jeffshoaf Posted October 10, 2021 Report Share Posted October 10, 2021 (edited) As we all know, @DennisLinkletter is always innovating. This is a very good thing but it can make adding accessories to legacy KK's an issue - for example, newer KK's have a dedicated port for the cold smoker but those of us with older units typically use the BBQ Guru port for the cold smoker, leaving us to make a choice between using the cold smoker or a temperature controller. There's been some discussion on ways to handle both the cold smoker and a temp controller at the same time and as a new cold smoker owner I've been given it some thought. I upgraded from the old style single-dial draft door to the newer dual-dial draft door (another great innovation) and was thinking about trying to mount the Guru fan into the old draft door or contacting Dennis to see if I can get a solid no-dial draft door to modify, but then I realized that a modular draft door might be a good idea - basically, a draft door that is just a frame with the center cut out and 4 threaded holes (and probably a gasket) that allows mounting various plates with different inserts for different accessories. Of course, the initial accessory plate would be a Guru port for use of a Guru or cold smoker. If the port for a particular accessory isn't too large, there would probably still be enough room for a small dial or shutter to still allow air intake when not using a temp controller fan. What do you think? What other accessories could make use of this type of thing? Edited October 10, 2021 by jeffshoaf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted October 11, 2021 Report Share Posted October 11, 2021 I'm liking the idea of converting the old single port draft door (I upgraded years ago, as well) for using the Guru fan. Maybe @DennisLinkletter could fabricate a replacement for the dial that we could just plug the fan into?? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted October 11, 2021 Report Share Posted October 11, 2021 Would be really easy to make up a draft door with a tube and bracket welded to it that the male cold smoker tube could slide into. We've already done this for the 19" Gas burner 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted October 12, 2021 Report Share Posted October 12, 2021 Cool, but would it be possible to come up with a "bolt on" retrofit so those of us (who've upgraded to the dual dial door) with old single-dial draft doors gathering dust could repurpose them? I was thinking we could remove the wooden knob and bolt on, in the existing hole, a cover plate that has the tube bracket welded to it for the fan? If we needed to seal it up tighter, we could just put some Permatex around the edges of the new cover plate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffshoaf Posted October 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2021 I'm considering getting one of these to try and fit to the one-dial damper door: https://bbqguru.com/storenav/Index?categoryId=&&productId=422 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonj Posted October 12, 2021 Report Share Posted October 12, 2021 On 10/11/2021 at 4:35 PM, DennisLinkletter said: Would be really easy to make up a draft door with a tube and bracket welded to it that the male cold smoker tube could slide into. @DennisLinkletter, is this for the back door? Using the wing nuts to keep it stable? If so, I like the idea of having the smoker in the back out of the way of the probe wires and fan stuff (when used). I sure like using it a lot more than drilling through my KK, although I will if you make me...😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted October 13, 2021 Report Share Posted October 13, 2021 19 hours ago, jeffshoaf said: I'm considering getting one of these to try and fit to the one-dial damper door: https://bbqguru.com/storenav/Index?categoryId=&&productId=422 I'd ask them what the dimensions of that plate are first, as it would need to be big enough to cover up the half-moon opening in the draft door? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffshoaf Posted October 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2021 On 10/13/2021 at 1:11 PM, tony b said: I'd ask them what the dimensions of that plate are first, as it would need to be big enough to cover up the half-moon opening in the draft door? I'm less concerned about that than I am with plate being too large - since the hole in the plate is centered and the half moon in the draft door isn't, the offset may cause one side of the plate to extend past the edge of the draft door and prevent the draft door from fully seating. My initiative thought was to get the Weber kettle adapter that doesn't have the plate but it's the same (over priced) price as the one I linked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffshoaf Posted October 24, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2021 I've put my research on this on hold -- I ran my last overnight cook without the guru, just made sure the kk was heat soaked and stable, used an old remote Maverick thermometer to check the grate temp, and used the Meater block to monitor the food and kk temp. I set Meater alerts for over/under temps; I like the alerts from the phone app much better than the text/email alerts from my CyberQ. The kk temp was rock steady and the Meater alert woke me up around 4:30 am when the Boston butt didn't stall and was done hours before expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnymnemonic Posted October 25, 2021 Report Share Posted October 25, 2021 I've decided not to get a controller for my SBB42 when it gets here based on things like this. I want to see how the grill behaves without one, first, and become an expert on my vent settings. 