Automatic temperator control for my 22" WSM

[jasonwilliams14]

Hey folks! Hope everyone is well! I have been MIA of late. Work and real life have been quite busy to say the least, but I am still BBQ'ing, smoking and grilling!

For this topic, this is something I have been kicking around and thinking about for some time. I feel that I am to the point where I have learned a lot about using my WSM, kettle to understand temperature control, valve adjustment etc, but I can always learn more. I am at a point now where using an ATC on my WSM is where I want to go for a lot of reasons.
I have yet to try a brisket (slowly dying inside I have not! ), and I know that is a long cook. That said, i'd like to use an ATC that makes things a bit easier for me.

What I was hoping from the folks here is some feedback and recommendations on ones to look at and consider. I have found a few and really think the investment is worth it.

Here is what I have found:

The Fireboard + Blower bundle:

https://www.fireboard.com/shop/fireboard-2-drive-bundle/

The ChefTemp bundle:

https://www.chefstemp.com/product/s1-weber-smokey-mountain/

The Billows + smoke:

https://industrial-lab.thermoworks.com/products/billows

As far as requirements or nice to haves. An app on the phone to track temps would be ideal, but not required.
Reliability and durability are primary to keep this for a long long time.

I am open to others as well, these were just ones i found quickly when I was researching lately

Much appreciated and thank you!

[WI Bubba]

The WSM is easy enough to get dialed in manually that a fan controller is really over kill. A good wireless thermometer that will give you high and low temp alarms would be all you really need to manage a brisket cook. That didn't stop me once I learned how to run it with just the vents. There is just something about new toys that I can't resist.

I have a Pit Viper fan run through a Fireboard with the fan controller cable on my WSM 22". It works very well. If you already have a Fireboard, and I think everybody should, then that's the way I would go. If you are starting from scratch, then I would go with the full Fireboard setup you linked to.

As much as I love my ThermoWorks stuff, I shy away from their wireless stuff. I had a very bad experience with the Smoke, and ended up getting a refund after way too much time on the phone with their tech support.

[Lynn Dollar]

I agree with WI Bubba about the WSM being easy to dial in and an ATC not being necessary. Unless you want to do overnight cooks and you want to turn it over to the ATC and go to bed. I'm not a fan of overnight cooks, but can see the value for those who do those cooks.

The Billows is a 40 cfm fan. And its not variable speed, it operates at lower speeds by pulsing. Which means you must use a damper on the Billows to reduce the air movement. The WSM does not need a lot of air flow.

The Fireboard is 20 cfm variable speed. ProTemp is 35 cfm variable speed.

Me, I have no experience with either one, but would go with the Fireboard if I were only going to use the fan on the WSM.

I own a Billows and its great on my Assassin gravity feed and on a Pit Barrel Cooker. I think its probably too much fan for the WSM. My hunch is, a fan with a lower cfm and variable speed would be better on the WSM.

[Mosca]

I understand this. My primary smoker is a BGE, which will hold 250° rock solid for 20 hours without any help, but I just love gadgets.

The field is evolving rapidly. As soon as you pick something, invariably something else will come out that looks better! I committed to FireBoard, and now ChefTemp has that awesome dome thermo replacement and full wireless monitoring for all probes!

Whatever you use is going to work: the fan thing is a simple feedback loop, the thermometers are thermometers. The differences between systems come down to the device/human interface.

The simplest systems are entirely electromechanical, with no cloud capability: think DigiQ. All the probes are wired, and the display is on the device mounted next to the WSM. You wanna know how your cook is going? Walk outside and check.

Next up, you get Bluetooth/WiFi connectivity: wired probes, plugging into a base station that connects to your router. You can be cutting the grass in the front yard, or at work, or in Timbuktu; as long as there’s a signal, you can monitor your cook and make adjustments from your phone/iPad/computer. My experience with three different Android/iPad displays (BBQGuru, Chef Alarm, FireBoard) is that all interfaces basically suck. None of the ones I’ve used have been intuitive, all offering prominent features that I don’t care about at the expense of prioritizing access to the features I do care about.

Next up is the wireless stuff. WIRES ARE A PAIN IN THE ASS. But wireless probe technology is still evolving, and some iterations will be better than others. I have a FB Pulse wireless probe, and I don’t trust it as much as I do the wired probes. It sends new readings every minute instead of every 15 seconds, and the probe is pretty thick. But it is accurate based on the ice bath/boiling test. It monitors both the meat and the pit, but the pit sensor is in the tip of the probe, and is subject to meat shadow. Most cooking guidelines are for pit/oven/ambient outside the inch or so around the meat.

One thing you need to be aware of is tech support for connectivity, and for wireless probes. BBQ Guru, makers of DigiQ, also had the awesome CyberQ, which was BT/Wifi. Support for the CyberQ ended a year or two ago! It still works, but only at the electromechanical level, and as a monitoring device on your network. It’s not cloud connected any more. (As an aside, this is true for connected cars, too.)

Myself, I like the idea of those replacement dome thermometers. I’m not going to get one, because the food is going to taste the same either way, but I like the way it simplifies monitoring and eliminates duplicate signals (analog dome thermometer vs digitally displayed grate probe thermometer) that can cause doubt and confusion. But if FireBoard came out with one I’d consider it if my daughter asked what I wanted for Christmas.

Clear as mud, huh? Tldr version: pick one you like and use it often.

[jasonwilliams14]

This is very helpful and I appreciate it very much!
I started to explore this path because I would like the option of just setting something up, walking away and periodically checking in on things, a la like a Pellet smoker, but I do not want one of those. I figure the cost of a ATC setup would be 1/4 of the cost of a good pellet smoker. This gives me a bit of comfort know the temp is 'set and forget' and I could take a nap if i get up super early, or even try an overnight cook.
I was leaning towards the fireboard. It seems to be a bit better.
Mosca I do like the idea of no wires and wireless probes for cooking.
And being able to monitor, track on phone is even better.

REally appreciate it!

[jfmorris]

jasonwilliams14 I really wanted and window shopped and researched pellet smokers for years (I had decided I wanted a Grilla OG), but having a fan controller on my SNS Kamado and kettle kinda cured me of it. I can cook for 24 hours hands off if need be, and monitor the cook on my phone, and still use the charcoal and wood chunks I prefer.

I used a BBQ Guru PartyQ for many years - still have one - and a Smoke to monitor the cook. The PartyQ was like a Pit Viper fan with the controller sticking off it on a flexible neck. Now I am using the Thermoworks RFX wireless system with a Bilows fan on my kamado. As others say, it can move a lot of air, but it has not been an issue for me - and kamado cookers are generally low flow smokers. I did get the $5 damper when I got the Billows fan though, and have it restricting the air intake to about 1/4.

I love the wireless meat probes for the RFX system. Having the grate probe wired doesn’t bother me at all.

[LegoMySearwood]

This! I have the RFX and billows with damper and now I barely use my Searwood.

[jasonwilliams14]

Yea, i am going through the same thought process you were. Looking for a pellet smoker, but really want an ATC for my WSM and others.
let me look kinto the RFX. Sounds awesome. Wireless probes are just the cherry on top!

[jfmorris]

jasonwilliams14 when you add the blower the RFX system gains a couple of wires, but its just nice not having wire meat probes, especially if you have a rotisserie cooker.