Which Temp controller?

[yakdung]

Purchase the controller from the vendor where you will get the best support if an issue develops.

 

[Smoker101]

I would go with the Auber and the 20cfm fan. it is not to much money and with that big a fan i dont think you will have any problems. the Iq and the digi q are to small.

 

[olewarthog]

Which one would you use on a UDS ??

And a general question, how often does the fan typically run ?? Does it kick on for a few seconds, off for 10, on for 2 ?? Or some other pattern ?? I know it will vary immensely, but in a general way how often/long does the fan run ? The Auber for example says they have a damper/flap that closes off all air when it is "off" just wondering it it ever totally snuffs the fire ?

Bill

I use the PartyQ on a UDS. Can't really tell you about the fan. I have a Maverick 732 & have the pit probes for the PartyQ & 732 next to each other. Most of the time, I am floating in the pool or sitting in the shade sipping a cold one, or in my recliner watching the Braves or .... If I'm around the smoker, I'm way too tempted to peek. The little bit of time I am around the UDS, it appears the fan will run for 2-3 secs max & will do this several times in a minute.

 

[eddieh70301]

If you are on a budget, go for the Auber. I don't have one, but heard they are nice and reliable. and from what I hear, their customer service is top notch.
I looked at the Stoker but pricewise, it was way too much. The Guru now has a wifi model, but it is quite pricey too.

 

[isolated01]

My stoker sends me text messages at the interval I choose.

FRM:rickssmoker@gmail.com
SUBJrobe(C70000116EF56030) = 193.5/199
MSG:Fire Current/Target =225.3/225
Probe(C70000116EF56030) =193.5/199

 

[HogFan]

I have the IQ-110 and haven't yet paid attention to the fan......but I will.

What is interesting is that a PID controller would pulse the fan on/off to maintain temp. If you want on/off control, why not purchase an on/off controller which is much cheaper?

Unless you are trying to maintain an abnormally low setpoint, if a PID controller is using on/off control then it seems one of the following is likely:

- The fan is oversized for your cooker. Wouldn't an ideally sized fan be able to maintain setpoint temp by varying the speed of the fan instead of pulsing the fan on/off? If not, why use a PID controller instead of a cheaper on/off controller?

- There is a limit on how low the voltage can be dropped that runs the fan and the fan still have enough torque to start. Some controllers use PID control to maintain temp when the fan speed is above this point and use on/off control to maintain temp below this point (instead of slowing the fan). But again, isn't this an indication the fan is oversized? (or at least oversized to maintain the current temperature setpoint?)

It may be normal for a controller to puff a bit of air now and again when trying to cool the cooker because the operator has lowered the temperature setpoint. So my comments above relate to maintaining temp or heating a cooker to a temperature setpoint.

Maybe someone will explain why a customer would want a PID controller using on/off control. My thought is that with an ideally sized fan, the fan would always run and the controller would vary the speed of the fan to maintain the setpoint temperature (assuming a normal temperature setpoint range). Maybe mfgs want to make one size fan cover a large size range of cookers so they have fewer fans to stock. Maybe they just want the customer to be happy with their product so they use algorithims that will work even when the customer selects the wrong fan. While that's good, unfortunately the customer may never become aware they have an improperly sized fan.

Edit to add: On my IQ, if I notice the fan kicking on/off, I will close the air inlet further so the fan supplies less air thus the fan has to run longer or at a faster speed.

 

[rossmatt06]

Most PID controllers vary the time the fan runs to supply the appropriate amount of air to sustain a set temperature. The timed burst keeps the fire stoked without supplying so much air that the temp begins to rise.

A few years ago I tried building a temp controller using a variable speed fan. I ran into several issues including the above mentioned low speed stall. The long and short of it is that pulse width modulation of a fan to vary its speed is absolutely feasible but has its issues. The PID burst method removes many of those issues which is probably why most temp controllers use it. Many ways to skin a cat...

As far as the original question, I own a stoker and a partyq. I find that I use the partyq more simply because it runs on batteries and I don't have to run extension chords. Just throw it on the smoker, set the temp and go.

Edit: Sorry missed the part about the large offset. I wouldn't recommend the partyq for anything large. Having dealt with both rocks BBQ and BBQ guru I have to say in my experience BBQ guru wins hands down on customer service.

 

[willbird]

This will devolve into techie babble here pretty quick ...but the elegant solution would be using a pump rather than a fan, and vary the volume of the pump. Air is a fluid and can be treated as such. There have been tons of ways over the years to make a variable volume pump, and I guess airplanes have variable prop pitch too, which you could do with a fan too. One example of a common variable volume pump is the swash plate design, used in a lot of the older fuel injections systems I think.

http://www.animatedsoftware.com/pics/pumps/aniswa12.gif


My UDS is pretty new, with only a few cooks under my belt, but it does some "odd" things...it does settle some, but the temp will slide up up up, then you make an adj and it will slide down down down...requiring a bit of fiddling every 1-2 hours.

I was considering getting a fan and trying to use an airbox with the ball valve to maybe make it more consistent, not relying on draft to pull air in might be a help ? My fire basket also is 15" in dia and 12" tall, and it seems to want to burn down the center of the basket full of lump no matter how I light it off. Not sure if a larger dia basket only 6" tall would be better or not.

I'm guessing that most of the PID temp controllers are geared towards electric resistance heaters, they will "cope" with outer heat sources, and maybe quite well, and maybe our charcoal or wood acts close enough to a resistance heater that a "burst" of O2 works a lot like a burst of electrons into a heating element. I see the IQ110 has a 5-10-15 cfm fan, three speeds. Looking at all of them really the IQ110 "grabs" me the most.

