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Q-talk *ON TOPIC ONLY* QUALITY ON TOPIC discussion of Backyard BBQ, grilling, equipment and outdoor cookin' . ** Other cooking techniques are welcomed for when your cookin' in the kitchen. Post your hints, tips, tricks & techniques, success, failures, but stay on topic and watch for that hijacking.


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Old 11-12-2018, 05:15 PM   #16
Jcmhc
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Join Date: 12-17-17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Youngin' View Post
I haven't check to see if the fan still runs. That might be something to look in to.

It does get a quite a bit of air through the door since it's the stock door. And when I place the lit coals I spread them out. I don't place them all in one place.
This is your problem - don't spread out the coals when you place them. Rather, put them in a central "pit" and you shouldn't have those problems. Think about it - by spreading the coals out you're affording the opportunity for more and more unlit coals to ignite, which is what is happening.

Try dumping the lit coals in the center, or on one side of the charcoal basket, and report back.

(That isn't to say that also using water in the bowl wouldn't help, but I've never found it necessary since I lock in at about 275 with almost no effort.)
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Old 11-12-2018, 05:16 PM   #17
Jcmhc
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...I should also add that my WSM is completely sealed up via a new door and felt seals. That probably helps as well.
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Old 11-12-2018, 05:22 PM   #18
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My ran hot as well..tried eveything...bought expensive seal kit...bandit door..use clay dish instead of water..then I tried closing the top vent 1/2 way..I know eveyone says keep wide open..just couldnt get it to stabilize at 250-275..now works perfect. I can even get it to hold 175 for smoking bacon for hours. I have an iq110 controller. After all that..I found I like hot n fast better most of the time.
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Old 11-12-2018, 05:23 PM   #19
THoey1963
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I missed that about spreading out the coals. I didn't use a chimney, I used a torch / weed burner to light mine. I always lit the coals that were in the basket right in front of the vent that had the fan attached. My logic was that the pushed air would lead the burn across the basket. Spreading the coals means you have several small fires going at once.
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Old 11-12-2018, 07:17 PM   #20
AggieBoilerQ
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I run a WSM with an ATC. Like mentioned above, spreading the lit coals causes some of your problem. Put them all in one spot.

The other part - if the ATC fan runs when you’re over temp, it’s not right. Also, are you sure your temp read out is accurate? If it’s questionable, send it back...unless you can program the PID parameters or troubleshoot it yourself.

Lastly, I’ve found my WSM with ATC runs better when the top vent is 50% closed. It reduces the air volume pumped in and allows the ATC to have tighter temp control (in my opinion).

Frustrating? Run that bad boy manually for now. The WSM is known for holding steady temps for hours on end. Only as the food gets warmer do the smoker temps creep up; Just close a lower vent some more to bring it down.
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Old 11-12-2018, 08:10 PM   #21
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One last thing... I went with a heatermeter as opposed to any other commercial atc. Basically every single parameter is modifiable, so I can get it extremely dialed in. Definitely more tinkering involved, but I am satisfied with the results!
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Old 11-12-2018, 10:02 PM   #22
mrp116
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Take off the BBQ Guru and run it managing the bottom vents vents manually. WSM does not need the assistance once you learn the smoker. I have hundreds of WSM cooks, and I have never once wished I had that type assistance unless it was an overnight cook, in the winter, during a cold rain.
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Old 11-13-2018, 05:05 PM   #23
dward51
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I've been running a WSM with a GURU since about 2006 and never had that sort of heat run up issue. You did tape over the other vent holes in the vent where the Guru fan adapter is installed, right (using the high temp foil tape that came with the guru)? Also all the other bottom vents stay 100% shut the entire cook and top vent 100% open the entire cook. You want the Guru to be the only possible source of air to the fire (through that one hole in the one vent - all other bottom vent holes are either closed or taped off).

Also one other thing I do on my WSM/Guru smokes is at the start once the meat is on, I close the slide damper on the guru fan box to only be open about 10-15%. That small slit is more than enough for the fan (I have a pit viper 10cfm) to keep the fire spot on. Much later I will open it all the way (like hours later on an overnight smoke when I notice the Guru fan light is "on" most of the time). Yes, you might see a temp spike when you pull the lid to put the meat on from the inrush of air, but it should settle down on its own in about 15 to 20 minutes. I set mine for 225* and never touch a vent or the Guru control box after I start the cook and let the little computer do all the work. I also start a small pile of lit over unlit with smoke wood chunks in between al-la Minion method for long smokes. That Guru slit damper may be your problem if you are leaving it open all the way the entire cook. Try to close the damper slit on the Guru fan and use a smaller concentrated pile of lit and see if that helps.


Water is good to use until you learn the WSM. Water acts like a natural heat moderator in a smoker especially one running just above the boiling point of water. Ok, physics time.... It takes a huge amount of energy to raise liquid water at 212* to steam at 212*. Way more than it takes to go from 211* liquid to 212* liquid. Also unless you keep feeding energy (heat) to the steam, it naturally wants to fall back to a liquid. So in the process, the water/steam reaction takes a good bit of heat out of the air column around the 212-215* mark. This is perfect for smoking low and slow at 225*. The water slows down any temp spikes, and also helps pull the overshoot back down to that 212* mark just by the way water in a liquid vs a vapor (steam) works. I would suggest you run a full water pan on a smoke where you are wanting to target 225* to 250* until you get the hang of the WSM.



I run a clay flower pot base 95% of the time. It serves as a heat sink like the water does to a point, but it does not have the quality of pulling an overshoot down as quick. But once you get to know the WSM and Guru, you should not really have issues with overshoots so much. Let us know what you try and how it works.

Last edited by dward51; 11-13-2018 at 05:31 PM..
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Old 11-14-2018, 01:35 PM   #24
Youngin'
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Thank you to everyone who replied. I've had my WSM for the better part of 4 years but recently moved and was finally able to calm down with home repairs. Decided to splurge on the Guru for overnight cooks. I'll try all these this weekend and let you.

Cheers!
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Old 11-14-2018, 02:07 PM   #25
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I think next time I'll start with fewer lit coals.

May have been my problem the other day. I had the small weber chimney almost full of lit when I dumped it in.
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Old 11-14-2018, 03:32 PM   #26
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Youngin,
PM me, I may be able to help.
Marty
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Old 11-14-2018, 03:42 PM   #27
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Two things I don't believe have been mentioned yet.
  • Close down the damper on the guru, so to half. That way when it calls for fan, it will get smaller doses and just get called more.
  • Set you set point lower than target temp. Once at that temp, turn guru off to reset, then back on and set to true target temp.
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Old 11-15-2018, 08:07 AM   #28
Youngin'
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stingerhook View Post
Youngin,
PM me, I may be able to help.
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Message sent.
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