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For over 13 years, the Pit Viper 10 CFM blower has been a workhorse blower for most of BBQ Guru's temperature controllers. Rated at 10 CFM (cubic feet per minute) and with an integrated adustable damper, the Pit Viper has certainly been our favorite blower. So much so, that we also use it with our Flame Boss controllers. It's tough, capable and pretty moisture-resistant. But now BBQ Guru has replaced it with a new upgraded version. BBQ Guru describes is as: "...the new sleek, upgraded and completely redesigned Pit Viper Fan. The high temperature and water resistant Pit Viper fan includes an easier to use damper system with fine-tune adjustment capabilities, allowing you to create your perfect temperature and maximize fuel efficiency."So now let's take a side by side look at the old and new Pit Viper blowers and see how they compare. Physical Characteristics The new Pit Viper blower is different in several ways. First and most obvious, it is encased in plastic, while the old blower had a sheet of stainless steel bent around the blower, but not sealing it. Next, the new Pit Viper has a new rotating damper mechanism while the old Pit Viper had a sliding damper. And finally, the new Pit Viper is a bit larger and heftier:
Photos of the Old vs. New Now let's take a look at some photos of the old and new Pit Viper blowers side by side. In this first pair of photos you can see how the original Pit Viper had a sheet of stainless steel surrounding the blower mechanism while the new Pit Viper encloses the blower with a plastic case.
Here you can see the difference in the two damper mechanisms. The original Pit Viper had a sliding damper while the new Pit Viper has a rotating damper. Also you can see that the inducer tube is slightly different.
Looking down into the inducer tube, you can see how the sliding damper cuts off the airflow when adjusted.
Here you can see both blowers attached to the BBQ Guru ceramic adapter. The original Pit Viper on the right had that metal hook-shaped tab that allowed you to connect a BBQ Guru Competitor controller to the blower. Later incarnations of the Pit Viper did away with that tab. The new Pit Viper blower also has no such facility for attaching a controller.
In this view, you can see that the original Pit Viper's damper mechanism had marks to allow you to position the damper ¼, ½, or ¾ closed. The new rotating damper has no markings to assist you. You can also see how this version of the original Pit Viper blower has done away with that hook-shaped tab.
The view of the bottom of the two blowers shows how the blower intake on the new Pit Viper is a bit more enclosed than the original Pit Viper.
And here we have a closeup of the power cable entering the old and new Pit Viper blowers. As you can see, the original Pit Viper had a small rectangular opening to allow the cable to enter the enclosure. The new blower has a hole with a rubber grommet.
Other Information The original Pit Viper blower was rated at 10 cubic feet per minute (CFM). The BBQ Guru website doesn't specify the output of the new blower, so we measured the airflow on both blowers and found them to be comparable. The new Pit Viper blower is described as "moisture resistant." The new plastic case certainly will better resist the intrusion of moisture into the blower than the original blower's stainless steel plate. And with the air intake on the new blower being more covered, there should be less chance for splashing rain enter from below in a heavy rainfall. The only slight negative we find with the new blower is the lack of markings on the new damper mechanism. Otherwise, we see the new Pit Viper blower stepping right in to become the new workhorse blower for BBQ Guru temperature controllers. In addition, BBQ Guru has improved the Pit Viper while keeping the price the same as the original Pit Viper. Contact Information
The BBQ Guru
800-288-GURU (4878)
Web: www.bbqguru.com |
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