Shopping for new temp controller

[SierraBBQGuy]

I know some of you will say a temperature controller isn’t needed for a Big Green Egg, but I’ve been using a Stoker for many years now. I find it extermly useful so I can leave the house for the day or cooking overnight, without worry. Unfortunately the Stoker has stopped working properly, it ruined my last two cooks by running the fan open loop. Just wondering what other Kamado owners here are using, there are now so many choices since I first got mine.

[Troutman]

Smobot ..... http://www.smobot.com/

[EdF]

Strong proponent here! This one is just like replacing yourself flicking the daisy wheel by doing it for you. Very low energy consumption, etc. I'll post a pit temp history for ribs below.

[Henrik]

Same here, love the smobot, it's awesome!

[Oak Smoke]

+ 1 on Smobot. It doesn't have a fan and doesn't need one. Wifi works great, it will normally keep my Kamado within 7 deg F of the set temp all day or night. The two food probes with their alarms are so nice to have. I just don't have a single complaint.

[SierraBBQGuy]

Very interesting, this regulates the damper rather than using a fan!

[EdF]

Very effective!

[Steve B]

I just got a bbq guru pit Viper. Can’t say how it works cause FireBoard is out of their control cables. But Spinaker uses this setup. So hopefully he can chime in and help you out.

[Spinaker]

I like to use the FireBoard and Pit Viper fan combo. It works great. I know EdF uses the Smobot and he seems to love it. There are a ton of options out there. It is really up to what exactly you are looking for.

[EdF]

Some baby backs.

[hogdog6]

That's one sweet flat line.

[LA Pork Butt]

I’ve cooked for years without one, but after moving to Dallas where the winds can be erratic and gusty imroutinely use the PartyQ for overnight cooks and sometime for daytime rib cooks.

[jfmorris]

You just missed a sale on the PartyQ for $119 over at bbqguru.com. All of their units were 20% off. That smobot is how I think I would go if I *only* wanted to use it on a kamado. Otherwise, if you think you might want to use it on more than one type of cooker, I would look at the bbqguru.com offerings, as you could use the same controller on your WSM and your BGE, just using 2 different adapters. A Fireboard with control cable, and the fan and adapter from bbqguru, would also work.

[EdF]

Makes good sense to me!

[SierraBBQGuy]

I do also have a WSM so the Guru makes sense! Thanks!

[fuzzydaddy]

PartyQ and rechargeable batteries. I also use it on my Kettles.

[LA Pork Butt]

Black99vette what do you use for a power supply? Surely you don’t wire it to a plug that goes straight into an electrical outlet?

[Black99vette]

LA Pork Butt I have a 5V 800MA transformer that I use. Not sure were it came from as I have a box full of old transformers.

[LA Pork Butt]

Black99vette Thanks much! I think I have comething like that hanging around the house. I believe my PartyQ is1st generation, also.

[SmokeyGator]

I have the CyberQ Cloud. It’s great, but I think that Fireboard edges it out because they have an app. I can get my CyberQ Cloud to work with an app, but I have to either run it in ad-hock mode with the "cloud" part disabled, OR go through a complicated process of configuring my router for port forwarding. Without the cloud, I will not get push notification updates. Anyhow, it still works fine, but it could work better.

Smobot is cool, but I also cook without the controller. And when doing direct high heat stuff I wouldn’t want the smobot top vent cover on. The controller/fan things don’t require doing anything to my top vent, they install on the bottom vent. And can be added or removed at any time. But they also consume more power and thus if you went a battery backup power source your going to need at least a 15 amp hour (or better) gelcell or something.

PartyQ splits the middle. Battery powered and no need to fiddle with the top vent. For a kamado you don’t need a very powerful fan so it should work great.

Anyhow at the end of the day, all work in a similar matter. I don’t really think one is truly better than the rest, it boils down to how convenient they will be for you. And for me I like the ability to use a controller or not without having to install or remove parts. I also like that if I get something else down the road I can probably use the same controller with it.

But you will really enjoy having a controller. For long low and slow cooks they are just so handy. Magic level handy.

[SierraBBQGuy]

Not sure I follow the issue with CyberQ cloud? The interface doesn’t work well, or? My Stoker didn’t have WiFi but sounds like a convenient feature.

[jfmorris]

His issue is that the cloud feature doesn’t have a mobile app. You have to go to a web page to use it. That might mean it doesn’t alert you on your phone when the pit drops temp or the meat is done, but I’m not sure of that.

[SmokeyGator]

If works great. The interface is just less convenient to use because you have to log on to a website. App controls exist but you have to give up the cloud function, which means you don’t get alerts. With the cloud active I get text alerts, which is nice. I’m just saying that since a controller is all about convenience, having a phone app that sends push alerts is a plus. You don’t really "need" a controller after all. My Primo works just fine without one. It is just easier with one.

[kheydon]

I have a Stoker II made by Rock's BBQ and the blower is no longer working. Unfortunately, they have gone out of business. Is there a way to purchase a new fan without having to go to the expense of buying a whole new kit from another company? If so, how?

[Spinaker]

Yep. You can get them from BBQ Guru. That is where I got my fans.

https://bbqguru.com/storenav?CategoryId=2&ProductId=403

[LA Pork Butt]

While I used a PartyQ in the past I moved to a Smobot because of the WIFi cability. It works differently than a blower in that it opens the top vent wider when necessary to draft air through the half open bottom vent.