The Blower

So let's take a look at the Pit Viper blower, probably the most popular option for a blower to pair with the DigiQ DX3. This is the new updated version of the original Pit Viper blower. Like its predecessor, it is rated at 10 CFM. (If you already have the old version of the Pit Viper, you can use it with the DigiQ DX3.) Here are photos of the blower in various positions:

Blower Installation Options

When you order your DigiQ DX3 controller, you specify the type of cooker that you will be using so that you can purchase the correct blower adapter for your cooker. Here we show you the adapter for a large Big Green Egg.

BBQ Guru has put a lot of effort into making adapters for almost every conceivable cooker on the market. We thought you might like to see every one of them:

Audible Alarm and Alerts

The DigiQ DX3 has an audible alarm. You can set the volume of the alarm from 0 (off) to 10 (loud!). Things which will cause the alarm to sound are:

• Missing pit probe.
• Pit probe deviating from the target temperature more than the configured deviation.
• Food probe reaching its target temperature, i.e., Food Done.

Indication that pit temperature has fallen below the alarm deviation setpoint.

Indication that pit temperature has risen abovve the alarm deviation setpoint.

Indication that food temperature has reached the target temperature.

Indication that either a probe is not plugged in or is broken.

Note that the "Hi" and "Lo" alarms are controlled by a setting called the "Alarm Deviation Setpoint." This is a value which you can configure with a value from 20°F (11°C) to 125°F (69°C). The default is 50°F (27°C). If your pit temperature deviates up or down by an amount greater than the value you have set for the Alarm Deviation Setpoint, the alarm will go off and the display will show either "Hi" or "Lo".

Good Neighbor Feature

You may remember that the original BBQ Guru Competitor had a "Good Neighbor Feature" which allowed you to disable the alarm so as not to disturb your neighbors. The DigiQ DX3 implements this feature by allowing you to configure a beeper level of "0", thus turning off the beeper.

Visible Blower Feature

Most temperature controllers have some visible indication that their blower is running or not. (If it never runs, your cooker is probably getting too much air and you should consider closing down the damper on the blower or closing your vents a bit more. If it is running all the time, you are probably running out of charcoal.) To inform you of how often the blower is running, the DigiQ DX3 uses the small dot on the right-most digit of the display.

If the dot is not illuminated, the blower is not runnnig. If the dot blinks continuously with no pauses, the blower is running 100% of the time. If the dot repeatedly blinks a number of times separated by pauses, then the number of blinks multiplied by 10 is the percentage of the time the blower is running. So for example, if the dot repeatedly blinks 3 times, then pauses, the blower is running at 30%.

Power Interruption Feature

The DigiQ DX3 will remember the target pit temperature if power is lost so that it can resume control of the cooker's airflow when power resumes. It also remembers the food set temperature. However, the controller does not remember the learning information it has accumulated and the learning process will start over when power is restored.

Ramp Mode Feature

BBQ Guru introduced Ramp Mode to the world at least as long ago as 2006 when we did our first review of a BBQ Guru temperature controller, The Competitor. Essentially, Ramp Mode senses that your meat is getting within 30°F of its target temperature and then starts to lower the temperature of your cooker. The goal is that when the meat is at the target temperature, the cooker will be slightly above the meat's target temperature, thus holding the meat until you are ready to take it out of the cooker.

In order for Ramp Mode to work properly, you must set the pit target temperature at least 30°F higher than your meat's target temperature. If the food probe is not plugged in, Ramp Mode will not have any effect, despite the LED indicator showing that Ramp Mode is on. Notice also that with Ramp Mode turned on, you can set a higher pit target temperature to effect faster cooking, if you like, because Ramp Mode will lower the pit temperature when your food approaches its target temperature.

So, needless to say, the DigiQ DX3 has Ramp Mode. Here are two graphs that demonstrate how Ramp Mode works:

Graph of pit and food temperature with Ramp Mode off

Graph of pit and food temperature with Ramp Mode on

Cold Smoking

The DigiQ DX3 will allow you to set a pit temperature as low as 32°F, so theoretically it can provide temperature control for cold smoking. However, the ability of the unit to control low temperatures will depend on factors such as the size of your fire, how well sealed your cooker is, the DigiQ DX3 algorithm, and so on.

Learning Your Cooker

Like all recent BBQ Guru temperature controllers, the DigiQ DX3 has a learning feature called "Adaptive Control", first introduced with the DigiQ II controller. BBQ Guru describes it:

"a full-time adaptive control algorithm learns your pit to control better stability/accuracy." Over time, the unit learns how much effect the blower has so that it can more accurately and intelligently decide how long to run the blower when it needs to adjust or maintain the cooker's temperature. So for example, if the unit signals the blower to operate at 30% and it sees that the temperature overshoots a bit, it will gradually learn to run the blower at 20% instead.

This 'learning' is done on every use of the DigiQ DX3 and it does not get "remembered" from one use to the other. If you turn the unit off, it will start the learning cycle over again. This is goodness, obviously, as you might wish to use the unit on different cookers, and of course, circumstances can change from cook to cook. The 'learning' process can take 10 to 20 minutes depending on different factors. Suffice it to say that if you are using the DigiQ DX3 on a long term cook, the unit works well initially and improves its control over time.

Smart Cook Feature

The Smart Cook feature allows you to further customize the adaptive control algorithm to better suit your specific cooker. There are three settings which can be set in the Set Up Menu:

Setting	Details
1	Default. Defines the Smart Cook Strategy Range to be 30°F below your cooker target temperature. Use for many ceramic cookers, kettles and small cabinet smokers.
2	Defines the Smart Cook Strategy Range to be 40°F below your cooker target temperature. Use for more efficient ceramic cookers and cookers like the Weber Summit.
3	Defines the Smart Cook Strategy Range to be 20°F below your cooker target temperature. Use for less insulated cookers such as Weber Smokey Mountain or common horizontal offset cookers.

What this means is that when the cooker is coming up to temperature, the blower will run at 100% until the pit temperature reaches the Smart Cook Strategy Range. At this point, the blower will start cycling on and off until the pit reaches the target temperature.

Open Lid Detect Feature

Open Lid Detect (OLD) is a feature where the controller detects the rapid drop in temperature caused by opening the lid. It stops the blower to prevent stoking the fire unnecessarily and then manages the rise in temperature after the lid is closed. We'll show you how well the DigiQ DX3 performs with an open lid condition later in the review.