so.. its Christmas day.. i was asked to cook the prime rib at my nephews. Only pit he has is a kettle. Hes interested and learning bbq on his, and tries throughout the year using the kettle..
I didn't want to do such a large roast in the kettle, so I bring along a smoky mountain. He also wants to learn how we do ribs, so I pack of Baby backs come too.
Now, i didn't want to be messing with stuff on christmas day with guests around, and i want the WSM at 280. My WSMS lock in at 250 and cruise.. 280 i have to offset the top a bit. Then i will need 300+ to finish, so i figure i will put the stoker on it and it will help temps responds somewhat faster. Besides, he would get a kick out of running the setup over the laptop. Hes was a computer kid too.
so... I get there early to set things up. Prep the wsm, hook up the blower, pull stoker out of the box, wireless router, plug in the blower and probes.. go into the box for the power supplies..
NOTHING.. no power supplies..
WTF..ok, i must've left them on the table in the trailer when I took the nutemps out a week ago to use in the BYC. Go back home(10 minute ride). check table, no power supplies..fark!
so sit and think.. whens the last time used? no clue...think it was Troy back in june-july.. if I wasn't me, where would the team mates put the electronics? I check drawers, nope.. cabinets.. nope.. wheres the power strips?? Ok, maybe with extension cords?(which we keep coiled up in a spare cooler).
Check the cooler, pull out 300 feet of cords.. and yup.. sitting in the bottom of the cooler, still plugged into the extension cords are the power strips, and power supplies to the router and stoker. Not me!.
Got em!.. lost 30 minutes so far..call ahead and have nephew light chimney so we can fire things up asap.. head back to nephews. Dump chimney on WSM ring, close it up.. Want to get stoker going first so plug in power supply..
nothing.. start checking outlet on his deck.. he says they're good.. plug into another outlet ..nothing.. switch extension cords.. nothing..ok.. so plug in the router to see if that has power..
nothing.. ok nephew..u have no power out here, neither device works.. hes stumped so plugs extension cord into outlet in the house...
nothing?? WTF!!! I bring router and stoker into the house and plug them in. well guess what.. NOTHING... both are dead. Two bad power supplies at the same time..?? No way..
WAY!...
fark it.. Open the vents.. going back to basics.... but , now i gotta pull the blower off a hot smoky mountain.. Heats not to much of an issue, but the smoke:icon_sleepy .. holy chit.. its only been burning for 5-10 minutes so it hasnt settled in and the chunks are just starting to light.. guess im smelling like smoke for christmas.. :wink: Get the blower off and set the vents.. as expected, 250 in 20 minutes and struggling to get to 280.. crack the lid a bit and its at 280.. roasts go in at 300 and temps drop.. settle in at 275.. we're on, 45 minutes behind schedule, but we will compensate and run a little hotter later.
So sit and think.. whys this stuff all dead? We haven't used the stoker in the last few contests..last one was troy.. we had ribfest and sayvillle in between and they were unused.
So probably, the power supplies got packed with the extension cords into the cooler at troy, instead of getting packed in the stoker box, which stays on the top shelf in the trailer. At contests, this cooler however stays outside. Its a backup, used to rest the big cuts if we need it.. otherwise, its storage for extension cords and hoses and a seat for our butts. That very same cooler was outside in the monsoon at sayville and had an inch of water in it when i got home. I drained it and left it open to dry.. had no idea the electronics were in there and everything just took a bath..
so on Monday, first thing is a call to Rock to get a new power supply. Then replacing the router with a new one.. then figuring out WTF put the damn electronics in the cooler! :icon_pissed
moral of the story..
what we all know.. Dont depend on the electronics!(right Lee anne?!). Going back to manual pit control is easy whens its just a WSM or spice box..in your yard.. but what if.. that was the fast eddy..and i was at the jack or AR.. or like Slap yo daddy and depended on that stoker to run the pits for whatever reason.. i was using it for convenience on Christmas....and to show off that bbq can be high tech... instead.. my nephew saw what can go wrong..
Prime ribs however.. perfect.. and nope.. was to busy to take pics of the sliced products. So it never happened.... but heres a crappy phone pic..
