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Q-talk *ON TOPIC ONLY* QUALITY ON TOPIC discussion of Backyard BBQ, grilling, equipment and outdoor cookin' . ** Other cooking techniques are welcomed for when your cookin' in the kitchen. Post your hints, tips, tricks & techniques, success, failures, but stay on topic and watch for that hijacking.


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Old 03-12-2013, 08:53 PM   #31
chriscw81
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Default Re: What does everyone use for a temp controller on your smokers?

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Originally Posted by cholloway View Post
The temps of most of my cooks are usually controlled by the amount of alcohol I consume.
+1 I think we may be related




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Old 03-12-2013, 08:55 PM   #32
sandy1975
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Default Thanks everyone for your replies

The reason I was going to buy one was for when I cook for longer cooks. I heard they have wi-fi temp controllers that will allow me to leave home and check my temps on my phone while I am gone for 5 to 10 hours. Not sure if any one has experience with these.

Thanks.
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Old 03-12-2013, 08:59 PM   #33
ChiefBrock
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my first three cooks I tended all the time and was constantly checking temps and fighting it.....then got the Maverick wireless thermometer so I could sit inside and monitor meat and grill both...set alarms...timers...etc. Thought I would get a guru too later...now I am not sure as the Meadow Creek PR42 maintains temps pretty damn good....and being able to see the slight up and down fluctuations I am a much less stressed smoker/cook now with it than before.
I like being able to see what it is doing without lifting lid or relying on built in mechanical temp gauge.

where I could see it useful is for a long overnight hog....but only after I had used it and tested it enough to trust it completely. :)
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Old 03-12-2013, 09:09 PM   #34
Gato Gordo
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I have a Stoker. While I love it, as many have already stated, I do not use it much. But when it comes in handy, it is really worth it.

What prompted me to get it was my daughter's graduation from college. We planned a party after the ceremony and I was making pulled pork. The ceremony lasted longer than I had anticipated and I was squirming in my seat wondering how the meat was doing.

Today, with my Stoker, I can check the meat temperature and alter the pit temperature from anywhere in the world. If I had had it at my daughter's graduation, I would have just pulled out my cell phone, checked the temperature and if it was getting too done, just lower the pit temperature. I would have been more relaxed during her special day.
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Old 03-13-2013, 07:55 AM   #35
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I went with the stoker as well. Aside from being a gadget guru and lover of any tool, the piece of mind knowing this thing is running and I can continue sleeping or working is great. While I agree with many of the pitmasters here that you should be able to control your pit without the need for such devices, the glee of sleeping or adjusting while physically absent is awesome. And worrying about it after 6-8 hours is a different story at least for me.

Add to that the temp monitoring of the food and ability to chart a cook and see whats actually going on during a cook, and save the historical data for future reference and its an easy sell for me. But it does come at a cost, and I do believe the egg does very well with out it. As with any tool, it serves a purpose and makes thing easier at a price. I can saw a two by four in half with a hand saw but my 12 inch sliding compound miter does it much better. I still know how to use the hand saw, but I love power.

There are many options available so you just have to figure out what you can afford and how you intend to use it. Good luck with your decision. Took me 3 weeks of waffling. Ha ha.
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Old 03-13-2013, 07:56 AM   #36
CulinaireZaken
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Default What does everyone use for a temp controller on your smokers?

I've build a controller myself from anPID controller, a fan and a thermocouple. It was quite easy and cost me abou $50.

I use it for my catering and comps on a bastard egg, just put it on and forget about it!

Ideal when you have to do a lot of things at the same time...
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Old 03-13-2013, 10:24 AM   #37
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I have an iQue110, prior to last Saturday night I haven't used it in probably a year. It's not really necessary with an egg. My gasket is leaking pretty bad these days though so my overnight cooks haven't been as steady as usual so I gave it a shot. It held 225* for 14 hours straight. So if you really want a controller for your egg and don't want to spend a ton of money the iQue might be the ticket for you.
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Old 03-13-2013, 10:30 AM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sandy1975 View Post
The reason I was going to buy one was for when I cook for longer cooks. I heard they have wi-fi temp controllers that will allow me to leave home and check my temps on my phone while I am gone for 5 to 10 hours. Not sure if any one has experience with these.

