Temperature Controllers

sahutto

Does anyone have recomendations on which temperature controller is the best for the BIG Green Egg?

ryantt

Lots of options, but I recently purchased the FireBoard  2 Drive.   Used it on an overnight butt, and temps stayed within a few degrees of my set point (225).  I liked being able to open the app and check things during the night.  

Many on love the Flame Boss 500 and rave about its reliability.  

RRP

Been a fan of the BBQ Guru for 20 years now. First one died 12 years ago, but then bought the second one. There are more sophisticated brands, blue tooth capable and all that, but that's just not my style. Set it, trust it and forget it!

WildmanWilson

I have a Smobot and think its perfect for the Egg. All it does is open or close the top vent and allows the egg to work how its designed. A plus is if you lose power it will just set at the last setting and you don't have to worry about it smothering out. I run it on a small battery used to charge a phone and it draws very little power. You and use a cord as well.

sancho65

Another vote for The Smobot, I have several temp controllers and that’s my go to!🇺🇸

6baluts

@sahutto
- I have the following controllers and have an opinion about each. Some I like better than others.
BBQ Guru DX2
Flameboss 200
Fireboard FBX11
Fireboard 2 Drive
Smobot
Tappecue Touch***
Thermoworks SmokeX4 with Billows
- I might suggest that you decide if you want a wifi controller or non wifi controller.
- Determine how important graphs and cook notes are to you.
- Do you want cook programs like some of the higher end pellet grills?
- Do you want to operate multiple fans for say two cookers utilizing 1 controller?
- How many probes do you really need?
- Speaking of probes do you want thermocouples or standard probes or maybe dual probes where one probe measures both chamber and meat or up to 4 completely wireless probes or a combo of wireless and standard wire probes?
- Do you want a physical readout on the controller so as not to be hamstrung by your phone?
***Concerning my Tappecue Touch. I did not buy the $60 cruise control option but could add it.
- If you have any questions on any of the controllers I have or the Tappecue feel free to ask.

MotownVol

I have been egging for probably 12 years now.  Am I the only one that doesn’t feel I need a temp controller?  I have done a tons of over night cooks, and due to my age and drinking habits have to get up a few times a night anyway, so I just turn on the outside light and look to see if I need to make a temp adjustment.  My large holds temps so good, I have never felt like I need a controller. 

StillH2OEgger

Nobody "needs" a controller, but there are several reasons I am glad I have one.

pgprescott

They are for convenience and are excellent insurance for doing low temperature overnight cooks. 

RRP

MotownVol said:

I have been egging for probably 12 years now.  Am I the only one that doesn’t feel I need a temp controller?  I have done a tons of over night cooks, and due to my age and drinking habits have to get up a few times a night anyway, so I just turn on the outside light and look to see if I need to make a temp adjustment.  My large holds temps so good, I have never felt like I need a controller. 

Good question - and I could have posted the same myself! Back when lo and slo was the gospel for overnight pork butts I really liked trusting my Guru so I didn’t have to set an alarm, go downstairs to check…THEN I became a believer in Turbo Butts and no longer cooked any overnight. 

Nowadays I seldom do use my Guru and certainly could have not purchased a replacement…BUT I really count on it to “baby sit” my egg for instance when I am egging a Thanksgiving Day turkey while I am so busy with other preparation tasks! Likewise I have done other cooks involving hams and some side dishes.

buzd504

MotownVol said:

I have been egging for probably 12 years now.  Am I the only one that doesn’t feel I need a temp controller?  I have done a tons of over night cooks, and due to my age and drinking habits have to get up a few times a night anyway, so I just turn on the outside light and look to see if I need to make a temp adjustment.  My large holds temps so good, I have never felt like I need a controller. 

You are not the only one.  I agree.  And I tend to leave things out in the rain, so no bueno for me.

gasman79

6baluts said:

@sahutto
- I have the following controllers and have an opinion about each. Some I like better than others.
BBQ Guru DX2
Flameboss 200
Fireboard FBX11
Fireboard 2 Drive
Smobot
Tappecue Touch***
Thermoworks SmokeX4 with Billows
- I might suggest that you decide if you want a wifi controller or non wifi controller.
- Determine how important graphs and cook notes are to you.
- Do you want cook programs like some of the higher end pellet grills?
- Do you want to operate multiple fans for say two cookers utilizing 1 controller?
- How many probes do you really need?
- Speaking of probes do you want thermocouples or standard probes or maybe dual probes where one probe measures both chamber and meat or up to 4 completely wireless probes or a combo of wireless and standard wire probes?
- Do you want a physical readout on the controller so as not to be hamstrung by your phone?
***Concerning my Tappecue Touch. I did not buy the $60 cruise control option but could add it.
- If you have any questions on any of the controllers I have or the Tappecue feel free to ask.

