Temp Controller. Who *really* needs one?

pivotizer,
I use the ramp mode for the very same reasons you listed in favor of using a temp control device.[p]Good example for me, the other night, Tuesday actually, I started a 5.5 # butt about 7:00pm. I had the guru set at 212 grid and 195 meat. I watched it very infrequently until about 11:30 when I crashed. I had a work call at 3:00am and fell back asleep about 5:30. I crashed hard and ended up over sleeping until 12:30 pm (guest was arriving for lunch at 1:00). I checked the meat and the Guru and it was blinking on meat and pit temps and it was beeping it's head off. I wasn't sure when it had hit 195 internal until my neighbor yelled across the fence thanking for me for shutting up the damn beeping that had started at 7:00am.[p]So it was nice to wake up (very late) to perfectly done and held meat that had been held at temp for over 5 hours...still not sure how it ended up being such a quick cook, but that's the nature of the beast.

Bob,
One would assume that you make your own beer and drink it warm.
Jose'

pivotizer,[p]At this time I have not felt the need to buy a "BBQ GURU", but may at some point. I agree there are MANY features that make a "cruise control" type device attractive, but for me, the cost is what's holding me back. I have been successful smoking for 18-20 hours without any help.[p]I think next, I will add a small egg to my large and mini. The CFO ... I mean wife is suspicious of any egg related purchases![p]

pivotizer, My compliments. It was late, and I reacted to the negatives quite quickly. We both have our positive points. I would not put a unexperienced road driver in a hot car in the indianapolis 500 without some prior training. For them, a long training period. For ceramic cooks, much shorter, but needed non the less. Your posting made it seem that "anyone" who did not desire, or fullfill the "need" for a Guru, could not cook without one successfully. Not true. We have done it for a great many years. A Guru is a crutch. An instrument to apply to do something that you neither have the time for, or the experience to achieve. It's a beautiful, high end, expensive addition to the ceramics cooking world, but its not a item needed for high quality, "hands on" great BBQ.
We tend to push an item for a "group therapy" join the club requirement. I like your intellect. Your O.K...and my cyber handshake..
C~W

Lamar, thanks, your o.k. too. I wish the world was so balanced.
C~W

The Naked Whiz, and Shotgun Fred, your both missing the point.
Everything beyond the basic cookers design is a "crutch" to assist the needs of the individual. Even aluminum foil.
Even my "Wiggle Rod" or the top cap slider which is in itself a innovation from the basic design.
The top cap is nothing but a weather seal and a means to kill fire, has nothing to do with cooking meats or ??
My soap box could get expanded to an even more personal level when one gets into profit motives or personal ego trips.
C~W[p]

Char-Woody,
I don't think I'm missing the point, I'm trying to make one. In these forums, including the BBQ Forum, "crutch" is almost always used as a pejorative term. I don't see the need to label the Guru or any other device (including your wiggle rod) as a crutch. It is what it is, some folks use them, some don't. I know that you weren't dissing anyone for using a guru, but calling it a crutch comes off in a negative way. [p]TNW (who isn't using a Guru right now for his leg of lamb :-))

This has been an interesting thread to follow. In some ways it reminds me the time when electronic calculators were introduced to us slide rule users. Like many, I turned up my nose, and I was on the wrong side of history, as they say. The same thing happened when I saw the first personal computers hit the market. Being a FORTRAN programmer at the time, I judged that those silly things were not real computers; simply solutions looking for a problem. They surely could be taken seriously. They were just party favors in my opinion.[p]I've never been an early adopter when it comes to technology. I refused to own a beeper until work demanded (and paid for) it. Anyone still own a beeper? I just couldn't see spending my good money to give someone else the opportunity to annoy me any time they liked. Cell phones were the same way. I was able to resist owning one until 2000, when the boss made it a requirement. So much for a good night's sleep.[p]And that segues right into one of the best reasons I can think of for owning a BBQ Guru; a good night's sleep. I've been adjusting dampers and spinning daisy wheels for a couple of years, and I have a real good handle on temperature control with a large BGE. I generally do my low-n-slows overnight. Invariably, I would get up and check my dome temperature several times during the night, just in case something went wrong. Now, with the BBQ Guru on the job, I literally set it and forget it. No more nights of interrupted sleep.[p]The other great thing about the BBQ Guru is that I can burn whatever crap lump is available in the area. The quality of the lump is not so important when the BBQ Guru is working. Whether the lump is slow burning, fast burning, big pieces, little pieces, or whatever, the Guru makes it work for you.[p]I've been using the BBQ Guru to do some of the higher temperature cooks too, and it does a fine job there as well. I satisfy my primal urge to burn animals over a fire when I do 700+ degree sears. For these I disconnect the Guru, kick back, and suck on a diet soda. There's something intriguing about that greenish flame blasting out of the chimney when the egg is really cookin'... something about the smell of singed hair when you forget about the flashback...[p]No, I don't *really* need a BBQ Guru any more than I *really* need this PC (after all I still have my old slip-stick), but I sure enjoy the benefits of both. Technology isn't always about filling a void. Sometimes it is just about making life easier for us. Think about the widely accepted Thermapen. Sure, we could judge the doneness of meat by pressing on it the way chefs have for many, many years, but isn't it much easier and much more accurate (requiring less skill) to use a Thermapen? So it is with the BBQ Guru.[p]BBQBluesStringer

Jethro, great that someone reads my intent. What has stirred the fire of discontent was my use of the word "crutch". If taken literally in medical terms, then you could put that slant on it.[p]Dictionary.com...represents "Crutch" as "A device used for assistance or support; a prop: a mnemonic crutch. ", which is exactly the reference I implied.
Websters also defines "crutch" along with medical terms, as "fundamentaly, prop or support".

I think both terms in both references would imply exactly what a Guru does. [p]Its a great piece of electronic equipment, and if one desires a totally automatic cooking device, go for it. I encourage everyone to enjoy the best BBQ that they can make with the time they independently wish to devote to it.[p]Even a fighter jet pilot, gets a real zinger by flying a stick monoplane of vintage models with the wind in his face.[p]Cheers..
C~W[p]

Mark Backer, amen, enjoy!!

Say pivotizer -

I wondered about those fancy and costly temp controllers. But if I understand this - all these gizmos are simply thermostats that control a fan to increase heat, right?

As a ham radio and home-brewer electronics person, this seems pretty easy, and a PID controller with digital readout, plus a relay and a fan would do the trick, right?

But I think controllers would be useful for long cooks. So far, I've been cooking things with a 2 to 3 hour duration, but not those 10-hour cooks - yet.

But I have to say that I have been watching the temperature of my large BGE after I finish cooking and shut the egg down (all vents closed). I am amazed at how long the temperature stays stable, and how long it takes to cool down the egg.

What else do you do, electronics/technology-wise when you're not 'egging?

-wayne