Automated Temp Controllers - reviews/suggestions

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Randar

Randar

Half rib short of a full rack
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I can't say on any of the ones you posted but Auber Instruments makes one as well. I ended up building my own with components from them and it works very well, however I plan on selling mine. I actually enjoy making the minor adjustments needed (although with the WSM there isn't much) and watching the temps throughout the cook
 
I have the older Party Q battery powered controller from BBQ guru.

Pro's..

Works great once you figure out vent settings...it holds my kamodo within 2 degrees for as long as I have fuel to burn.

Inexpensive.

Con's..

Battery powered only. It would be nice to plug it in.

Not water proof. I now only smoke when there is NO chance of rain in the forecast (I haven't really researched other brands to see how weather resistant they are).

That's about it really.

When it dies (on it's second full year now), I will upgrade to something fancier and hopefully weather resistant.

Until then....it just works.

I have replaced the probe once.

I have done the same with my maverick, more my fault in not taking good care of the probe than anything else.
 
I own a stoker. Wish I would have gotten the new wifi version, but bought it before that was available. Other than that, this kid doesn't like to get cold. Screen won't work if left outside in the freezing cold (ok to use it in the cold, as long as its stored someplace warm). But I love it. Have to have it on my setup.
 
blaster_54738 said:
I can't say on any of the ones you posted but Auber Instruments makes one as well. I ended up building my own with components from them and it works very well, however I plan on selling mine. I actually enjoy making the minor adjustments needed (although with the WSM there isn't much) and watching the temps throughout the cook
Click to expand...

+1 for the Auber

I just got one of these for my birthday.
I used it a couple times just to see how it works. Works really well. Everything is included with it. Fan, adapter, thermocouple. The one thing that isnt included, instructions.
Not that its hard to figure out, but not even a how-to manual.

The only tip I have so far is to make sure the fan is facing the right way on the inlet. The fan should face down. There is a flapper in there that closes when the fan is off. If the fan is upside down the flapper doesnt close. Then you arent regulating the incoming air anymore. I am going to do a pork butt this weekend, and see how that bad boy does.
 
Another vote for the Auber unit.

I bought it for the low price. Works great. They have 3 fan size options. I got the smallest fan in order to maintain low temps.

I've used it several times recently. Go to bed with it set to 225, wake up and the smoker is at 226. Not bad. No more minion method for me, which never really worked well. Just toss your coal in there in a big pile, get a handful lit with a chimney starter, and walk away.

The comment about the fan orientation above is exactly right. The fan has a flap that needs to close when off - gravity does that, but only if oriented correctly.

I used metal duct tape to tape off all the vents on the bottom of the smoker. No leakage = easy low-temperature maintenance.
 
I have used a couple of BBQ gurus throughout the years and have been very happy with them. They hold temp and I use them on my BGE all the way up to a larger gravity smoker. We stick them in a zip top back if it is going to rain. They work very well. The Stoker is a good controller as well but I know the BBQ Guru is almost bulletproof.

Mark
 
I also have a white box stoker. Vote for it, but the key is keeping everything dry. Ive ruined a few probes because they have mini circuit boards built into the plugs....shorted them out. Live n learn. I do recommend the wifi version, and get ones w/ the longest wires, or get the probes w/ the k-couplers on em and get your own k- style thermo couples
 
Bought a BBQ Guru DigiQ DX2 and used it for the first time the weekend following Turkeyday. I wish the unit itself would operate on batteries, but I guess since it is powering the fan as well it has a higher power need than just a thermometer would. Very easy to assemble and pretty spot on with temps. I also wish that there was a remote temperature monitor as well since I do not want to have to go outside (or look like a child and press my face against the sliding glass door) to check on temps. I think I just need a little more practice to figure all of its behaviors out and will find a way to get my Maverick crammed in there as well to monitor temps from afar.

The thing I noticed was that I tend to go through charcoal much faster than I did when I manually adusted the vents to maintain temps. It is a lifesaver as I like to cook butts for 20 hours at 225* and pull them off at around 205*. When I last did a cook without a controller, I was woken up every 2 hours to adjust the vent to get back in range.
 
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