Kettle Set Up using Pitmaster IQ110 for Butt

[CharliefromLI]

Mrs Claus likes BBQ but the monitoring of the cooker for long cooks doesn't thrill her so she got me a Pitmaster IQ110 for Christmas.
The Maiden voyage will be New Years Eve pulled pork tomorrow.

Im using on the 22" Kettle using the standard air set up:


For coals:
The  IQ Manufacturer suggest setting up using banked unlit coals on the air flow side and lighting one side of the coals with a Weber starter cube to burn sideways and foiling the indirect side of the coal grate to direct air through the coals. Is this the best arrangement or has anyone done anything different that works better? I know that for the guys on this site "manufacturer suggestions" arent always optimal.

I can use firebricks or a foiled charcoal holder to create a "firebox" and to act as a baffle to channel heat up towards the lid and not directly towards the meat.  I know that the bricks can stabilize heat but since i have the IQ is this is just a waste of energy since the firebricks act as a heat sink?

Would a snake work with the IQ or is this overkill?

Would using a Charcoal holder to keep coal off the wall of the kettle make a difference? I know banking coals for long cooks against the kettle wall can damage the kettle over time and if i can protect the kettle by using charcoal holder it should I?

Any idea how many unlit briqs to start with? In a perfect world i would love 8 hours @ 250 out of one load of coals. That might be ambitious but doable. any advice let me know.

Thanks

[LightningBoldtz]

I think these are cool but there is a side of me that loves the challenge keeping the temp consistent with vents.

[CharliefromLI]

I think these are cool but there is a side of me that loves the challenge keeping the temp consistent with vents.

I do to but any Q days are also spent chasing a 2 year old around so i cant always be on top of the smoker the way i wish i could so if this allows me to Q more then then i dont mind cheating.

Charcoal with a temp controller is still better then gas right

[AcrossFromHoss]

look forward to seeing how things go. I have had my eye on these for a while. best of luck with the cookup

[CharliefromLI]

So this cook didn't pan out the way I hoped but the issue was my part not on pitmaster.

I always cook with the top vent wide open but with the controller you have to close vent down a bit. Once I did that the temp stayed at the 250 goal but it was running way to hot for too long and the outside of the butt was overdone.

Also I put the air manifold on the hot side of the grill and it appears the the unit should go on the cold side. This could have caused the overheating.

I will have to apply these lessons to the next cook.