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Controlled Temperature Blowers

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dscox1
dscox1 Posts: 9
in EggHead Forum
Does anyone have any feedback or experience with Rock's Barbecue Stoker, Flameboss 100 or Digique? Appreciate your feedback. 
XL BGE
Large BGE
Weber Summit NG
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Comments

  • Braggart
    Braggart Posts: 238
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    I have the DigiQ, use it often on my LBGE when doing butts and ribs.   Love it to death.  Start the egg, throw on the controller, set it for 225F, walk away for 18 hrs.   Once it stabilizes, it doesn't move a degree for the entire cook.    Sounds like I'm exaggerating, but seriously takes the guesswork out of L/S cooks.

    Don't use it for anything else really.  If I'm cooking over 300, I use the vents.

    B
    Large BGE
    MMax BGE
    Weber gasser
    3 Dogs
    No neighbours 
    Living in Canada's bush
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  • dscox1
    dscox1 Posts: 9
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    Thank you Braggart. I appreciate your feedback.  I have seen some mixed reviews on DigiQ's customer service. Any experience with their customer service dept? Thanks. 
    XL BGE
    Large BGE
    Weber Summit NG
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  • Braggart
    Braggart Posts: 238
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    I've had the unit for 4-5 years, so far no issues.   Knock on wood. 
    Large BGE
    MMax BGE
    Weber gasser
    3 Dogs
    No neighbours 
    Living in Canada's bush
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  • dscox1
    dscox1 Posts: 9
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    Thank you! I greatly appreciate your information. 
    XL BGE
    Large BGE
    Weber Summit NG
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  • hoofaloos
    hoofaloos Posts: 242
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    I echo Braggart.  Had it for about 3 years with no issues.  Set it and forget it
    XLBGE- Napa, CA by way of ATX


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  • dscox1
    dscox1 Posts: 9
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    Awesome. Thank you 
    XL BGE
    Large BGE
    Weber Summit NG
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  • Scottborasjr
    Scottborasjr Posts: 3,494
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    I have the stoker and absolutely love it. But it is probably overkill for most. I love looking at data and the stoker provides the most. And I actually have found that I don't use it as much as I thought that I would. Really the only meat that I cook regularly that requires complete 250 degrees or below is brisket. 

    It really depends on how comfortable you are with your egg holding temp. If you can set you Egg up and not worry about holding a temp below 275 degrees without checking it every half hour I honestly wouldn't bother. But if you are cooking jerky or other meats that require less then 250 degrees get a controller. 
    I raise my kids, cook and golf.  When work gets in the way I'm pissed, I'm pissed off 48 weeks a year.
    Inbetween Iowa and Colorado, not close to anything remotely entertaining outside of football season. 
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  • jimithing
    jimithing Posts: 254
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    I'm in the same boat as Scottborasjr - I have the Stoker Wifi and love it.  I pretty much just use it for peace of mind on overnight brisket/pork butt cooks.
    XL BGE
    Plano, TX
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  • swordsmn
    swordsmn Posts: 683
    edited November 2015
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    Consider going all the way with wifi...   It's fun to monitor all that stability.  Look at fireboss 200  vrs cyberq.  If you wanna leave your wifi area and still monitor ( like a quick trip to the store,  the 200's feature set beats the cyberq's need for port forwarding....  For me, watching meat temps rise as I watch the rock solid temp stability from la couch or bedroom is worth the extra $100 or so. 
    LBGE, AR.  Lives in N.E. ATL
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  • dscox1
    dscox1 Posts: 9
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    Thank you all. Greatly appreciate the feedback and info!
    XL BGE
    Large BGE
    Weber Summit NG
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  • Griffin
    Griffin Posts: 8,200
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    I have the original FlameBoss and the 100. No problems with either one.

    Rowlett, Texas

    Griffin's Grub or you can find me on Facebook

    The Supreme Potentate, Sovereign Commander and Sultan of Wings

     

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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,030
    edited November 2015
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    I have the Auber Instruments PID controller for the last 5 years or so. It has worked good just for a basic temp controller. Holds the eggs temperature and that's about it.

