Interesting, please keep us posted on the WiFi. I almost bought it as well but decided I could always add it later if need be. I have a thermoworks smoke that works great around the house. If I decide to take a nap I can set one of the probes on the grate and set a low temperature alarm in case it shuts down.

Today's hard work paid off. Probably the best brisket I have done. The smoke ring was pretty pedestrian, but the smoke flavor was strong.

MAK Group Buy
 

Interesting about the WiFi disconnect. Mine is way further with numerous walls in between. Curious... when you turn the MAK on, hold down the up arrow for about 10 seconds. It’ll throw you into the setup. It’ll also display the firmware version. What version are running? You should be running 3.44.

Late to the game here, but I ordered my 1 Star on 2/18, before any of this activity, and I ordered with the Flame Zone, plus a 3/4 upper grate. They sent me the Flame Zone, with its two side-to-side 1/2 grates, plus two more of the same half grates (total of 4), plus the 3/4. Serves the purpose.

First thing I did before installing the wifi module was check the version. It's 3.44. I think I saw a wifi timeout message once. The website showed the Mak still "running" but it wasn't keeping up to date and the Mak said "web control off".

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Here's what I see. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...13dce95664.jpg

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My wi-fi hasn't worked consistently for the past few weeks. It usually comes back around after a few cooks & stays functional for several months at a time. I never get stressed over it... it's easy to set the temp from the Pit Boss and the loud audible beep that it makes when the setpoint is reached makes it simple to know what's happening. I don't see the wi-fi as a critical add-on but it is cool when it works.

Prior to firmware version 3.44, there was an issue going on last year w/ the WiFi module... timeouts/disconnects being it. MAK Grills really dialed things in with ver 3.44, and that has been noticed by every MAK Grills Mobile owner I have talked with over the past 6 months or so. It has been super stable. I would definitely encourage anyone that is not experiencing that to contact MAK.

If you do call in for support, Dennis is the one you’ll want to connect with :)

Man, I pulled the trigger on a 1 Star 8 days prior to this thread starting. Zero regrets. They still threw me some deals, including a new tool holder for the 1 Star that’s not on their site yet. Happy happy.

+1

Versatility and efficiency. Love it.

Goldenbear, that is a gorgeous deck!

Thanks! The last big project I did with my dad. He’s doing great, just no interest in big projects any longer. :thumb:

Hey Chris-
Glad you found your way over when! Welcome to the Brethren :)

~Robb

This pic deserves to be upright!

https://i.postimg.cc/0NH7xKHL/637-EF...F2950-DDDF.jpg

I am a SmokeFire victim, which led to the MAK. I decided I’m through messing around with other brands that have nickel and dimed me to death. The SmokeFire was in a league of its own. One of the most intriguing features of the SF, according to Weber’s marketing, was the ash and grease management. It failed in that regard. While there are plenty of comments boasting of the MAK’s build quality, I believe the ash and grease management is pure genius. From the trap door, to the removable fire pot, to the grease chute, to the clean out pan. Genius.

Couldn’t agree more! Engineering genius is what drove me to MAK Grills and it has only gotten better over the years as they continue to innovate and improve :)

I need an ash brush. The brush I tried to use didn't work well at all. Definitely easier to clean out than my other pellet grills. Lots of ash though. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0c4ae0b2a2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...7c2eb7e219.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...86ba82f7ce.jpg

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That's awesome. I hate dragging out my shop vac to clean my pellet grill. A brush and door seems convenient.

I'm not going to even bother pricing one of these out. Probably more than all my cookers cost me combined. For whatever reason I'm cheap when it comes to cookers.

I picked up the following. Cheap and works well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C2NNZSG..._CpwzEbPRHRJ13

By the way, that is a LOT of ash. I assume that’s an accumulation from many, many hours. I was shocked at how little ash had accumulated following my 14 hour brisket cook Thursday (LJ Oak).

I have come to the point that I clean my fire pot after every cook no matter if the cook was long or short. The MAK’s are just happier with a clean fire pot. As far as the belly of the cooker, I sweep the ash maybe 4 times/year. It definitely accumulates down there, but it doesn’t hurt a thing.

8 hours with LJ apple. That includes the 400 degree burn in for 30 minutes. The rest of the time was 275-325.

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I'll get one. Mine I can sweep the same spot 3 times and it never gets all the ash. Frustrating for sure. Thanks!

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That is definitely a lot of ash for the amount of cook time. That LJ Apple must be ashy stuff.

Very cool Chris!!!

I did a 45 minute burn in at 450° then 8 hrs at 250°, a couple hrs at 325° then 1 hr at 400°. I’ll be interested to see what the ash buildup looks like underneath!

