Egg Genius (a misnomer?) looses connectivity outdoors (cooler weather related?), and more

has_been

I love the ideas that went into the development of the EG, and when it works properly, it's a hit. Sadly, my experience with it has been less than exciting. On my second cook, the pit sensor quit about 15-minutes into the job. Harrumph. Bought a new sensor to replace the bad, and still need to request a warranty replacement.

Consistent connectivity is problematic and frustrating.

Yesterday, Thanksgiving, I'm cooking our 15-pound turkey outside. It's about 45° and everything's going great. Pit temp at 300, meat is coming up slowly. Then, I raise the lid to add some sweet potatoes, and that's the end of connectivity with the EG. (The saving grace in the failure of connection, is that the EG continues to maintain the pit temp.) I tried multiple times, unsuccessfully, to reset/reconnect the EG to my WI-Fi network, via Cloud, Local and Direct modes. Double Harrumph.

Now that the EG has "slept inside" all night and is back to 70°, guess who's ready to go back to work? Of course, the EG. My question is this: If the EG is going to experience a connection failure in a cooler cooking environment, do I need to put a heater on it to maintain the connection by keeping it warm, or is there some other way (besides only cooking in the summer) to maintain the wireless connection?

On another note, is anyone ever actually able connect to the "FB-xxxxxx Wireless Network", which happens through the setup menus? Not me.

One final suggestion to the good folks at Flame Boss: how about adding a button on the app that restores fan operation when I've closed the lid, instead of waiting 3-5 minutes for the EG to time out?

I welcome all comments that either tell me I'm not smart enough to use the EG, or provide insights on solving this problem. Thanks in advance!

caliking

You shouldn't have issues operating the Egg Genius/FlameBoss when its 45F outside. May be worth the time and effort to reach out to Flame Boss (assuming they service the Egg Genius). 

I think there is a way to cancel the "lid open" feature. If not, the 3-5 minutes is not going to make a significant difference. Unless you're opening the lid every 20 mins. In which case, its not the fault of the temp controller. 

has_been

Thanks for your reply, caliking. I plan to reach out to Flame Boss on the matter, but wondered if there were others here who had experienced similar problems.

OhioEgger

FWIW, I've used the Flame Boss 200 when it was in the teens and 20s outside, so it sounds like you just got a bad unit. Their customer support is very good, so I wouldn't obsess about it. 

littlerascal56

On the Flame Boss units, you can adjust the fan delay in software.  You should see a screen similar to above.  And I never had any issues with my 3 FB controllers when cooking outdoors at temps in the teens.  They worked flawless and stayed connected to my WiFi.

cookingdude555

Outside temp shouldn't be much of a problem for flameboss to connect to Wi-Fi.  I leave my Wi-Fi controllers in a shed all winter, they have actually only been in climate-controlled space when I opened the shipping box.  Possibly on the edge of coverage for your Wi-Fi?  I am sure you already explored that but bringing it up anyway.  If not, I am sure flameboss/egg genius will take good care of you.

pgprescott

I was never a huge controller guy but have been very impressed with the Egg Genius. Never had an issue. All the FB products I’ve used have been great. I’ve used them in extreme heat and cold without issue. Not saying you can’t have an issue because nothing is perfect, but I can confirm the cold should not be an insurmountable hurdle. 

 Used a couple of Guru products in past that were not quite in par with the FB stuff. Granted, the stuff I use as was older than what they offer now. I did like the battery powered Party Q for convenience. It was limited though. 

good luck. 

stlcharcoal

has_been said:

I welcome all comments that either tell me I'm not smart enough to use the EG, or provide insights on solving this problem. Thanks in advance!

Sounds like the Wifi might be wonky on that unit if you're having issues outside of your router (since it's having problems with direct connect).  Just give Flameboss a shout, they'll take care of you.  They can even dial in remotely to work on it.

On the lid open / fan delay.  I wouldn't mess around with that.  You not going to snuff the fire out in 2 minutes, or even 5 minutes.  There is plenty of O2 in there from opening the lid to keep the fire going.  Give it time to equalize and heat that temp probe back up before you let the fan [over] stoke the fire (the fire is already stoked from opening the lid.)

Photo Egg

Possibly your 400 is towards the end of it’s Wi-Fi range outside, like @cookingdude555 said above? Being that it’s mounted lower, at the vent of your Egg, doesn’t help reception. Since the lower temp is not stopping the unit from operating, just not connecting to your Wi-Fi.

BlG_GREEN_DAVE

My daisy wheel lost it’s wi fi connection last week for a minute or so

lkapigian

not sure if this is the same for genius , but my FB500 does not like 5G but is fine on 2.4

Photo Egg

lkapigian said:

not sure if this is the same for genius , but my FB500 does not like 5G but is fine on 2.4

5g is faster but 2.4 travels further and seems to work better through walks.

pgprescott

All these things including pellet grills work on the 2.4 I believe. The 5.0 is much better for video and gaming but as stated before, bad at this sorta data. Get a dual band system. They should work with a mesh if you have that. 

BlueRidgeSmokers

has_been said:

Yesterday, Thanksgiving, I'm cooking our 15-pound turkey outside. It's about 45° and everything's going great. Pit temp at 300, meat is coming up slowly. Then, I raise the lid to add some sweet potatoes, and that's the end of connectivity with the EG. (The saving grace in the failure of connection, is that the EG continues to maintain the pit temp.) I tried multiple times, unsuccessfully, to reset/reconnect the EG to my WI-Fi network, via Cloud, Local and Direct modes. Double Harrumph.

Now that the EG has "slept inside" all night and is back to 70°, guess who's ready to go back to work? Of course, the EG. My question is this: If the EG is going to experience a connection failure in a cooler cooking environment, do I need to put a heater on it to maintain the connection by keeping it warm, or is there some other way (besides only cooking in the summer) to maintain the wireless connection?

I had a BBQ Guru CyberQ way back, around 2010 (no WiFi) that would go a little bonkers when it was cool and humid (it might have just been humidity, which normally only happens when it's cold here).

It had two pit probes and two meat probes, total of four temperature probes, and they would all start repeatedly stepping-up in unison over a 10 degree F range, over a period of several seconds. Alarms would go on and off, and I wasn't really sure what temperatures were being read.

Sent it in a couple of times, they insisted I buy new probes, but eventually they replaced the main board and the problem was solved.

Electronics are temperature-sensitve, sure, but it might be more a humidity problem with the EG.

Hope you get it fixed easily,
Dana
 

pgprescott

Only issue I’ve seen with cold weather and controllers is the fan freezing. This has happened on the old guru I used very sparingly. Real cold outside combined with very hot and moist interior environment led to moisture in the fan and then freezing when it cycled off. It was easy to fix by forcing the blades to move but you had to realize what had happened. Have not had that issue with any FB units but I assume it is possible. 🤷🏼‍♂️

has_been

Update on the Egg Genius: called the service desk at Flame Boss. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to get my unit connected, I was told to send it in for service. Ten days later I received a new (to me) unit that connected right away and has worked great so far. Thanks Flame Boss!