Perfect Draft BBQ Blower

The Perfect Draft BBQ Blower: Not Just Blowing Smoke

By Ray Sheehan

BBQ Buddha

[email protected]

The invention of the Perfect Draft BBQ Blower starts with a riddle. What do you get when you cross a leaf blower with a Weekend Warrior’s passion for achieving the perfect cook? The answer came to Stephen Thibodeaux one afternoon in Baytown Texas. He was cutting his grass and saw the temperature of his pit drop, that is, until he propped his leaf blower onto the firebox of the pit.

As the temperature began to rise he had an idea. All he needed to do now was to design a temperature controller to regulate airflow and figure out how much air is needed to have a complete combustion in the firebox, without blowing ash on the meat. Such a task would be easier said than done. Testing of the prototypes continued for over three years before officially bringing The Perfect Draft BBQ Blower to market in June 2016.

Although there are other draft systems available, Thibodeaux’s system was designed to handle as little as 1 cfm (cubic feet per minute) of airflow, all the way up to 124 cfm. This means the Perfect Draft BBQ Blower has enough airflow to control small backyard charcoal pits, and the much larger reverse flow off set smokers, typically used in competition. With its revolutionary design you no longer need to set up in an area with access to electricity because the Perfect Draft is powered by a 12-volt lithium battery that lasts over 17 hours on a full charge; however, you can also use the blower while your charging it with an AC plug.

The unit that we tested was The Perfect Draft BBQ Blower 2.0 with adapter. This unit sells for $250 on the product’s website, but there are other bundled options, including a wireless meat thermometer and other accessories. It was easy to connect it to my Meadow Creek TS250 reverse flow smoker. The system connects to the vent in the firebox via high powered magnets, as well as a safety hook.

My only issue with the safety hook is that to connect it you must drill a small hole into your firebox. Other than that, I must say, despite the colder temperature outside, The Perfect Draft got the pit up to our target temp of 275 degrees quickly. We started with a nice bed of hot coals topped with a couple of logs. After that, we added a stick every hour or so to maintain temp. Overall, I would say that we used less wood/charcoal throughout, in comparison to previous cooks when I didn’t use this blower. I set the temperature on the unit to 275 degrees on automatic, relinquishing control of the fan speed. (In automatic mode the fan is controlling how much air the fire needs according to the temperature that you set. In manual mode the user determines the fan speed they would like to set it on).

In order to test the unit for a long period of time, after fully charging The Perfect Draft Blower, we had it running for nearly 12 hours while we cooked an assortment of sausages, pork loin, brisket, and pork butt throughout the day. It did a fantastic job of running our large pit with only one fan. This device also boasts a run time of up to 17 hours, which is perfect when you are cooking low and slow.

In speaking with Stephen, he said his company’s mission statement is, “We strive to provide consistent temperatures and airflow to help regulate your smoker and give you a healthier and efficient way to BBQ.” The Perfect Draft BBQ Blower did not disappoint. Our temperature remained consistent throughout the cook. The unit was super quiet, the fire burned clean, and the food wasn’t over smoked. The Perfect Draft BBQ Blower is compatible with almost 20 different brands of smokers and many other custom pits. It comes with a one-year warranty and customer service phone support for as long as you own the product. Best of all, Stephen says his draft system is proudly assembled in the USA. For more information or to order online go to www.theperfectdraft.com.