DANGIT!!! Forgot to put an aluminum pan in the grease drawer, oh well, I’ll wash it out and put it in tomorrow

That'd be it. Just checked in Tapatalk and the emojis display correctly.

I ordered one on Tuesday and it was in the local FedEx freight depot by Thursday (California tho).

What size pan do you put in the drawer to catch the grease/ash?

I picked up the following ahead of receiving the MAK. I unfolded the sides so they aligned, and it fit. Not perfect (as you can see in the pic), but close enough.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N6MSS3M..._-QxzEbGABHSCK

That's what I'm guessing. The fire pot didn't have much in it. Seems like it's a finer ash so maybe it gets blown around easier.

I think my probe
Is off a little. Stuck it in a frozen pork chop and it read 39. Also lost wifi at 30 minutes.

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It looks like when I lose wifi it resets the temp to 200? Not sure what's going on. I lost wifi a 3rd time but it didn't reset the temp to 200. I'm not messing with wifi anymore until i call support.

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Safety feature so your food won’t overcook, or worse. Obvious downside, however.

I cut my splits to 5g lengths and my WiFi lump coal bed lasts for about 6 hours, only piece of my outdoor cooking gear that needs to be plugged in is the beer fridge :)

Larry

Is there still time to jump on board with the MAK group buy? Asking for a friend of course. :cool:

Might be a few more days... hurry!

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I tested and it resets to smoke when wifi CONNECTS. That's better because you'll be standing at the smoker at that time.

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A bit disconcerting (I’m new) how inconsistent the MAK Mobile experience seems to be. I held off due to a rumored updated Pellet Boss on the horizon with integrated Wi-Fi. I look forward to adding the feature down the road.

I don't know if the integrated chip will be a different chip. I would prefer it as an add-on so if it fails it can be replaced. I hope when they integrate they keep the non-wifi an option. Not everybody wants it and it adds a lot to the price.

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Keep in mind that I have not contacted support. It may be easily fixed. It could be my router isn't compatible or user error.

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Looking forward to my 1 star shipping tomorrow!

Just call in the morning!

#letsdothis

I'll let him know. :mrgreen:

I’ve never placed an aluminum pan in the grease drawer. Takes me 60 seconds to scrape it out with a putty knife, and then I just scrub the little bit of residue out with hot soapy water. Takes a total of maybe 3 mins, and it isn’t needed very often. Whatever works though :)

So it’s your problem, not mine? I can live with that... lol.

So it has changed temp to 200° during a couple of the disconnects, and another disconnect behaved differently in that it did not set the controller to 200°? It used to be that it would set it to Smoke. MAK owners did not like that. It was recently changed to (I believe) drop to 275° if the set point was higher than that at the time of disconnect. That said, those that have MAK Grills Mobile (WiFi) running with firmware ver. 3.44 have found it to be extremely stable. I almost never see MAK owners struggling with WiFi anymore. There was a time that was not the case.

Safe to assume you are connected to a 2ghz network and not 5ghz. Not even sure you’d be able to connect to 5ghz... but just thought I’d ask. It needs to be 2ghz. Wondering if that brick wall you mentioned could be the culprit. Safe to assume you have the WiFi chip securely in place and the WiFi antenna nice and tight? I know you work in IT... and I am probably preaching to the choir. Just thinking out loud.

Serious?!?! Could it be it’s not really a friend, but YOU?!?! Asking for a friend [emoji851]

Nice

No. I wasn't paying attention. It sets to 200 when you push the web control to "on". If it disconnects it keeps your set temp. Yes, 2.4ghz. I tried 5ghz and it isn't any better. Antenna is in tight. Chip is in tight. I'm gonna guess I've got my router locked down too tightly and one of the settings is the culprit. It took me a month to pick this router. [emoji23] I'll probably send the wifi back before I open my router up. I'm just too paranoid. Weird thing is I've got cameras, alarm, light bulbs, and on and on hooked up to wifi. I did notice their list if approved this is very short.

I was just going over the wifi pdf. Sounds like pushing the wrong button on the physical panel while on wifi might be my issue (it will disconnect the wifi).[emoji3061] I really hope that's it because it's a simple fix.
"Step away from your cooker, you farking idiot!" - Mak Grills support team

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Yep, when using WiFi you must control the cooker via MAK Grills Mobile. If you touch the Pellet Boss controller, you’ll basically shut off the WiFi module.

You probably thought I was smarter than that, right? I'll know for sure when I fire it up next time. Might explain why it worked for 6 hours yesterday. People showed up and I wasn't at the grill playing with it.

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