Zorro Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 I have a BB-Q Guru with the 10 CFM fan mounted on a 3 year old OTB Supreme. I noticed that the charcoal on the opposite side of the grill gets hotter than the side closest to the fan location. Has anyone else experienced this and what did you do to fix this problem. I basically use my KK for grilling and rotisserie cooking. My problem is in Colorado at 9,700 feet elevation so the addition of forcing air into the grill helps a lot. If I just open the dampers up, I get uniform ignition of the charcoal--but it takes at least 2 1/2 hours to get the thing lit good. That doesn't work so well at a vacation home when there is a lot of activity and a lot of spontaneous cooking without a lot of planning. I always light the charcoal with 2 of the modified Harbor Freight torches that we saw on this web site. (In Colorado, Mapp Gas gets it going a lot faster than regular propane.) I have thought about putting some sort of deflector in front of the fan to disperse the air current inside the lower chamber. Any suggestions? Zorro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Zorro - I dont have a guru, but I have noticed the same burn pattern here at sea level in FL with natural draft. The rear left corner always seems to be the hot spot. I can sometimes get it to burn more evenly by starting the front right side of the lump, or somewhere between center and front-right. This works well enough on a low and slow since it keeps most of the fire under the deflector. On higher temp cooks, I usually have to stir the coals at least once and maybe twice before putting the food on to make sure I have an even fire. Once you have your grill heated and your fire established, does it draw enough draft to keep it hot? If so maybe you could stir the fire and turn off the guru? Finally, after seeing the new deeper, bigger, and rounder firebox and basket in person, I am anxious to try it. I think this may help keep a more evenly burning fire, too. It is much deeper, and also much wider across the base. Its a big cylinder rather than a bowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 I haven't noticed it myself, but I've only been doing comparatively short cooks. I'm wondering if the 10CFM fan is a bit of overkill for a KK and if the 5CFM would suffice as well as help prevent this (I've got a 10CFM now, but a 5CFM on order for the 19.5"). Something you can try is to find a 90 degree plumbing elbow large enough to fit over the inducer tube, assuming it protrudes into the cooker wall enough. If you redirect the airflow towards the floor it may disperse enough to more evenly burn the coals. If you get a heavy iron elbow it will probably last longer and you may not need to fasten it to the tube at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Wouldn't an elbow directed to the floor stir up a lot of ash? Doesn't the guru have a slider that you can use to choke off the tube? I seem to recall people recommending the large fan, and closing the door a little if necessary. Edit: Here is a thread which discussed the 10CFM fan and setting the damper 3/4 closed: http://www.komodokamado.com/forum/viewt ... hlight=cfm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNakedWhiz Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Yes the 10CFM blower has an adjustable damper from 0% ot 100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Low and Slow with Guru I choke down the 10CFM fan about 70% for my 235º cooks. I open it all the way up when lighting the charcoal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saucier Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Temps I get hot spots in mine too, but found most temp control even using the guru involved how many places I lit the lump with the lighter, and how far open the top damper is. If you are having trouble coming up to temp, open er up... If you are having trouble over temp, close er' down... Makes a surprising difference.. I don't normally "heat soak" mine either.. I load it with lump/wood.. Light it, load the product on it, and bring it up to speed like that. (except searing obviously). I am of the school that the product takes on smoke @ cooler temps.. So in my mind the longer it is in there at low temp the better. I like to see nice smoke rings! ( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conodo12 Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 I don't think we are "getting" what Zorro is suggesting. He has the BBQ Guru and is more than likely aware that he can control the airflow with the damper on the fan motor. Like Whiz said, it is adjustable from 0 to 100%. I think what Zorro wants to do is attach something to the end of the inducer tube that will evenly disperse the air inside the KK. Perhaps custom cutting a tiny (2.5" x 2.5") sheet of steel and modding it with directional holes would help? Or perhaps finding a "Y" piece of pipe that could be coupled to the end of the inducer tube? These suggestions are an attempt to get the air moving around evenly inside the fire area as opposed to just blowing straight into the fire area. Zorro, another thought - have you tried to light the fire using the gas option from beneath the fire basket? This may solve your problem entirely. The center of the coals gets lit and the remaining coals will tend to light uniformly from the center out giving you the burn you want. If you don't have Dennis' gas option, a weed burner might get you inside the firebox using the ash removal door. Check to see that it fits and that you can point it up before buying! I hope this helps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
