Swapping water for clay or sand in pan

[AndyLowNSlow]

Hi guys, still getting used to my pro q frontier and finding it hard to maintain temps they seem so uop and down with the slightest touch of the vents, ive read about water being a problem and to use clay or sand, has any one any info on this?

[Steve]

There are several forum threads on this going right back to when we first created this site.

Short answer, clay saucers are fantastic instead of water. Most bullet users will concur with this.

[Pooky]

I concur

[keith157]

I use sand, but it's far better than water

[Tiny]

Hi Andy,
One of the "eternal questions", as withthem all there is no definitive answer but having read everything for some time now the majority view is use a clay saucer, which in laymans terms is one of those terracotta flat dishes you stand plant pots in, available from all garden superstores.

The alternate view is to fill the bowl with sand and in both cases cover in tinfoil for easy clean up.

The water school are in the minority, some believing as well as acting as a heat sink the water adds moisture to the cooking chamber. Most bbq scholars debate this has any real bearing over the moisture content of the food.

Hope this helps
Cheers
Tiny

[YetiDave]

I've used water in my Excel a grand total of once. I won't be bothering with it, just stick a clay saucer in the water pan and foil it over. To be honest I'm not even convinced that the clay saucer's necessary

[Eddie]

What I use all depends on what I'm cooking. Brisket and pork butt I use water and if I'm cooking ribs and chicken I will use a clay. Because I use a pitmaster IQ110 I don't have a problem with the temp. Just set and forget.

Eddie

[aris]

I'm still trying to figure out what the clay saucer is supposed to do or how it is supposed to work. Yes, you need something to shield/diffuse the heat - but other than that, all you need is good airflow and temperature control.

[AndyLowNSlow]

Hi Andy,
One of the "eternal questions", as withthem all there is no definitive answer but having read everything for some time now the majority view is use a clay saucer, which in laymans terms is one of those terracotta flat dishes you stand plant pots in, available from all garden superstores.

The alternate view is to fill the bowl with sand and in both cases cover in tinfoil for easy clean up.

The water school are in the minority, some believing as well as acting as a heat sink the water adds moisture to the cooking chamber. Most bbq scholars debate this has any real bearing over the moisture content of the food.

Hope this helps
Cheers
Tiny

thanks mate, makes sense i so hope i can get these temp fluctuations under control i swear the slightest tweak on the dials atm with water and its up and down.

[paulfire]

Andy, refer back to your question "heat issues", its all there