I gather these have become popular among the BBQ and smoker crowds. For those like me who may not already know, these small add-on units mount to the draft (air intake) side of a pit or smoker, and regulate how much air gets inside. They work with a thermocouple and a base unit, so that the fan switches on and off to maintain a set temperature. The fancier ones have Bluetooth and/or WiFi connectivity.
I just bought one, the Thermoworks Billows, but I haven’t tried it yet. But I’ve been thinking about it quite a bit.
Who here uses a blower? What do you use it for, and what are your likes/dislikes about it?
One thought I had was to use it for pizza. Both my controller and my thermocouple are rated above 850F. Anyone tried this?
Oh, maybe so, Charlie. But we have a broad knowledge base here, and it turns out there are quite a few Onions who’ve taught and learned things about BBQ and grilling. You should contribute.
There are a number of specialty fora on BBQ. I looked at the one you suggested, and there wasn’t much there. The Thermoworks blog is quite informative, but it’s mostly recipes by one TW chef, followed by perfunctory comments.
My OP question isn’t arcane. These blower units are widely popular. It may be that most of the base units and thermocouples can’t handle high pizza temperatures, i.e., ^500F. This isn’t a planet inhabited by pit masters.
I like your gusto K . Do it . Thats the fun . I dont know about the blowers. But surely it will work .
I have been making pizzas every Saturday. And this Saturday I think im going to put fruit on my pie . And its not pineapple. I love experimenting.
We’ll see about the blower. My BIL bought one of the first ones years ago, after he commissioned a bespoke barbecue out of a full 66G wine barrel. He had it lined in aluminum, but the fabricator botched the draft/damper setup, and it never drew right. Hence the blower.
I asked him the other day if it worked (and how well). He says it does, but then again, I’ve been hosted at his house at least 100 times in the intervening years, and not once was this blown barbecue in use.
I gather the blower setup is advantageous wherever the fuel is variable in size. You don’t have to sort/discard/smash charcoal to get an ideal burn–the base unit and blower adjust the draft for you. The alternative is babysitting and alcoholism…
I smoke here and there, but as an amature pyrofile, I’d worry about the blower heating the wood and stoking that wood and maybe making things too hot. The best bbq buddy of mine doesn’t use the blower. All I got
CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
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Have you tried it yet, Kaleo?
I have a rudimentary setup on my (propane) grill where I put a rheostated fan on the gap on the closed lid on the opposite side of the grill from the smoker box to pull the smoke across. In still outside air I don’t need it, but if the breeze is blowing the wrong way, it (breeze) sucks all the smoke out the production end and doesn’t get so much on the meat, so the fan is helpful there (cheap computer fan from amazon).
But it’s not like what you’re describing - no temp control other than naturally happens as drawing the smoke across the cabinet also causes fresh air to be drawn in near the smoker box. I just twiddle the rheostat up/down by eyeball to determine if I’m drawing enough smoke across or not on breezy days.
Nope, not yet. I think I’ll baptize it with a brisket.
I learned a couple of interesting things from a Thermoworks technician last week: (1) Billows has an “open lid” feature, that shuts it down for 2 minutes if it detects that; and Billows is an “open” design, meaning it still allows some natural draft through the unit, even if the fan isn’t powered.
I used a bbq guru for about 15 years with wonderful results. I’d guess most smokers are not designed for cooking pizza at 850 degrees and were you to achieve that temp, you’ll have to figure out how to balance top vs bottom heat as well as losing all the top heat every time you open the smoker to rotate the pie or check for doneness.
I’ve heard mixed things about your setup with a common complaint that the blower blows micro-ash on the meat.
Just the billows in general. Yes, the gaskets are a concern, I believe you can purchase high heat gaskets. Anyhow, ny style pizza is 550f, start there and then try 600, 650 and 700. I think 750f is the max I’d try. You may want to give fibrament a try as a pizza stone, it’s less conductive so it helps with the top bottom balance.
Give it a try but honestly, you’ll make better pizza and more consistent results with a good pizza oven, which is where I eventually went.
