Tip top temp in action

[Troy]

[Troy]

Smoking a couple pork butts for a socal SEO gathering today.
I put them on at 10:30ish last night and decided to try out the tip top temp controller to get a feel for it.
i dialed it in for 250ish, set it on, and never looked at it again until 9am.
At 9am the temp was holding at 241, perfect. But internal temp of butt was only 175.
I opened the bottom vent a bit to see how the tip top temp would react, but fell asleep on the couch again.
Two hours later, temp was at 300 and the tip top temp unit was almost all the way closed up trying to maintain the temp.

I closed the bottom vent about a minute or two before taking this pic.

So far so good.
I do have some concerns with the unit, but i'll save them for the full review later.

[1911Ron]

How is that held on, is it magnetic?

[Troy]

How is that held on, is it magnetic?

no, it just sits over the vent.
the bottom is a big rubber band that overlaps the metal housing to create a gasket.

i was pretty happy with the unit, but my pork didn't come out as smokey as it usually does.
i'm not sure if this is because the peach wood I used is old (was the last of the bag that I had bought several months ago) or if its because the top vent closed too much.

the best way to control temps is with the bottom vent, but this unit does its job via the top vent.
i think when the top vent closed, nearly completely, it snuffed out the blue smoke
I did notice that the bark was slightly bitter (dozens of other tasters loved it and tasted no bitterness though)

[1911Ron]

Cool thanks.

[Heyjude]

It goes against everything we have been taught. I think its more of a gadget than anything else.

[Troy]

It goes against everything we have been taught. I think its more of a gadget than anything else.

exactly.

i wouldn't buy one as a temp controller - although it does function as one

it also stained the shit out of my vent AND lid

[Troy]

those aren't my final thoughts by the way. i'm going to do some more testing with fresh wood just to be more scientific.
i'm going to see if i can use it to maintain temps without losing the thin blue smoke.