Montyb82 Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phlashster Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 Hi @Montyb82 My guess would be too much lit fuel in the first instance. I light mine with 4 or 6 pieces in a chimney. It might take longer to get up to temp, but you won't over shoot. How much lit fuel did you add to the unlit fuel? Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montyb82 Posted June 29, 2019 Author Share Posted June 29, 2019 Just now, Phlashster said: Hi @Montyb82 My guess would be too much lit fuel in the first instance. I light mine with 4 or 6 pieces in a chimney. It might take longer to get up to temp, but you won't over shoot. How much lit fuel did you add to the unlit fuel? Phil Wasnt a crazy amount maybe 10 pieces or so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montyb82 Posted July 2, 2019 Author Share Posted July 2, 2019 Would the amount of sand in the fire bowl have much of an affect on grill temp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phlashster Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 I think it is normally recommended to 1/3rd fill with sand. Try fewer lit pieces too, maybe half. If the temp is shooting up fast, partially close further the bottom vent. Aim for 45 mins to an hour for it to get up to temp. Let us know how you get on. Phil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montyb82 Posted July 2, 2019 Author Share Posted July 2, 2019 I was about half full on sand, will try again without meat this week with less lit fuel and see how it goes, thanks for the advice 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phlashster Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 Great. I remember, I had exactly the same issue on my first couple of cooks. Once you get used to how the fire burns and airflow affects it, it becomes much easier. Changes to vent openings take a few minutes to have an effect, so you almost need to predict and make changes in advance. A few cooks in and it will be much easier. The vent that is open, try and make sure that it is downstream from the wind. If the wind picks up and blows into the open vent, it can also cause spikes. With a choice of three on the Pro Q's this is easier than on some with only a single vent. Phil 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montyb82 Posted July 3, 2019 Author Share Posted July 3, 2019 .Good tip @Phlashster that may have been part of the issue thinking back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Monkey Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 2 hours ago, Phlashster said: Great. I remember, I had exactly the same issue on my first couple of cooks. Once you get used to how the fire burns and airflow affects it, it becomes much easier. Changes to vent openings take a few minutes to have an effect, so you almost need to predict and make changes in advance. A few cooks in and it will be much easier. The vent that is open, try and make sure that it is downstream from the wind. If the wind picks up and blows into the open vent, it can also cause spikes. With a choice of three on the Pro Q's this is easier than on some with only a single vent. Phil This is why, when folks ask, what’s the first thing I should cook. My answer is always, run your smoker empty a couple of times. Get used to how to control it, what’s the best set up for it, even the best position in the garden. The Garden position sounds strange, but like mentioned, the wind can effect, but other weather conditions can effect it. Rain can drop the temperature, direct sun can raise the temperature. Run it naked until your confident with your control. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mack Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 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. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 @Mack Would lave stone/chippings make any differnce between water on one hand and sand on on the other?? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gardeco-PUMICE-4L-Lava-Stones-Bag/dp/B007FPZIBO?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_3 I was thinking of giving it a go for £9??? Ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mack Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 Just now, Icefever said: @Mack Would lave stone/chippings make any differnce between water on one hand and sand on on the other?? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gardeco-PUMICE-4L-Lava-Stones-Bag/dp/B007FPZIBO?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_3 I was thinking of giving it a go for £9??? Ice. Pretty similar results with sand, Play sand is available at most garden centres, or big box stores (B&Q, Homebase). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montyb82 Posted July 3, 2019 Author Share Posted July 3, 2019 I got my play sand from b&m cost about £2 for 3x a full bowl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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