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Mack

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Posts posted by Mack

    First go with my ProQ Frontier

    in ProQ Users

    Posted

    On 7/8/2019 at 1:25 AM, Guitarbloke said:

    I did struggle to put the full water pan into the Frontier directly over the lit coals, and ended up sloshing a load over the charcoal basket and down into the base of the bbq...🙄 

    Best method is... Light your fire in the base, place the waterpan in the stacker, then lift the whole stacker by the side handles and place this on to the base.

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    2nd attempt at a cook with it and still struggling, with the Smartfire! (Sealing the Proq Solved it)!

    in SmartFire Controller

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Phlashster said:

    I am very happy with how they burn. Are they suitable for ceramics? I know traditional wisdom is not to use briquettes in ceramic because of the amount of ash. Your coco produces tiny amounts though. Any other issues in ceramics?

    Yes they are fine for use in ceramics... You're right the major reason people advise against briquettes in ceramic is the issue caused by ash which clogs airflow. If your getting ash from briquettes this means that the manufacturer has used fillers (could be just about anything, including cement 🙄) Our briquettes are 99.999% coconut with a very small percent being a natural binder. This does make them a bit more difficult to light, but we've discovered that being square is not a bad thing 😁 https://www.dropbox.com/s/g8799662iewy6w2/Lighting ProQ Cocoshell Briquettes.mp4?dl=0 (Hope the link works, we're working on editing a proper version which we'll upload to our YouTube channel).

    • Like 2

    2nd attempt at a cook with it and still struggling, with the Smartfire! (Sealing the Proq Solved it)!

    in SmartFire Controller

    Posted

    14 hours ago, Phlashster said:

    @Mack @ProQ-Ty Are the coco cubes the same size? I read somewhere they were not. (https://hotsmoked.co.uk/charcoals/proq-cocoshell-briquettes.html) I did not realise this. I order the camping packs because i prefer the smaller pack sizes. The info i read suggested that the 3kg cube size is half the 10kg cube size. If that's the case and you have the 10kg size you might only need 3 cubes !!!!

    They're different sizes, the 3kg packs have smaller cubes.

    10 hours ago, Phlashster said:

    Perhaps Ian or Ty can comment for you, if there is any difference with the 2016 vs 2019 model of Frontier that might be affecting things. 

    There's no difference to how the 2 versions operate, so this shouldn't be a factor.

    • Like 2

    Temp Control

    in Help!

    Posted

    On 6/29/2019 at 6:28 PM, Montyb82 said:

    Hi guys,

    Decided to season my new pro q elite today in preparation of bbq season, I had a bunch of chores to do so haven't particularly tended to it but left a thermometer in there to gauge temp.

    I set it up with sand in the water bowl as from reading a few posts it seems water means more management and causes issues getting up to temp.

    Well, I've had the opposite issue got up to temp quick with the top vent fully open and 1 bottom vent 1/3 open all others shut.  It then accelerated past 225 up to 239 so I closed all vents (not cooking anything and no wood so thought no harm) temp carried on rising to 270 within 30 mins of start and stayed there.

    I gave up about 4 hours later and opened vent at top again and 1 bottom vent to burn through the fuel and its currently sitting happy at about 325.

    So long story short any tips on being able to cook something for longer than 20 minutes....

    Cheers

    PS was using big k charcoal and filled the basket using minion method.

    With sand in the water pan it'll naturally settle at around 300F. Using sand means more attention on bottom vent settings (water will have the unit running at around 220-250F) with the bottom vent settings not making much of a difference), so try with them all just cracked open slightly to start with, the top vent around 1/2 open (if you close the top vent this will disrupt the airflow and your fire will probably die). I used water for many years, as this is the easiest form of control, I only started using sand around 18 months ago. 

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    2nd attempt at a cook with it and still struggling, with the Smartfire! (Sealing the Proq Solved it)!

    in SmartFire Controller

    Posted

    Sotv, it looks to me like you haven't got enough of the charcoal going to start with. Also I would have put the lit charcoal right near where the air comes in from the SF (hard to tell, but from what I can make out you've got it on the opposite side).

    You may have a bad batch of Lumpwood, or it's got too much moisture in it, this can happen when it's been sitting around for quite a while, either at your home, or in the shop you bought it from.

    Joining the ProQ Club :-)

    in ProQ Users

    Posted

    Welcome to the ProQ Family Guitarbloke!

    Good quality briquettes give a more consistent burn due to their uniform shape and lumpwood can have spikes in temperature due to it being inconsistent in size.

    Be warned that with all types of fuel, there are good and bad versions... we've noticed quite a few brands of coconut charcoal now available, unfortunately they're not all made the same. If after a burn, you're left with loads of ash, this is usually an indication that the manufacturer has used fillers (which can be just about anything) to bulk up the product.

     

    Chuck on an Chook for your first run, but bear in mind that this is "Low n Slow", so expect it to take around 3.5 hours. Also with chicken the smoke reacts with the flash to produce a pink colouring near the bone which people often mistake for the meat being uncooked. Get yourself a good quality digital probe thermometer, as this is the best way of determining whether or not food is done.

    Looking forward to seeing how you get on.

     

    Ian

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    New adapter

    in SmartFire Controller

    Posted

    Ice, you'll need to tighten the controller vent, so that it doesn't slip.

    Phlashster I find it works better on the lower vent holes. It has a tab for those occasions when you've not got a SF attached and still want some control either to let air in, or close it off.

    • Like 2

    2nd attempt at a cook with it and still struggling, with the Smartfire! (Sealing the Proq Solved it)!

    in SmartFire Controller

    Posted

    Not sure how to upload short videos, as I have some that show my method of lighting the ProQ Cocoshell, but I'll try and remember to take some pics next time. I'd suggest doing a dry run (no food) just to see if everything I've suggested works.

