit 40-50F before setpoint, then going to close it down to 40% and see how it handles it. I think there's merit to the idea of using the stack and avoiding using the intake valve if at all possible.
 
I trust you've been on the Facebook page? Lots of very direct info there.
 
First, I think you're starting out with too many lit coals. Start out by lighting just a few coals...maybe 3 and placing them at the start of your snake or on the top of your coal bed. I use a small torch to lite just a few coals. Set up your FB for 25* below your goal temp, close down top vent to 1/4" or less and fan vent to half. Let the FB bring the cooker up slowly.
I think what's happening is, you have too many lit coals to start with. By the time the cooker reaches your set, you're burning a lot of coals, so it's almost uncontrollable at that point.
 
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darita said:
First, I think you're starting out with too many lit coals. Start out by lighting just a few coals...maybe 3 and placing them at the start of your snake or on the top of your coal bed. I use a small torch to lite just a few coals. Set up your FB for 25* below your goal temp, close down top vent to 1/4" or less and fan vent to half. Let the FB bring the cooker up slowly.
I think what's happening is, you have too many lit coals to start with. By the time the cooker reaches your set, you're burning a lot of coals, so it's almost uncontrollable at that point.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if you saw a few posts up, but I did just this and it was kind of a disaster. The pit took almost THREE HOURS to reach 240. This was with 1/4 exhaust open, other vents closed, and the Pit Viper running at 70% output. Near the end of the 3 hours I said "F this" and killed the fan, opened the stack and vents wide, and watched the temp rise immediately from 220 to 235 and rising.But it didn't do some crazy overshoot swing like you'd expect from over-driving the fan.

I'm........stumped. It's just baffling. Where did the heat go? If it blew out the exhaust, why didn't it overshoot like crazy? It's just..............I dunno man, I dont get it. I mean, it's 26x50 insulated chamber with a 7cfm fan output which sounds like PLENTY.
 
darita said:
Please post when you figure out how to best use your FB.
Click to expand...

Will do, I'm gonna cook some wings tomorrow on it, hopefully will have better results. See my post above where the fan-based startup was a disaster. This next cook I'm starting out with a small number of coals again, but I'm not letting the fan start the pit up, gonna open vents wide and let it do its thing, then try hooking the FB up again. I also believe that having the snake start at the opposite end from the fan does in fact make things more controllable. It prevents any accidental ignition of the next charcoal channel over, but I cant help but wonder if it also contributed to my 3 hour startup.


It's frustrating.
 
Please post the graph, with fan readings. You may get more specific feedback on the Fireboard Users Group FB page.
 
darita said:
Please post the graph, with fan readings. You may get more specific feedback on the Fireboard Users Group FB page.
Click to expand...

I may try again but I gave that a shot a few months back and got like 1 single response, and that response was beyond useless -- "well it works for me"
 
I feel your frustration, as it should be pretty straightforward. My first Primo test was pretty uneventful. Posting your graph will tell a lot.
 
I run a fb2 on meadow creek bx50 from cold start and have no over shoot and no problems holding temperature. I leave too vent wide open always. Just did an 18 hr cook and after it came up to temp held rock solid!
QUOTE]
 
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