    I just bought a used wifi Stoker off Ebay without any probes/blower. Just the head unit. I didn't realize each cable has a chip inside making you have to buy their probes to sync with the head unit. (Put wagon before the horse in this situation) I'll probably end up saving  $30-$40 compared to a new Stoker unit. Stoker is super backed up on orders. I'm suppose to receive my blower and probes in the next few days. It will be pushing 4 weeks since I've ordered. I'm hoping it's worth the wait. Definitely been second guessing myself when my $100 Auber PID has worked just fine for overnights 
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • dscox1
    dscox1 Posts: 9
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    Thank you all for the info. Extremely helpful!
    XL BGE
    Large BGE
    Weber Summit NG
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  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    edited November 2015
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    Wi-Fi Stoker. Using Android market The Pit Pal Pro Edition APP to monitor. Very happy with it. Mostly use it on overnight L&S. Overkill? Ya probably. 
    Edit: I learned how to control temp on long L&S cooks long before buying the Stoker. I didn't necessarily need it. It was a want. I haven't looked back and regretted the purchase though. 
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
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  • dscox1
    dscox1 Posts: 9
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    Thanks for the feedback NPHuskerFL - Greatly appreciate it.
    XL BGE
    Large BGE
    Weber Summit NG
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  • Begger
    Begger Posts: 569
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    Any reason, other than proprietary to buy a 'chipped' probe?
    Any reason NOT to go with a type-K which has a standard, polarized connection?
    IMO, any proprietary connection is not optimum, UNLESS made of the correct materials for the intended thermocouple.  
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  • Davec433
    Davec433 Posts: 463
    edited November 2015
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    WeberWho? said:
    I have the Auber Instruments PID controller for the last 5 years or so. It has worked good just for a basic temp controller. Holds the eggs temperature and that's about it.

    I just bought a used wifi Stoker off Ebay without any probes/blower. Just the head unit. I didn't realize each cable has a chip inside making you have to buy their probes to sync with the head unit. (Put wagon before the horse in this situation) I'll probably end up saving  $30-$40 compared to a new Stoker unit. Stoker is super backed up on orders. I'm suppose to receive my blower and probes in the next few days. It will be pushing 4 weeks since I've ordered. I'm hoping it's worth the wait. Definitely been second guessing myself when my $100 Auber PID has worked just fine for overnights 
    You beat me by a few bucks :angry: 
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  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 16,989
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    I use the digiQ. That is a no frills tool that has performed like a champ in every type of weather. Set it, forget it check it when you think you need to. I always do but never need to. Great on every cook you want to use.
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,030
    edited November 2015
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    Davec433 said:
    WeberWho? said:
    I have the Auber Instruments PID controller for the last 5 years or so. It has worked good just for a basic temp controller. Holds the eggs temperature and that's about it.

    I just bought a used wifi Stoker off Ebay without any probes/blower. Just the head unit. I didn't realize each cable has a chip inside making you have to buy their probes to sync with the head unit. (Put wagon before the horse in this situation) I'll probably end up saving  $30-$40 compared to a new Stoker unit. Stoker is super backed up on orders. I'm suppose to receive my blower and probes in the next few days. It will be pushing 4 weeks since I've ordered. I'm hoping it's worth the wait. Definitely been second guessing myself when my $100 Auber PID has worked just fine for overnights 
    You beat me by a few bucks :angry: 
    @Davec433 Oh man no way! I followed it for the 5 or so days it was listed. It only had two hits on it for 3-4 days and only a few more the last hour or so. So I tossed my bid in the last few minutes. I hardly ever do bidding on ebay and almost messed everything up but got it squared away with 15-20 seconds to go. I had to go digging around to see if I won it. It kept wanting me to refresh the webpage and enter my bid in two or three different times before it finally accepted. Could have gone either way who ended up with it. All luck
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • Davec433
    Davec433 Posts: 463
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    Not a big deal specially if your only saving 30-40 bucks in the long run. I didn't think the blower would be over 100 bucks when bought individually.
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,030
    edited November 2015
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    Davec433 said:
    Not a big deal specially if your only saving 30-40 bucks in the long run. I didn't think the blower would be over 100 bucks when bought individually.
    I went with the 5cfm blower for $60. I'll mainly use it for the large and smaller eggs but will also use it with the XL. Rocks wants you to buy the $100+ blower for the XL but I've read others have used the 5cfm fan without any issues with the XL. You'd be better off with a new package deal if you wanted the bigger blower. The 10% off deal is a nice little perk if buying new. I also ordered the bigger 6' pit/thermometer probes. I figured the few feet extra might come in handy. I took @bigguy136 suggestion to buy bigger probes so they can be spliced down shorter if they see too hot of direct heat and go bad. (He has a great post about fixing/making a new set)
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • Davec433
    Davec433 Posts: 463
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    Good to hear the 5cfm blower works as well. I'll probably buy one after the holidays but I really don't do a lot of low and slows so debating if it's something I even need.
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