Thanks.
So if you have a wi-fi one and it tells you your temps are either high or low, and you're gone for 5-10 hours, what good does it do? Probably not the best idea leaving any kind of cooker unattended to the point where, if there's a problem, you aren't there to deal with it.
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Old 03-13-2013, 10:34 AM   #39
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I have a wifi cyberq for my backwoods, and really like it. It has recently broken and I have no problems keeping the temps, but it seems much more fuel effecient when I use it. This could be my imagination, but a bag of coals seems to last a lot longer when I use than when I don't.
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Old 03-13-2013, 12:42 PM   #40
Gato Gordo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stoke&Smoke View Post
So if you have a wi-fi one and it tells you your temps are either high or low, and you're gone for 5-10 hours, what good does it do? Probably not the best idea leaving any kind of cooker unattended to the point where, if there's a problem, you aren't there to deal with it.
That is the big benefit. If you are gone, you can still monitor and adjust the temperature of the pit. I have been away from home, checked the temperature of the meat, decided it was getting done too fast, so I dropped the temperature setting for the pit by 25 degrees. All via my iPhone. It is like being there without having to be there. With some software, you can even program it to automatically lower the pit temperature when the meat hits a predefined setting.
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Old 03-13-2013, 12:56 PM   #41
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gato Gordo View Post
That is the big benefit. If you are gone, you can still monitor and adjust the temperature of the pit. I have been away from home, checked the temperature of the meat, decided it was getting done too fast, so I dropped the temperature setting for the pit by 25 degrees. All via my iPhone. It is like being there without having to be there. With some software, you can even program it to automatically lower the pit temperature when the meat hits a predefined setting.
OK... that's nice. Who's going to handle a grease fire? Ask you neighbor? Who is going to burp the egg?
How are you going to probe for tenderness by wi-fi?
Who's going to pull off the meat when done?

Sorry - no excuse or justification for lack of responsibility (not being there).
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Old 03-13-2013, 01:30 PM   #42
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I use a stoker and love it. But I first used nothing but vents. Mine was a Christmas gift, and I'll say this it sure beats getting all dressed up to tweak a vent in the middle of the night at -50f lol
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Old 03-13-2013, 01:31 PM   #43
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Bandit, never had a grease fire in my UDS. I don't leave it often but have left it running on an IQ-110. Wish I had the remote monitoring capability. Did anyone mention they wouldn't be back in time to probe for tender or remove the meat from the heat? I think you assumed all that. Adjusting temps to change the timing when the meat will finish (approximate time) is reasonable no matter if you are present are away. Also, I've left the smoker going while my wife/daughter was at home. They could handle emergencies but they have no idea how to adjust temps to speed or slow cooking so it's legitimate that someone monitors and changes these settings remotely.

Even if no one is home, in the unlikely event there is a grease fire (never seen one in a UDS or Kommado cooker), as long as it is away from housing etc. in a safe area, the worse case is you ruin the meat, right?
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Old 03-14-2013, 10:29 PM   #44
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I have a BGE and use a DigiQ DX2 for overnight cooks. I got along just fine without it but for some reason couldn't sleep very well. I would wake up in a panic several times only to find that the needle hadn't moved 5 degrees either way. Bottom line, if you're like me and need to sleep easy buy one, if you trust it enough to sleep like a baby then spend your money elsewhere. I guess I'm paranoid about wind and temp changes since I live in the midwest where the elements are very unstable. Best of luck on whatever you decide to buy.
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Old 03-14-2013, 11:00 PM   #45
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Spent some time researching what pit to get and just as much time on what temperature monitor to get. I wanted something that let me log data as well as gave me flexibility of real time viewing from smartphones or tablets.

As I have an insulated firebox I did not need something that had a fan or blowers. However research showed and was confirmed by the manufactures, that both the Guru Wifi DigiQ and the Stoker would operate without those fans/blowers.

I choose the Stoker - I have 2 pit probes and 4 meat probes. Overkill some might say but to me I'm perfectly fine with it. I can be in my kitchen or in the garage or relaxing in my chair watching Pitmasters and feel confident that I am not missing something. Or if you are in a big cook or at a comp and get caught up in something to be able to get an alert on your phone that you've got a temp problem ... nothing better.
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