Pitmaster IQ 110

[scarbelly]

This thread has totally sold me - on someone elses product when I get mine

 

[mdboatbum]

I think we're not getting the whole story here. I wonder if the temp probe on the offending unit was situated to be in the path of the incoming airflow, thereby cooling it to the point that the fan stayed on. Might explain the Pitmaster guys' assertion that it was perfectly functional. But I agree, the way it was handled by them sounds pretty bush league. Hard to say what's at fault, but it is disappointing to hear that a low cost alternative product might not be all it's cracked up to be.

 

[butch cassidy]

But the issue is, there was a problem with his unit.   Customer service should have ask a few simple questions, where was it mounted ? Was it blocked? They should know the answers to most problems that someone might have with their product.  They should try to solve any issue with their product. Then work out a solution to the problem. 

I would not look at them seriously about buying their product.

 

[exhaustedspark]

Well this thread has sold me. I will be putting one of the vipers on my Christmas list.

Convection cooking the only way to go.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

I have not had any issues with my pitmasterIQ

The Auber is mor a electric smoker or item where you want the temp controlled at certain times and temps. I use one with my Bradley. Guru can be used with electric or pits but more $

 

[sawzall]

I have not had any issues with my pitmasterIQ

The Auber is mor a electric smoker or item where you want the temp controlled at certain times and temps. I use one with my Bradley. Guru can be used with electric or pits but more $

Auber makes one for charcoal smokers now.

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?m...id=170&zenid=90dae4d5e2e63a923f545c2b1967400c

Looks alright for the price.  Aparrently it's basically a fancy PID.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Auber makes one for charcoal smokers now.

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?m...id=170&zenid=90dae4d5e2e63a923f545c2b1967400c

Looks alright for the price.  Aparrently it's basically a fancy PID.

Thats pretty cool to.

 

[cabin fever]

I think we're not getting the whole story here. I wonder if the temp probe on the offending unit was situated to be in the path of the incoming airflow, thereby cooling it to the point that the fan stayed on. Might explain the Pitmaster guys' assertion that it was perfectly functional. But I agree, the way it was handled by them sounds pretty bush league. Hard to say what's at fault, but it is disappointing to hear that a low cost alternative product might not be all it's cracked up to be.

During the first couple of cooks I placed the probe right in the middle of the top grate just as John showed in the installation video on their web site. I too thought it was an issue with airflow hitting the probe so throughout the rest of my test smokes I placed the probe at various other locations around the grate and always had the exact same results.

 

[flibble]

I am brand new to smoking and received an 18" WSM and a Pitmaster IQ 110. I read the instructions very carefully and in hindsight I'm glad I did. If I had just connected the controller i probably would have been as dissatisfied as the author of post #1. It makes me wonder if he read the instructions. He stated the red light was always on and that it is known that the WSM leaks air. Well it is also known that it takes just a little effort adjusting the aluminum doo to make it airtight. My pitmaster iq is the coolest little invention. But the instructions that came with it are just as good as the device. It mentions things I would have never thought of .

You get what you pay for. And this is the best $$ somebody spent buying this for me.

 

[dunknballer21]

Hello all.  I'm new to smoking, but I became interested in it recently.  So I joined my friend's competition bbq team for the weekend to see how it's all done.  We cooked using a 22.5 WSM and a 18.5 WSM.  He brought out all these fancy thermometers and gadgets, and the iQue110 really caught my eye.  He told me how he had to adjust the vents all night long before.  Well, I thought this was the greatest invention for smoking ever...until we used it.  And we had problems with it all night long.

The smokers kept running hot.  Like 20 to 50 degrees (!) too hot.  Way over our desired temps.  We set up the iQues for 225, and the mavericks we used to double check the temps were showing 250 to 280.  And the iQue just kept blowing more air!  We ended up adjusting the iQue settings down to 200 and below to try and get the true temps down to 225.  But we were scratching our heads for a while wondering what was going on.  We had to keep fiddling with the iQue all night long to get our desired temps.  Not what it was intended for.

Just to let you know, my friend's been participating in competition bbq for over two years now.  He's very meticulous with his equipment, and this was his third time using the iQues in competition.  He told me he had problems with them in the previous comp as well.

I was considering getting these for my setup as well.  That's why I came on to the internet and these forums to check on reviews to see if my friend's problems were just an anomaly for that night.  But I'm glad I checked to find that others have problems, and the company itself is not that great to deal with in the first place.

I'll be looking for other products for my setup.

 

[bama bbq]

I realize this is a one year old post however, I have a WSM 22 and an iQ110.  I've found thru trial and error that there is a certain way to be successfull with the device.  I do not use the minion method in the traditional sence because I've found the fire burns towards the auto temp controller.  I assemble the unlit fuel in a cresent shape and add approx. 1/2 a chimney of lit to fill the cresent with the device located on the opposite side of the smoker.  Once the smoker gets to about 220*-ish as determined by the maverick (which is fairly quick after adding the lit fuel, mid section and lid), I remove the power plug from the device and plug it back in.  That resets the device and from there on out it works as advertised and will maintain the smoker at what ever I set the device to.  If I do not reset the device it will get too hot and keep blowing as indicated by others earlier in this post.  I add the meat after I have performed the reset function and have been very successfull using this technique. .

