Best cookers to run without controllers

[sniperfx]

No problem locking in temp and doing whole packers at 250° with one load of charcoal and no pit fan on my Humphreys Battle Box. With that said, I have to confess that I enjoy using my CyberQ as it helps the fire rebound more quickly if I’m opening the smoker during the cook.

What Blazon said.!!!:thumb::thumb::thumb:

 

[ebijack]

Thanks Pharp. Where would I find that tutorial/

This is one about Humphrey's pint.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3697084&posted=1#post3697084

A lot of folks love their Humphrey's. :crazy:
I modified mine. Still don't love it. But it sure is a heck of a lot better!

 

[Lowki]

I run my Humphreys with no electronics. Water pan dry for the majority of my cooks, and have never run out of fuel. Once it is dialed in it will just coast. You may have to go tinker with it if there is a foot or more of snow and ice out though.

 

[JokerBroker]

My Kamado Joe's never cease to amaze me at how stable they run.

+1 on kamados. They will run steady for at least 12 hours in just about any weather.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

The Egg can be set it and forget it

 

[BillATL]

I have a Primo Oval XL and a Humphrey Cubed Pint and (currently) run both with no electronics and no problems. I've had the Primo for a long time and can dial it in no problems. I've only had the Humphrey for a few months. No issues running it without electronics, especially if I let it come up to temp slowly. Sometimes have to spend a couple hours getting it dialed in when I rush it. Which is why I'm considering ordering a Flame Boss for it.

Hey Humphrey owners. I’m going to be ordering a Pint in a couple of weeks. I’ve always used an Guru on my cooker but want to learn this one well. Can you offer some tips/advice on getting it up to temp and maintaining temp?

On my cubed pint I run a T Maze with lump and smoke wood chunks mixed in. I leave a space in the right hand front corner. Get a small chimney of lump going really well and dump that into the space I left. Take a charcoal rake and make sure the hot coals are snugged up good to the rest of the lump. Close the firebox door, open the daisy wheels wide open, open the chimney wide open and let it go.

I generally cook around 275 for butts/brisket, 325-350 for poultry. If I'm in a hurry, when the temp gets up around 100/150 I open the cook chamber and 'pre-heat' it with a weed burner. This brings the temp up way faster and saves charcoal too. When I close up the cook chamber I'll then close one daisy wheel all the way and leave one about 1 finger width open and close the chimney to about 45 degrees. Let it come the rest of the way up to temp and put in the food. I watch it for an hour or so and tap the daisy wheel a few mm if I need to adjust it.

This usually works very well but if I let the fire get too big/hot by running too long with the intakes wide open I can get some overshoots - especially since I usually run dry. On the other side, if I heat too much with the weed burner I can have the fire running a bit cool and I'll undershoot some. Still getting the hang of that.

On the other hand, if I leave the daisy wheels pretty low from the start and sneak up on the temp it runs rock solid at the temp I set it up. The only problem with that is there's a lot of metal to heat up so it takes a while and can use up some charcoal.

Reading this, I think I'll try preheating sooner and not letting the fire get so hot next cook. I've just been wanting to make sure the fire was established and the cooker was drafting well.

 

[Ag76]

For me, it would be the WSM.

 

[el luchador]

the uds is a basically sealed drum with the only air coming in from your intake and going out your exhaust.

that makes it very efficient, and very easy to use without a controller.

I have a controller for mine but I don't even hook up the fan anymore. I just use it for the wifi. once you get it set. it will maintain a temperature for hours.

 

[SS13]

Second on the Pit Barrel Cooker. I can't get enough of it.

 

[Frank Mahovlich]

My WSM 22 will settle in and chug along for hours at 280. That's using a full load of charcoal, and adding 20 fully grayed-over lit briquets using the Minion Method.

 

[EdF]

Kamados in my book. I've had a BGE since 2002, and have only blown one overnight pork butt. Recently did pick up a Smobot for it though. http:///www.smobot.com

 

[BillATL]

Kamados in my book. I've had a BGE since 2002, and have only blown one overnight pork butt. Recently did pick up a Smobot for it though. http:///www.smobot.com

My work firewall picked up that URL as a malware site and blocked access. I'm not sure what smobot is but (perhaps) beware

 

[piperpilot]

Hey BillATL,

Curtis here from the SMOBOT team. I manage the SMOBOT website. I have checked our site and also checked all of the blacklisting services and I'm not sure why your corporate firewall is complaining about it. At one point we were blacklisted by McAffee due to a malware infection, but that was removed months ago. If you have any detail on the error message you are getting, it would help in getting it cleared up. I can assure you that http://www.smobot.com and https://www.smobot.com are both clean.

Best Regards,
Curtis

 

[BillATL]

Curtis - I sent you a PM

 

[jasonjax]

For me, it would be the WSM.

+1 ...before I became a pellet convert my WSM would settle into 250 range with little adjustment of the vents and run for 12+ hours easily.

 

[SmokePigTails]

I can never get the WSM to really lock in. I have had some success using a snake, but minion method keeps hitting the 280 range, then moves up or down 30-50 points.

I expected the Humphreys to get okay results, but they way controllers are pushed with units like that, I expected them to be a necessity.

The price of Kamados for the space you get is pretty restrictive. But to have a single unit for all my needs would be nice. That insulation though, such an awesome tool. Someday Broil King will make an oval King Keg.

 

[Lowki]

Hey Humphrey owners. I’m going to be ordering a Pint in a couple of weeks. I’ve always used an Guru on my cooker but want to learn this one well. Can you offer some tips/advice on getting it up to temp and maintaining temp?

If i am in a hurry i will take my weed burner and heat up the inside of the cook chamber while my fire gets going. If not i will use that time to time fine tune my appreciation of bourbon.
I like to cook 300 or so and lump is the best at getting the pint up to this temp and maintaining it from a cold start. If i preheat my cook chamber as mentioned above it does not really matter what charcoal i run, but i seem to get the longest burn from briquettes.
I start my fire in the back of the fire basket, so when i pull out the basket it is less likely to dump hot ash and coals in front of my cooker. I lay down a charcoal base and shove the wood chunks down in the coal spaced throughout, i try to focus having more wood opposite my fire (especially at cold start) because i see it as a waste of to use my good wood to just to get to temp. with no meat in there. I may even throw a good sized hunk just behind the fire when i put the food in.
I use a full size disposable in my water pan and run dry most cooks, the exception being when i do the occasional 225-250 cook overnight.
Congrats on the pint. Let us know if you have any questions.