I would like to hear your thoughts about the temperature controllers listed above. Feel free to PM me. 

I have the stoker and unfortunately my probes do not function anymore and they are closed. The ability to control multiple eggs with one controller was the reason I bought the stoker. 

With regards to the smobot, that cannot operate in the rain correct?

danhoo

I have a thermoworks smoke X4 with a billows. Some will say it is too much fan and they might be right.

The one issue is even with the fan off, and unplugged, it has too much free flowing air coming in to keep temps low. So TW made and adjust able baffle.

Anyway, I don't use it as a "controller" I use it as a "maintainer" and only when I can't be near enough to make a small adjustment. I don't think I've used it in over a year, but the next overnight smoke I will absolutely use it so I don't have to worry if it gets too cool.

I have a suggestion for any of the ATC systems and that is to run a second remote thermometer with an alarm for low and high temps set to a fairly narrow band.

Why? Once I had some ribs droop onto a temp probe, and that caused the TW smoke to sense lower temp and kicked on the fan. I was doing a big cook and had ribs on the BGE and the pellet grill and had just taken pork butts off and was finishing it in the oven.   I walked out and saw dome temp at 325 or 350 and heard the fan running.   A second probe would have alarmed when temp went above 250F.

Same thing happened last weekend when I was smoking pastrami, but I wasn't using the billows. I had it stood up end wise with fat towards the top and it fell over onto the probe and my alarm chirped as it went under 200F. 

My point is having a second temp probe isn't a bad thing.

btw, I've heard good things about the Fireboard drive, and also the Thermoworks signals. I went with the smoke X4 because I wanted a simpler setup and a dedicated remote.

QDude

I don't use one and don't believe I will ever need one.  My XL does a great job maintaining temps.  I'm sure there are plenty of reasons to use one but it's just one more gadget that can break.

danhoo

The key thing missing from the billows is the adjustable plastic damper. It limits the airflow not only when the fan is running, but also when it is not running. The pic below is how much needs to be blocked off to hold 250F dome. I bought it a couple of years ago for $2.99 but the price has gone up to $ 4.00 

MaskedMarvel

Big flame boss 500 fan here. Multiple controllers can be accessed by one app. 

Here’s a pic of my super fresh idea to keep it safe in case of hurricane:

YukonRon

I have thermoworks Signals, and bellow, I purchased recently. I do wish I had purchased it much sooner. 

First I am usually specifying thermoworks for several projects, and their product are on point for us. 

Since I own a thermapen, and knowing their performance in commercial applications, I thought “why not?”

Customer service is better than any I have ever experienced, provide so much data, to support your efforts, and an alarm gor any issue you may have for temperature control. 

If the electricity should ho out you have a charged system that will last 12-15 hours easily. 

I like Smobot too, not nearly as much as I like signals. 

Whatever you select, it is a worthy purchase, hopefully it will work for you as well as signals has worked for me. 

Bf56

I bought the Thermoworks Signals for the first 7 cooks the temp went way over set temp. Called Thermoworks and they had all of the information about my cooks from start to finish. I have the XL big green egg I also bought the dampener Thermoworks said to close the top to about a sixteenth of an inch it was the last cook of the season and it finally worked. The fan vent had to be closed way down or you get way too much air.

shtgunal3

^^^What is this “season” you speak of?

jtcBoynton

If you get the Thermoworks Billows, definitely get the optional silicone damper for it.  

FYI - Billows is currently on sale.

Botch

jtcBoynton said:

If you get the Thermoworks Billows, definitely get the optional silicone damper for it.  

FYI - Billows is currently on sale.

Wow, thank you for that head's-up; my Smobot just gave up the ghost this past weekend.  

Botch

 
Ordered.  I chose the Smoke over the Signals as a) it was less expensive, b) uses RF instead of WIFI/Blutooth, which I have a history of issues with, and c) its AA-battery life is 330 hours, while the rechargeable Signals has a 16-hour life, that's two or less cooks; and I'm as good at remembering to charge things back up as I am remembering to thaw meat from the freezer the day before.  
And I chose the 4-probe over the 2-probe mainly to have two extra probes (which I also have bad luck with).  Also purchased the plate adapters and silicone damper per the suggestions above, thanks guys.  

Botch

And that was my 15,001th post.  

danhoo

Good choice Botch.

Unless they updated the X4, there's no way to silence the beeps at the main unit when adjusting things. 

It was too loud for late night adjustments for me. 

I covered the back of mine where the sound comes out with HVAC duct tape and it drops the sound a bit.