Burrrrrrrrp...
oh.. and heres why we need a 22 " wsm
I didn't want to do such a large roast in the kettle, so I bring along a smoky mountain. He also wants to learn how we do ribs, so I pack of Baby backs come too.
Now, i didn't want to be messing with stuff on christmas day with guests around, and i want the WSM at 280. My WSMS lock in at 250 and cruise.. 280 i have to offset the top a bit. Then i will need 300+ to finish, so i figure i will put the stoker on it and it will help temps responds somewhat faster. Besides, he would get a kick out of running the setup over the laptop. Hes was a computer kid too.
so... I get there early to set things up. Prep the wsm, hook up the blower, pull stoker out of the box, wireless router, plug in the blower and probes.. go into the box for the power supplies..
NOTHING.. no power supplies..
WTF..ok, i must've left them on the table in the trailer when I took the nutemps out a week ago to use in the BYC. Go back home(10 minute ride). check table, no power supplies..fark!
so sit and think.. whens the last time used? no clue...think it was Troy back in june-july.. if I wasn't me, where would the team mates put the electronics? I check drawers, nope.. cabinets.. nope.. wheres the power strips?? Ok, maybe with extension cords?(which we keep coiled up in a spare cooler).
Check the cooler, pull out 300 feet of cords.. and yup.. sitting in the bottom of the cooler, still plugged into the extension cords are the power strips, and power supplies to the router and stoker.
Not me!. Got em!.. lost 30 minutes so far..call ahead and have nephew light chimney so we can fire things up asap.. head back to nephews. Dump chimney on WSM ring, close it up.. Want to get stoker going first so plug in power supply..
nothing.. start checking outlet on his deck.. he says they're good.. plug into another outlet ..nothing.. switch extension cords.. nothing..ok.. so plug in the router to see if that has power..
nothing.. ok nephew..u have no power out here, neither device works.. hes stumped so plugs extension cord into outlet in the house...
nothing?? WTF!!! I bring router and stoker into the house and plug them in. well guess what.. NOTHING... both are dead. Two bad power supplies at the same time..?? No way..
WAY!...
fark it.. Open the vents.. going back to basics.... but , now i gotta pull the blower off a hot smoky mountain.. Heats not to much of an issue, but the smoke:icon_sleepy .. holy chit.. its only been burning for 5-10 minutes so it hasnt settled in and the chunks are just starting to light.. guess im smelling like smoke for christmas.. :wink: Get the blower off and set the vents.. as expected, 250 in 20 minutes and struggling to get to 280.. crack the lid a bit and its at 280.. roasts go in at 300 and temps drop.. settle in at 275.. we're on, 45 minutes behind schedule, but we will compensate and run a little hotter later.
So sit and think.. whys this stuff all dead? We haven't used the stoker in the last few contests..last one was troy.. we had ribfest and sayvillle in between and they were unused.
So probably, the power supplies got packed with the extension cords into the cooler at troy, instead of getting packed in the stoker box, which stays on the top shelf in the trailer. At contests, this cooler however stays outside. Its a backup, used to rest the big cuts if we need it.. otherwise, its storage for extension cords and hoses and a seat for our butts. That very same cooler was outside in the monsoon at sayville and had an inch of water in it when i got home. I drained it and left it open to dry.. had no idea the electronics were in there and everything just took a bath..
so on Monday, first thing is a call to Rock to get a new power supply. Then replacing the router with a new one.. then figuring out WTF put the damn electronics in the cooler! :icon_pissed
moral of the story..
what we all know.. Dont depend on the electronics!(right Lee anne?!). Going back to manual pit control is easy whens its just a WSM or spice box..in your yard.. but what if.. that was the fast eddy..and i was at the jack or AR.. or like Slap yo daddy and depended on that stoker to run the pits for whatever reason.. i was using it for convenience on Christmas....and to show off that bbq can be high tech... instead.. my nephew saw what can go wrong..
Prime ribs however.. perfect.. and nope.. was to busy to take pics of the sliced products. So it never happened.... but heres a crappy phone pic..
Burrrrrrrrp...
oh.. and heres why we need a 22 " wsm
