Replacement controller for Pit Boss PBV4PS2 ?

[smokyYank]

Howdy all,

I love this smoker! It's a 4-tier vertical, terrific mechanicals, 40 lb hopper, wonderful grease management, water tray, etc. The only thing that sucks is its controller.

This seems to be a known problem, but they won't rectify the situation. Wild temperature swings, as much as 50 or 70 F, or more. I know this firsthand because I always have to monitor the temp with my Thermoworks probe/dispaly, so I can adjust the actual temp somewhat. No, I don't hover over it and adjust it every 10 minutes, but I do think perhaps a swing of 10 to 20 degrees would provide better, and more repeatable results.

I hear all the rage is the Reqteq controller, but also hear you can't buy them separately. They will only send you a replacement if you have one of their units.

So, does anyone have any first-hand experience (good OR bad) with any of the 3rd party controllers that are sold separately? I assume there should only be a small list of connections on any of them, e.g. power, fan, auger probe...I don't mind soldering the connections, or soldering on new connectors, etc.

Would love to hear what you have to say. Thanks in advance!

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Smoke Daddy is the primary controller I hear about people upgrading toor using with custom built pellet cookers, I would suggest any info you found on the RT controller is overhyped and likely from a time before other controllers started using PID

[smokyYank]

thanks, @its. damn pricey at 199, though...maybe i can live with some temp swings!!! i see there are quite a few in the $40-$50 range...