 

[BGKYSmoker]

I use my IQ110 on my Meadow Creek and do what Bama does. It works very good.

 

[atori2001]

Used it today and it turned out great ribs! Maybe its the Miami weather but my Webber kettle was humming at 225F for 6 hours. I have the new version that has the adjustable intake damper. Tomorrow im throwing this puppy on the Char griller smokin pro.I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

[dougkenney]

How did it work on the char griller?

 

[atori2001]

Sorry for the late reply. The The IQUE did great! Here are some pics:

Heres the setup:

IQUE temp:

Other side of cooking chamber temp:

Beef ribs and Pork rib tips:

Beef ribs done!

The only thing that was bad about this whole experience was not putting enough coals in the basket! So I poured some natural lump charcoal over the lit ones and kept the firebox open until they were lit. IQUE took over after that. I'm actually doing a brisket and a boston butt tomorrow. If the weather cooperates I'll have some more pics...

 

[flex]

I'm sorry to hear about your issues with the Pitmaster iq 110. I'm very shocked to hear that they would only give you 50% back from your original purchasing price. That to me is very unprofessional, especially if they are going to stand behind their product, why not just send you a new one?
I have two of them and absolutley love them, I use them on my uds smokeers. I am actually buying one for my brother as a gift. He has seen how well mine work, now he wants one, so I opted to buy it for him.
I do understand your frustration though with companies that don't stand behind their products. I bought a Lonestar grillz smoker about six months ago and it arrived to my house with damages from shipping. I knew that the builders didn't do it, because the smoke stack was bent, one of the legs were bent, and the back of the veritcal smoker had deep scratches on the back as well as the fire box. I signed off on the delivery slip before unwrapping the smoker, as it was wrapped with surran wrap and card board boxes. But i did immediately call the builder as I unwrapped it and notified him of the issues, as well as sending him pictures of me unwrapping it. He informed me that the shipping was insured and he would submit a claim into their shipping company. All I wanted was the shipping cost of the smoker reimbursed, as I knew it was them who did the damages and tried to cover it up with card board boxes, because the builder said he did not ship it like that. Anyhow, I have not received any compensation back, or have had any progress on the outcome ever since I initially submitted my claim. And I know they are not trying to fix the issues either. I submitted all the request that they asked for, and still nothing. It is very upsetting to me that I would spend $2,850.00 and it arrive in that condition. That is not what I paid for, a damaged product. And I don't think I asked for a lot in return.

 

[flanntastic]

I used my IQ this weekend on a Kamado type rig, i put on the meat at midinight @ 225, woke up the next morning 8 hours later and look at my maverick, the temp was 225, love it

 

[rack em bbq]

I recently purchased the pitmaster iq110. It worked great the first 3 times I used it. I decided to use it at a kcbs bbq competition on my wsm. I turned the unit on to 250 degrees. I walked away to prepare some meat and came back to a smoker temp of 330 degrees(that according to the wsm temp gauge and the 2 maverick probes inside the smoker).I removed the unit for the cook. I contacted the maker  for a replacement probe since I thought that was the reason. I was told it could not be broken and the unit was fine. If I wanted to test it, set my oven to 250 and place the probe inside. I did this and the unit said the temp was low and the fan continued to run. I sent them a video of this process and was told my oven must be running at the wrong temp, but I could send the unit back for them to test it at my own cost. This thing is not worth the money, and the customer service from Matt is horrible. They have yet to acknowledge that maybe their product is faulty in some way.

Rack 'Em BBQ

 

[rack em bbq]

I recently purchased the pitmaster iq110. It worked great the first 3 times I used it. I decided to use it at a kcbs bbq competition on my wsm. I turned the unit on to 250 degrees. I walked away to prepare some meat and came back to a smoker temp of 330 degrees(that according to the wsm temp gauge and the 2 maverick probes inside the smoker).I removed the unit for the cook. I contacted the maker  for a replacement probe since I thought that was the reason. I was told it could not be broken and the unit was fine. If I wanted to test it, set my oven to 250 and place the probe inside. I did this and the unit said the temp was low and the fan continued to run. I sent them a video of this process and was told my oven must be running at the wrong temp, but I could send the unit back for them to test it at my own cost. This thing is not worth the money, and the customer service from Matt is horrible. They have yet to acknowledge that maybe their product is faulty in some way.

 

[tom roberts]

I also have had a problem with the IQ 110. I used the unit a total of 4 times and then it would not even turn on. I have emailed them as well as left a few messages on their voice-mail system to no avail. They will not respond and my unit is clearly within the warranty period. So be warned, when the unit worked it worked great. However, when and if it fails be ready to not hear from them again. I will not settle for anything but a full refund and if takes a lawsuit then that is what I will do.