Review of the Fireboard

[geotek230]

I bought two of the smoke units was going to buy the fireboard but was out of stock with no resupply time and needed it with in a week. The smoke units are great. Love the data logging of the fire board. Am proubly going to get the upgrade for the smoke when it becomes avalible

[Danjohnston949]

@tbo4, I thought I was the only one❓. It A'nt Easy Being a Boy Anymore!
From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan

[Thunder77]

I like my Smoke a lot. I don't really feel the need for data logging, so I just chug along with Smoke. If I purchase another Smoke, I have four probe capability.

[Thunder77]

All that being said, As my wife tells me, I am the "Gadget King", so I will probably have to get a Fireboard eventually. :-P

[Chiefsilverback]

Thunder77 Two Smokes gives you four probes, but you also have to remember which display is which and can you interchange ambient probes with food probes?

[Thunder77]

All good points! Especially after a beer or three. 😜

[Histrix]

That's what Post-it Notes are for. You can use any mix of probes in the Smoke.

[geotek230]

Yes you can change them up have one for cooker temp and one for meat or one of each on each unit. I numbered my units have 1 and 2. Write on my log sheet what one is in the meat and what one is the cooker temp that way know what display is what after a couple of barly pops.

[FLBuckeye]

Is there any info for when the waterproof case will be available? Their website says

"The FireBoard device is not waterproof so please use caution in inclement weather.

Weatherproof cases will be available on our online store at fireboard.com"

I don't see anything on the website. I have a covered cooking area so I am not overly concerned but when I compete, it would be a nice plus

[Spinaker]

I have not heard anything. But I would also be interested. Although a ziplock works well too!

[FLBuckeye]

That's what I do with my PartyQ

[ecowper]

I use my Fireboard in WA state and get plenty of rain, obviously. If it's fairly nasty outside, I use a ziplock bag. As a side note, I'm one of the users that Fireboard has asked to give input on their case design. They are definitely working on it.

[FLBuckeye]

I just pulled the trigger on the Extreme BBQ edition of the Fireboard. Am pumped!

[fuzzydaddy]

Congrats! Every time I look at this thread I inch close to a purchase.

[kmhfive]

I went for it. Delivery this Wednesday. Got plans for at least 4 probes!

[Henrik]

Me too!

[ecowper]

Awesome FLBuckeye .... looking forward to hearing what you think and your experiences, etc.

[FLBuckeye]

The Fireboard arrived today so I will be firing up the 26" soon. Can't wait!

[T-bone]

Definitely looking forward to the hands-on reviews from FLBuckeye, kmhfive, Henrik! Of course my bank account probably won't like it.

[ecowper]

Henrik you are gonna need a Fireboard once you get that big, homemade smoker done ;-)

[Henrik]

Great minds think alike :-) I really dig the idea of putting six probes in that huge smoker I just built.

[ecowper]

Henrik two pit probes and four meat probes in that thing will be awesome

[Kevin Fuess]

I came in late on this and WOW you are making my head spin! I was about convinced that I had to buy the Fireboard, but the comments about the Smoke brought me back to reality - I am happy with the Smoke. I don't do huge cooks that require monitoring 6 different things. And I particularly like the remote display. I just set it next to bed for overnight cooks, or the end table if I am watching TV, and glance at it occasionally to see what is going on, without having to grab my phone.
But you guys planted a seed – I just hope I can refrain from the "new gadget urge" long enough to get over it.

[ecowper]

I added the app to Alexa and now I just have to ask Alexa what the Fireboard temps are ..... drives my wife crazy, makes me laugh

[ecowper]

All of that said, you're right to know what you want your thermometers to do for you. If you are only monitoring 2 temps, don't need the range that Fireboard gives you, don't worry about the data retention and graphing ability, then the Smoke is probably a great choice.

[Ernest]

I believe this is now connected to Amazon's Alexa. So you can tell Alexa to check the temperature while you're reclined and being lazy. Alexa will speak out the temps.

[ecowper]

Yes ... I added Fireboard to Alexa during my last cook. Now I can just ask Alexa and she tells me what's up with my Fireboard temps

[Flavorsavor]

I've been quite happy with my fireboard. The temperatures are accurate and consistent, the programming is intuitive and easy, and I no longer have to take notes every half hour for all of my cooks, they're ready to browse in the app and on the website. I've even been able to guide my lovely wife to control temperatures on a smoking pastrami while busy from work! That alone is worth the price to me..
The only drawback I can sight is that the higher-quality probes with spring-loaded seals do not fit through the old hole/grommet I had drilled in my weber, but I was happy to enlarge it by 1/16th" and run any extra wires under the lid.

[Flavorsavor]

100%, ecowper. I should have said it's more difficult to feed more than one. The plugs and wires are more robust than those of my old maverick! (Which has since been donated to a friend)

[ecowper]

I still have my Maverick, but not quite sure why ..... sentimental, I guess

[Danjohnston949]

Flavorsavor, ecowper, The FireBoard, Alexa, iPhone, iPad Combination allows for About as Much Info as I can Absorb on One Smoke❓. I have to Go Back Over The Storage File and Refresh❓ 👍👍👍👍👍
From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan

[Amajeff99]

is there any kind of fee in using the fire board site for your data. or is it free once you have the unit?

[ecowper]

There is no fee/charge to use the Fireboard Dashboard. You do have to remember that Fireboard controls that, not you. What I do, to be safe, is download each cook as a spreadsheet. That way I will always have the data and not have to worry if Fireboard goes out of business, or whatever

[Histrix]

is there any kind of fee in using the fire board site for your data. or is it free once you have the unit?

Currently there is no charge for the cloud service. Originally, they were going to allow free use for "XX" hours of use per month and only charge $10/month for folks that wanted to use more than that. I don't recall what the number of hours was for free use but I do recall thinking that it was far more than I would likely use.

I have no idea if they ever plan to actually institute a monthly usage fee down the road. My guess is that they may be just taking a wait and see approach until they get a handle on just how many hours an average customer uses each month and then decide if they need to recoup some of that expense. Running a cloud service does cost them money so I'd be surprised if they don't eventually decide to charge at least heavy users a nominal fee per month or year.

[EdF]

I use a music cloud that delivers in high-resolution across the globe. I have over 10K tracks hi-res in my collection, which is a bit more than half a terabyte, mostly ripped from CD's. They charge $90 a year for a terabyte. To me, the backup alone is worth it, never mind the access when traveling. (I already have the collection backed up on two external disks).

So, like anything, it's a tradeoff.

[ecowper]

Yesterday, I cooked 3 slabs of SLC ribs, 2 chickens and 1.5 lbs of halibut ..... the ribs were on the WSM and the rest on the Hasty-Bake. I ran an ambient probe in the WSM during the whole cook. When I fired up the Hasty-Bake, I added an ambient probe and one meat probe in each chicken. You can see exactly when I added the probes, see the hood opens on the Hasty-Bake as I add and turn the halibut, etc. Pretty cool.

[RonB]

So I guess you cooked the fish just for the halibut??

[ecowper]

RonB groan

[Attjack]

Is it wall mountable? It would look good mounted on that 6x6 behind my grill.

[kmhfive]

The case gives you lots of options!

[ecowper]

it wouldn't be hard to rig a mount for it at all. And a Fireboard would look amazing right there!