Is WiFi worth it on pellet grills

Bob C Cue

Bob C Cue

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With Father's Day coming up next month I am thinking about asking the family for the WiFi module for my MAK 1 Star. For those of you with WiFi-enabled pellet grills do you think it's a good purchase? Do you find that you use the functionality and that it make things that much easier for you? Thanks!

Note that this is not a poll and was never intended to be so please no poll-ish jokes!
 
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I ordered my MAK without wifi as it was something I would not need or use. As the temperatures dropped and snow hit the ground, I thought it might be a possibility to save me stepping outside to check the temperature or make adjustments. I wasn't really sold on the idea, but I was busy making purchases last year to help stimulate the economy as best I could and MAK seemed like a nice company to give a little extra support to, so I ordered it. I now use it for every single cook. For me the best part is the cooking program feature. I am forgetful of how I cook something, so I can create "Pork chops" and in the description, I simply write "4'-4' normal thickness, 5'-5' thick pucks." Now, when I cook pork chops, I just click on that tab and the temperature goes to 400*, and I know to do 4 minutes per side for the normal ones and 5 minutes per side for the thick Costco pucks. No need for a recipe book that I will lose and it is so easy to program that even idiot #1 can do it!
 
Every argument for going from stick burner to pellets is also an argument for adding WiFi . . . then for catering, then for just going out to eat. Where you draw the line is totally up to you.
 
Went for almost 2 years without MAK Grills Mobile... had no need for it... so I thought. Wasn’t til one day I decided to bust out the credit card and give it a whirl. Sometimes uncontrollable “wants” hit if ya know what I mean. Had no idea I’d be using it on 100% of my cooks. Absolutely love it!
 
I love it! I upgraded to the ACS Wifi from Fireboard on my Yoder 640. I like to be able to program my cooks if needed (like an overnight cook) and being able to control and monitor temps from my desktop, laptop, phone when I'm doing other things simultaneously. Having detailed reports with temps, timestamps, charts of my cooks at the end doesn't hurt either when the fine folks here ask me questions on duration, temps etc of my cooks.
 
Wifi controller is awesome! I've gone to the store in the middle of a cook and was able to monitor everything that was going on. Turining it on/off and raising/lowering the temp and monitoring temps all without even being home. I started preheating mine once on the way home from getting a Papa Murphys pizza. Came home and put the pizza right in the grill. :becky:
 
It is nice to have but by no means a necessity.

My smoker stays at whatever temp I set it at. I don’t generally change temps during a cook, especially if I am not in front of it. So I don’t really see a need it to monitor the pit.

I generally know around what time the meat will be done so I just plan ahead since I have to be around to pull it anyway. Less clutter and no more buying replacement probes.

Weather is really the only thing I see a significant advantage. Really depends of where you live.


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Never thought I'd need it. But I use it for every cook. Worth every penny.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
Already having a fireboard, I'm having a real hard time convincing myself that I need the WiFi on the MAK. If I can't start it remotely... I don't see the big advantage. Fireboard already logs my cooks. I don't change temps that often while I cook, so I don't know. I also think it's more accurate. My PelletBoss keeps saying it's temps aren't changing, yet the Fireboard logs a fluctuation. Doesn't really make me exited to log an inaccurate smoker temp.

Unless somehow changing temps over wifi, is the key to getting amazing food off of the MAK?
 
I love my wifi on my pellet grill. I feel it's one of those things where if you haven't used it you will get by without it just fine, but once you have it, you want it. I cooked my first brisket on it while I slept then woke up and drive an hour to the beach and helped a friend move furniture.
 
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