Jackie from Jersey Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 A spike is normal, as the cooker heat soaks the same O2 levels will allow for a hotter fire. The Guru should compensate for this over time, sounds like yours did not this time around. A few things to check: 1. Leaks. If the ash door was cracked open accidentally or the rear gas door this could have caused issues. Also if the lid wasn't latched fully or if there wasn't anything in the probe port. A last thing would be the fan assembly. Stoker fans have a flap that seals the opening when the fan's not running but if you install the fan upside down it's always open. Not sure if the Guru fans are the same. 2. Wind. In high winds I've found it's hard to keep low temperatures without sealing things up almost completely. Even just cracking the top damper can cause issues (stupid Bernoulli and his partial pressures ruining it for all of us!). 3. Temperature. Electronics don't like it when the temperatures are too low. Some Stoker users put their control unit into a plastic container (sometimes with a heating pad) when the temps drop too low. 20F is the magic number when issues start happening for the Stoker, but I've been good for a few cooks at lower temps (but I also don't do extra long, super low cooks). Does the Guru have the ability to export a log file of sorts? One nice thing about the Stoker is StokerLog, it shows a graph of pit and food temperatures but, more importantly, the fan state. I'd be interested to know if the fan was on during the cook (indicating that the Guru may have been having issues due to temperature) or if it was off the entire time (indicating that maybe the Guru wasn't the primary source of oxygen and we need to plug some leaks). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie from Jersey Posted February 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartanvet88 Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 Jackie I have two shoulders on today that I put on last night at 220 I had problems until I really closed down the upper damper its barely opened and the temp has been steady since 11 pm last night. Since I've had the cooker I've noticed that the top damper is just barely open for low and slow. I set when I first have the guru working and I open it until I just see smoke coming out, on my cooker thats just cracked open. I do notice that I get alot of moisture when I forst start at the lid and top damper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie from Jersey Posted February 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartanvet88 Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 Its funny you mention the weather because I did have a more difficult time last night and it was extra windy at my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyboy Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 You obvioulsy had too much air Jackie. Guru wasn't even needed/called for. I think your best bet, if you think your meat is done to your liking. Wrap the meat in celephane (keeps juices in), then foil, then heavy towels, then place package into as smallest ice chest you can, or microwave. Use plenty towels for insulation. It'll hold a few hours. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 Re: Strange Guru/Kooker behavior will it compromise my butt? I surely hope not. Don't you hate it when that happens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie from Jersey Posted February 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie from Jersey Posted February 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyboy Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Jackie, were you able to shut the cooker down after the cook? I'm trying to figure out if you had more room for adjustment to slow the draft down, or if air leaks were preventing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie from Jersey Posted February 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 325º is too hot for a small leak.. Actually' date=' all air access was cut off including the inducer tube. Just the hole where the probes go was open, but that's always been that way. The temp went up higher. When we took the pork off 5ish, the temp was 266 on the Guru. Didn't notice the dome temp. By noon, the dome temp was 325. Who knows. First time I had a problem contolling air flow while using the Guru. Maybe the cold has settled the Kooker & too much air is leaking between the top & bottom.[/quote'] I'm guessing your back Gas door is open or with a chunk of ash in it. 325º is too hot for a small leak.. Are you sure the latch was pressed in and the top damper was fully closed too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetzervalve Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 How is your Guru shutter set? (the adjustable door on the fan). I set mine at about half, that is usually fine. Air can pass through the fan when it is not running, if in doubt close it down more, the fan may run more, but it will help control the natural draft caused by any leak or overly open top damper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie from Jersey Posted February 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetzervalve Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 I've tested and you can't maintain a fire without some air outlet above the fire. So you are correct; Aliens!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyboy Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Do a paper test on your seal. Takes two minutes. Cut a 1" wide stip of binder paper, open the dome, lay paper across the seal, close dome, then tug on paper as though you were trying to slide it out. That'll tell you if the seal is loose or tight. Repeat this all the way around the dome. You may just need to inspect/clean your seal; it possible food/sauce may have globbed on it keeping it from closing tight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Another option is to get things nice and smokey - a cold night is good for this since there tends to be a lot of steam as well as smoke. When my Stoker's 10CFM fan powers on it forces smoke out everyplace it can, if you can coax the Guru fan on you may be able to find the leak by watching for where the smoke exits. Using some wadded up foil can close off the temperature probe port or other open spots. If nothing else seems to be leaking the only other source of airflow is through the fan assembly itself, you can check to make sure the flap falls back into place when it's done blowing. Of course if it never happens again it may have just been a weird atmospheric fluke or a little too much testing of the cooking sherry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Malter Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Jackie- Leaks can be hard to find. Load as little fuel as you need to do the cook. When you ignite the charcoal, only start a little of it and use the guru to drive the fire. Close top by spinning it from open to closed and leave it there. If it is cold there, it may take 1h to get to temp. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie from Jersey Posted February 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