    9 minutes ago, sotv said:

    p.s. Noticed the fan was operating between 4-10%  at 230F sometimes when I was only aiming for and it was set to 225F? on the second basket of charcoal

    I think the SF was a bit confused by air coming in from other areas :)

     

    • Like 1

    2nd attempt at a cook with it and still struggling, with the Smartfire! (Sealing the Proq Solved it)!

    in SmartFire Controller

    Posted

     

    4 minutes ago, sotv said:

    Will try that with wheel. I do have the top vent fully open, so will close that to 1/4 open and close the other 2 vents fully, but as I said in OP I had to have the 2 bottoms fully open just to get to 215F with the first basketful. I know that lumpwood without the smartfire comfortably got to 225F in the past, plenty of times and maintained it with just one bottom vent 2/3rds open and the top vent fully open so don't think it is the restaurant lumpwood I use being the problem.

    Let the SF do the work from the start, set up minion method and the other 2 vents closed. I doubt charcoal is the issue, but if Lumpwood has been sitting for some time it does absorb moisture. usually the fan will ramp up to about 30F before the desired/ set temp (100%) then back off until it reaches the desired temp. Looking at the graph it appears that there were a few times the lid was opened, try to avoid opening the lid until it's got up to temp.

    7 minutes ago, sotv said:

    It is set up for ProQ Frontier in the BBQ drop down menu

    Great! That's often my problem as I run several different types of smoker and forget to change the setting.

     

    9 minutes ago, sotv said:

    Thinking out aloud, have I put to much sand in the waterpan filled it about 2/3rds full of builders sand?

    That should be fine. The more sand in the pan will just increase the time it takes to get up to temp. I run mine around a 3rd - Half full. It's fine to re-use the sand if it's been foiled (no contamination).

    • Like 1

    2nd attempt at a cook with it and still struggling, with the Smartfire! (Sealing the Proq Solved it)!

    in SmartFire Controller

    Posted

    1 minute ago, sotv said:

    I have the ProQ Frontier Elite 2016 model. Have spoken with yourself/rep? before buying and they said it should be fine with the daisy wheel attached and just fit the cake tin adaptor over it. But I have noticed that when you do up the screw though, it pulls the adaptor across slightly, and though it covers the holes, it doesn't create a perfect seal and there is a gap between the wheel and the adaptor, and although not a huge escape of air from it, you can feel it  coming from of  the rim. Considering if that is why the fan is working so hard in some circumstances and if removing the daisy wheel via the rivet is actually the way to go? But if I do that there is no coming back from that really, if it still doesn't seal properly

    I can buy a wi-fi extender, but  the first cook it did drop the signal for about half an hour during the cook but worked ok for the rest of the it and found the wifi ok. I am 100 yards from the Openreach green box and have 78 Mbps fibre broadband and a strong signal on fibre. I use the smartfire on the 2.4ghz at 20mhz bandwith. My old Maverick worked ok, but I do have the smoker about 125ft away from the router, but as you say an extender maybe needed.

    Ok great...

    If you bend the vent tab up, towards the middle of the vent, the cake tin should fit flat against the base... locate the vent hole that will keep the cake tin in position and then attach using the screw.

    What Pit have you got it set to? see attached images. Make sure it's set to ProQ Frontier.

    All other vents on the base should be closed. Top vent 1/4 open. This allows the SF to control the airflow, by the looks of the graph your temps were fluctuating all over the place, I think this is caused by air coming in from elsewhere.

    Don't run it with water in the pan, as this will have the water and the SF fighting each other for temp control (water in the water pan is designed to keep the unit at around 220 - 250F. Use sand, or a dry foiled waterpan.

    Settings.png

    Settings 2.png

    • Like 3

    2nd attempt at a cook with it and still struggling, with the Smartfire! (Sealing the Proq Solved it)!

    in SmartFire Controller

    Posted

    3 hours ago, sotv said:

    Did a 15 hour cook with it the weekend, still not perfect and I am struggling to get an even 225F with it over that time. First basket of lumpwood lasted about 7 hours and didn't really get above 215F for that first part of the cook (the fan was on for most of that 7 hours as well), switched to ProQ cocoshell briquettes for the second half, second basket gave a steady 225F for 3 hours of the remaining 8 hours of cook, but varied between 200F and 260F for the rest of the time.

    For the first part of the cook, the 2 remaining vents were fully open and the second hotter part only one vent was slightly cracked open? Used sand for the first time as well, due to the length of the cook.

    I am sure i have got to just find the right technique and settings, but struggling at the moment to find the right option. Also couldn't get it to pick the wifi up in the normal position I have my smoker and had to bring it nearer the house, which was a bit disappointing.As there is only so much you can do at 11pm in the pitch black to try and sort it.

    smartfire.thumb.png.1f700a2d9559ef6ff8fde8a84fe2f980.png

    What BBQ are you using?

    Might be worth investing in a Wi-Fi range extender (I had similar issues and this solved them).

    • Like 2

    Proq orderded.

    in ProQ Users

    Posted

    On 5/23/2019 at 12:36 PM, sub333 said:

    I said exactly the same thing to her - it took 7 days to arrive, not the 3-5 they promised.

    But it wasn't their fault - they were let down by the company that supplies the smokers who basically bullshitted them that it was on its way.

    They did everything they could to fix it, and my smoker arrived on the Saturday, at lunchtime, so I fired it up to season it, then cooked on it a day or two later 😀

    Hope your one turns up soon.

    That's absolute nonsense! We are the company that supplies our dealers, sometimes we drop-ship, but we didn't bullsh** them at any time. I won't go into the reasons for the delay, but it definitely wasn't on our side.

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