Temperature controller

I like the convience of no cords, so I went with BBQ Guru's Party Q.

I have one and I love using it. It was worth it to me. There's a lot of times I even use it on the shorter cooks. I'm always cooking something on the stove at the same time. So I light the fire and let it burn a bit, then connect the Stoker and go back to cooking inside. I can control the egg temp from my phone and know when it's ready without walking out and checking several times. On long cooks, I can check the temp in the middle of the night without getting out of bed. I'd buy one again if I had to do it all over. Even a lower cost one would be fine.

Stoker here also

Depends on what kind of features you want and how much you want to spend.

Having both, I would recommend the Flame Boss over the Auber all day long. I have not tried the FB200, but I'm not really interested in WiFi. The 100 works great for me.

My dealer was good enough to throw in a controller when i bought the egg.  he called it a 'daisy wheel'.  has worked fine ever since.

i know, i know.  just sayin'.  the egg is a pretty simple system.

if you have mastered the overnights or long smokes, but just want a toy, that's great.  i'm just advocating that if you haven't yet tried to smoke for a longer duration, give the egg itself a shot.  its very idea concerns controlling temps and holding them for extended periods with a natural fire.

I am in the manual control crowd and have been for years.  A few weeks ago there was a similar thread and I was reminded about the Tip Top Temp controller (linked here: http://tiptoptemp.com/) .  I figured that for $30 I would give it a go.  Only have used it on one L&S but it worked fine.  No bells or whistles but for $30-who cares. 
I would suggest you get familiar with the manual process first in the event your electronics give up the ghost mid-cook.  FWIW-

Darby_Crenshaw said:

fish and lou: i can not seriously come up with a logical reason how the fire could get away from you (run hot) on an overnight.  any possible cause is easily eliminated in advance.

other issue is the fir going out.

i think that has happened once in maybe a dozen years.

it would take a long time to recoup the cost of enough pork butt and briskets to pay for a controller, if it happens once a decade.  especially when i am so stupid as to simply fire it up and let it go again after it went out.

Cost of ruined butt,$20. Cost of ruined brisket,$100. Cost of ruined event or party, priceless. It happens if you try to get too low with the temps. If you stay 250-275 you have a chance. I use mine overnight and I have never had the fire go out, ever. 

Same here......cheap insurance for me.

When I used to work nights, I once had a fire die some time probably before midnight.  Got home at 0800 at the Egg was cold.  Had to throw everything out and serve burgers & brats for that party.  They were good, but it had me cooking while guests were arriving, rather that having everything.  Plus about $50 in pork, the added cost of everything else.  Got a temp controller and never worried about it again.

stlcharcoal said:

Same here......cheap insurance for me.

When I used to work nights, I once had a fire die some time probably before midnight.  Got home at 0800 at the Egg was cold.  Had to throw everything out and serve burgers & brats for that party.  They were good, but it had me cooking while guests were arriving, rather that having everything.  Plus about $50 in pork, the added cost of everything else.  Got a temp controller and never worried about it again.

+1 Bingo!

WiFi Stoker is the pit controller I have.  Works good as a WiFi unit.
I have used it to smoke bacon at 185* F pit temp; variation during cook, once at target, was less then 3* F. 

stlcharcoal said:

Darby_Crenshaw said:

...and there are plenty of stories of electic controllers not working on an overnight anyay.

if you like toys, by all means buy one.  we all enjoy this stuff.  but if you think you NEED one to cook on the egg, the answer is. well, no.

Hmmmm, I've never seen those plentiful  stories.  In the 500+ of them I have sold in the last 3-4 yrs I have yet to have anyone call and complain about one failing to keep the fire alive overnight.

I have seen stories about people running out of charcoal or the fire getting hot due to a gasket leak or other factor......nothing about the unit itself failing.  Do you have any personal experience with any of these units?

I have experience with both BBQ Guru and Stoker. Had 2 different BBQ Guru units fail on cooks as well as my Stoker that had a probe fail while in use.
I just bought a FB 200 but as of today have not used it.
I have seen way more posts about people asking questions about issues with automatic controllers not working than posts about fires just going out. I'm sure some of these are operator error and just not building a good fire to start with.
Using the daisy wheel the temps might rise or fall over a long cook. With electronic controller failure, your fire "will go out" or go nuclear if the fan stays on.
If the electronic units did not fail, they would have a life time warrantee.lol
At least with the wi fi units you can check on the status.

The temperature controller is very much like a tv remote. Is it needed? No. Can you manually change it? Sure. Either way will work. I just prefer a remote for my tv and egg.

Darby_Crenshaw said:

@stlcharcoal  no.  i made all that up.

to be honest, all electronic controllers work perfectly.  there have actually never been any battery, wi-fi connection, probe failure, or weather issues.

my point, which i will reiterate: the egg works fine without a controller the vast majority of the time.  powered controllers also work the vast majority of the time.

there is no NEED for a controller.  if there is a 'want', then have a ball.  but if OP thinks it is required (universally, general consensus, etc.), then 'no', it isn't.

i know you joined fairly recently.  search the archives here and at greeneggers.com for people who have had issues with the controllers.

You have no experience with them, so you're just repeating what you claim to have read (which may or may not have been user error.)

And yes, the BGE runs just fine without them, but if you're going on this whole want vs. need diatribe....... The you don't NEED an Egg, you don't NEED a car, and so on.  Are you going to talk people out of buying a BGE or a car when they can get by with a Weber and a bike???  NO.

And yes a new user here.  Had a BGE for 22 yrs, joined the original BGE forum in the late 90's under a different handle, then had this one migrated here when the new forum came out years ago.  Egged for 12 yrs without a controller, then bought one.

I bought an ique 110 when I had just a WSM.  When I bought the egg I also bought a Wifi Stoker - I really like being able to log the cooks on my computer so I can go back and reference them.  Controlling the temp and setting an alarm from the computer is nice as well.  Required?  No, I guess not.  It does give me some peace of mind, though.

Here's how my first time using stoker went. At 10pm I decided I wanted to do a pork butt started the egg put the stoker on went to the store while it brought the temp up . It took me about a hour to get the food bring it home and get rub put on it. 11pm put the chunks of  wood and threw it on. I didn't have to get up and check on it one time during the night. What the cost of a good temp gauge like a maverick? 75 bucks? Put a little more with it and get a controller. I think it's well worth the money. And for the people who don't like them that's fine. Some people never use the cruise control on their car or. know how to use a Dvr to watch recorded shows. That's fine too.