16 hours ago, jeffshoaf said: The kk temp was rock steady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poochie Posted October 25, 2021 Report Share Posted October 25, 2021 20 hours ago, jeffshoaf said: I've put my research on this on hold -- I ran my last overnight cook without the guru, just made sure the kk was heat soaked and stable, used an old remote Maverick thermometer to check the grate temp, and used the Meater block to monitor the food and kk temp. I set Meater alerts for over/under temps; I like the alerts from the phone app much better than the text/email alerts from my CyberQ. The kk temp was rock steady and the Meater alert woke me up around 4:30 am when the Boston butt didn't stall and was done hours before expected. Check out Fireboard. Connects easily. You can control it completely with your phone. Check temps when you're in town or out of town and adjust them too. And it uses the same fan as the CyberQ. The one from BBQ Guru. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffshoaf Posted December 26, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2021 I took advantage of thermoworks black Friday sales and got a Signals, Billows, the associated battery pack, and the guru intake port adapter. Although I've used the signals for a couple of KK cooks, i actually got all of this for another cooker that should be delivered in February and i haven't used the fan or battery other than to hook everything up in the house to make sure it so worked. The billows default smoker attachment is just the legs of a spring mounted in the exhaust port that clamps the fan onto a flat plate with a foam gasket to help get a tight seal. Of course, the old one-dial damper is just a flat plate with various holes punched out so... I think this is gonna work, or it will add once i find one of the rolls of duct tape that i have somewhere to cover up the rest of the holes. I'm planning on cooking a small beef ribeye roast Tuesday so I'll give it a try then although i don't think I'll really need a controller for that relatively short cook. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poochie Posted December 26, 2021 Report Share Posted December 26, 2021 Look for some aluminum tape. Heat resistant and has a sticky side just like duct tape. One shiny side facing the fire and one facing outside so the two sticky sides meet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffshoaf Posted December 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2021 47 minutes ago, Poochie said: Look for some aluminum tape. Heat resistant and has a sticky side just like duct tape. One shiny side facing the fire and one facing outside so the two sticky sides meet. Yes, I have some of that and was leaning in that direction. Especially since I already know where that tape is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffshoaf Posted December 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2021 I thought i had some of the metallic tape but it was just high-grade shiny duct tape. I'll give the a try on the KK later today. Nice sunny day and in the 60's here in NC - good day for an outdoor cook - so i positioned the fan air inlet and power port up for convenience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffshoaf Posted December 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2021 The damper attached fan in action. It worked very well and left the guru port open for the cold smoker. I ran the thermoworks stuff with the battery so i didn't have to dig out another extension cord. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnymnemonic Posted December 29, 2021 Report Share Posted December 29, 2021 1 hour ago, jeffshoaf said: The damper attached fan in action. It worked very well and left the guru port open for the cold smoker. I ran the thermoworks stuff with the battery so i didn't have to dig out another extension cord. For my big 42 the billows kept my grill at 225 with the yellow damper contraption open only about how you have it in your 1st picture. So I think you can go pretty conservative with it. IOW - if you are having trouble with your temps overshooting, go very conservative - you may only need the billows damper open the tiniest sliver. YMMV on this next point since you have your smoker attachment (I think) below the firebox. In the 42 SBB the smoker port is above the firebox - so - I actually have not been able to keep temps as low as 225 with the smoker attachment going. It is crazy how a little air goes a long way on the KK. Even the big ol 42. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
