Gonna give it a shot....

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damon555

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Jun 26, 2010
464
35
Middle Tennessee
I've been extolling the virtues of the great temp control on my 22.5" WSM since I've had it and have never ran into any issues. That is until I tried to smoke a butt when it was quite cold outside. I started it @ 6 am and wasn't too concerned about when it got done because I was going to freeze most of it anyway and we were eating something else for dinner. There were no issues getting everything up to temp and getting the meat on. I didn't bother checking the smoker for the first few hours because keeping it steady is normally not an issue. Well when I went and checked everything out the smoker temp had dropped to below 185 degrees. That's pretty odd so I looked everything over and noticed that the charcoal (kingsford blue) had a lot more ash on it then usual. The colder weather required me to rethink my vent settings and I was letting in more air than usual to keep the temps up. Ash accumulation had somewhat smothered the lit coals and dropped my temp to the point that I needed to stir everything up to get things cooking again.

This brings me to the point of my thread...Normally the temp issue wouldn't be a problem because I'm checking the smoker from time to time during the day. But for overnight smokes I leave it unattended for long periods of time and I'd like to do more BBQ in the winter months. So I decided to try out one of the temp control devices that are on the market. After some hemming and hawing I chose the BBQ guru Nano Q and the accessories needed to hook it up to the WSM. I've fought this urge for some time because everything works so good in the warmer months. With the price of meat these days I don't want to take any chances ruining anything so I just bite the bullet and went with what I think is the most cost effective, simplest and most durable option. I'll be sure to review this little gadget so you guys and gals can get some idea of how well it works.....
 
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I know its a little after the fact, but I just use a 6 ft. x 8 ft. welding blanket for my combo windbreak/insulator. It wraps around my 22.5" WSM then I use some spring clips to secure it and just make sure I leave the exhaust vent clear. I can run in less than 30° and breezy conditions with about the same fuel consumption as a 50-60° day with no wind.

Welding blanket was $45, clips were $2 each, and the blanket is good to 1200° - the discollorization is due to smoke, not heat.

 
now thats using the old noggin,  i need one of those to wrap up my  GOSM on windy days
 
 
Using the blanket is probably a more sensible option....but, being the tech junkie/gadget guy that I am I couldn't resist the urge to add another high tech doohickey to the otherwise simple process of smoking. Is that odd or what?....
a38.gif
 
LOL... trust me if I wasn't such a cheap bastard I would buy a stoker as well, but I'm just to damn cheap (just ask my wife... lol)
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Another great plus about the blanket is it folds up and goes into the deck box for easy storage when not needed.
 
You are gonna love it!!

The guru makes life easy...

What size fan ya get???

I got the 10 but usually run it half open...


   Craig
 
I'm pretty cheap myself JIR but I get bit by the urge to spend a couple bucks from time to time too...ya can't save it all...lol

Craig, I got the 10 cfm too. I'm under the impression that it's more than enough....we shall see.
 
Ordered on Sunday, shows up on Wednesday....very quick shipping. I look forward to testing it this weekend!
 
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