Bill

 

[snakyjake]

I'd go for the IQUE for the simplicity and because I can hang it under the table to protect from the rain. I just like the way it is built.

I'm also considering extending my budget to the CyberQ so I can remotely monitor the temps of both the meat and oven. When it is dark and pouring rain outside, I don't like making multiple trips outside to check the temperature.

 

[foam2]

For the ease of use I would suggest the guru. It has always given me rock solid temperatures and peace of mind with every use. I started smoking two shoulders (about 8 pounds a piece) and a 17 pound brisket and I dialed in a pit temperature of 240 degrees and with very little effort my DigiQ kept by weber 22" wsm at 240 for 17 hours on a single load of fuel. I would assume that from a budget friendly device the partyQ would be the way to go.

 

[Triple T BBQ]

Just might get the Tiger from the ol' boy in China.

Careful there. The post sales support if you have issues is shall we say somewhat spotty. Wang is a nice enough fellow but he left a bunch of us in the ditch on a couple earlier versions of the controller. Others have had better results.

 

[razrbakcrzy]

Auber, Auber, Auber!!! I have one and it learns your pit. I have a 20 cfm fan running on a UDS and it took about 30 minutes and it had learned the UDS. It holds temps +/- 2° and will run about 15 sec to 1 minutes every 3 minutes. It will learn what it needs to do to hold your temps.

if you need to use it on a different pit you will need to go through the reset procedure...

 

[willbird]

Auber, Auber, Auber!!! I have one and it learns your pit. I have a 20 cfm fan running on a UDS and it took about 30 minutes and it had learned the UDS. It holds temps +/- 2° and will run about 15 sec to 1 minutes every 3 minutes. It will learn what it needs to do to hold your temps.

if you need to use it on a different pit you will need to go through the reset procedure...

I was a little put off by the "engrish" instructions for the Auber. And put "on" by the Iq110 three speed fan <edit I read a bit more on it and it says "variable from 5 to 15cfm not three speed">

The IQ110 uses a PID controller as well does it not ?? Which uses "fuzzy logic" to "learn" your pit ?

Bill

 

[razrbakcrzy]

I was a little put off by the "engrish" instructions for the Auber. And put "on" by the Iq110 three speed fan <edit I read a bit more on it and it says "variable from 5 to 15cfm not three speed">

The IQ110 uses a PID controller as well does it not ?? Which uses "fuzzy logic" to "learn" your pit ?

Bill

yes, I believe everything you stated is true about the iq110; but remember it's battery powered and there is no digital readout... If you want 110v you must buy an extra cable. their customer service is spotty at best by what has been posted on this site.. Weigh you decision carefully and go with your gut, good luck ...!:thumb:

 

[willbird]

yes, I believe everything you stated is true about the iq110; but remember it's battery powered and there is no digital readout... If you want 110v you must buy an extra cable. their customer service is spotty at best by what has been posted on this site.. Weigh you decision carefully and go with your gut, good luck ...!:thumb:

The IQ110 seemed to come with the 110v wall wart to supply 12v to the IQ110?? The PartyQ (made by a different company) is battery powered ?

I just want to make the best decision I can before I send off money.

Are you sure the IQ people were not good on customer service ?

I was sort of worried the Auber 20cfm blower might be too big, the 5-15cfm sounded like it might be better, but this is all from reading material on the net .

Also to be fair I did RE read the Auber instructions, and the "English" was fine, not sure why I got the idea that it was mangled translation.....it is a bit complex if you get deep enough into it, but then so are a lot of things .

Bill

 

[razrbakcrzy]

The IQ110 seemed to come with the 110v wall wart to supply 12v to the IQ110?? The PartyQ (made by a different company) is battery powered ?

I just want to make the best decision I can before I send off money.

Are you sure the IQ people were not good on customer service ?

I was sort of worried the Auber 20cfm blower might be too big, the 5-15cfm sounded like it might be better, but this is all from reading material on the net .

Also to be fair I did RE read the Auber instructions, and the "English" was fine, not sure why I got the idea that it was mangled translation.....it is a bit complex if you get deep enough into it, but then so are a lot of things .

Bill

Yep you right! They do have AC power. it was the party q that's battery powered. The manufactures of the party que actually steered me away from it because the fan was too small for the UDS. I was bouncing back and forth just like you between the I que and the Auber. The Ique was out of stock when i was ready thus making up my mind for me. Also i got a big discount by buying a refurbished model from Auber. It came with a new warranty and has been flawless in its performance. Good luck in your decision...

The auber is really just plug and play unless you really want to do some really not normal cooking procedures. Plug it up, adjust the temp, let it do it's thing... Now it can get really complicated if you want to do temp ramp ups and temp changes at certain timings but it does simple also.

 

[willbird]

I have about settled in on the Auber. But now factoring in whether to buy the Auber 20cfm fan, or to buy another fan cheaper from elsewhere. Has anybody found the Auber 20cfm fan to be too BIG ?

Bill

 

[razrbakcrzy]

I use it on a UDS and it works great. They used to offer smaller fans, are they not still offering smaller ones?

 

[LittleHill Smoke]

Just bought the Q110 two weeks ago. Did two smokes on it, worked great for me. Although I'm very new to the Smoke game!

 

[Garman]

I am in the same boat. I really, really like the DigiQ DX2, but I am having a hard time justifying the near $300 price tag!:twitch:

I am leaning toward the Auber. My reason is that I think I will be able to see the display at night or even in the daytime easier because of the bright led's and without my glasses on! :laugh: