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looking for BBQ Guru brains replacement advice

RRP
RRP Posts: 26,455
edited September 2016 in EggHead Forum
My BBQ Guru has gone whack-o and likes to run the temperature up the scale. At first I thought it must have been my cables so I replaced them - in fact I bought a spare set when I did! Now after 4 episodes last week I no longer trust it. I'm a practical dude and see no reason to scrap the perfectly good blower, adapter, power block, case and of course those two new cables. They want $155 for replacement brains and I'm thinking I will go that route. Anybody have any experience going this route?
Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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Comments

  • EggMcMic
    EggMcMic Posts: 340
    Different part, different situation I did the same thing and it worked out fine. I had opened it up ahead of time to see what I was dealing with and it looked simple so I went for it. Saved $100 or so. Not sure what the inside of a Guru looks like so I cant judge if it would be simple or not.
    EggMcMcc
    Central Illinois
    First L BGE July 2016, RecTec, Traeger, Weber, Campchef
    Second BGE, a MMX, February 2017
    Third BGE, another large, May, 2017
    Added another griddle (BassPro) December 2017
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  • Wardster
    Wardster Posts: 1,006
    I thought you had a different gizmo for temp control.  That thing that sits on top in place of the daisy wheel?  Does that not control temp well?  I was looking into buying one of those, based off price alone, when my guru dies.  Mine is roughly 10 years old.
    Apollo Beach, FL
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,455
    EggMcMic said:
    Different part, different situation I did the same thing and it worked out fine. I had opened it up ahead of time to see what I was dealing with and it looked simple so I went for it. Saved $100 or so. Not sure what the inside of a Guru looks like so I cant judge if it would be simple or not.
    Obviously I thought I would ask the technical folks there before ordering if there would be any potential issues since my guru is an older one. I know it's blind faith but just the same since I believe there is no return policy I would at least ask.
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    I have a guru, though it's the DX2, not your older model. Pretty sure when mine dies, I'll just trash it. If the cables fry or the fan, I'll probably just try to sell it and let someone else replace the dead part. I just don't use it enough to spend any more money on it. I have a TTT though that's a recent purchase and I haven't cooked with it yet. Hopefully, it will work well. Or, there's turbo or even lo n slo with the egg's ability to hold temp. Whichever method I do use, there's no way I'll spend another $150 on the Guru.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,455
    Wardster said:
    I thought you had a different gizmo for temp control.  That thing that sits on top in place of the daisy wheel?  Does that not control temp well?  I was looking into buying one of those, based off price alone, when my guru dies.  Mine is roughly 10 years old.
    Yes I have a $25 Tip Top, but my experience with it on my egg is less than stellar! 

    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 34,584
    on the early ones you would just pull that pin and replace the spring =)   i can now see why the first guru was NOT a money maker ;)

    image

    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • tgkleman
    tgkleman Posts: 216
    You could also just buy a process controller (PID) from auber instruments.  That is the "brains" of a temp control unit.  If you like little projects like that, it is fun to put together.
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,455
    tgkleman said:
    You could also just buy a process controller (PID) from auber instruments.  That is the "brains" of a temp control unit.  If you like little projects like that, it is fun to put together.
    Hmmmm, can you calibrate it for temperature as well as call for the fan to assist? Years ago I made several Heath Kit projects and enjoyed those. Is this more complicated than just spot soldering? 
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    RRP said:
    Yes I have a $25 Tip Top, but my experience with it on my egg is less than stellar! 
    Ron, what have you found wrong with the TTT? I gather the setting will be different depending on ambient temp, but once you get it locked in, seems like it should hold temp. I haven't cooked with it yet, but I did set it on top of my large and it held temp for several hours. No food, just playing with the new toy. 

    Just bought a pork picnic yesterday for 88¢ a pound and haven't frozen it yet. Maybe I'll throw that on with the TTT and see what happens.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • bigalsworth
    bigalsworth Posts: 686
    @RRP I have had some dealings with BBQ Guru and circuit board replacement because the leads came off my fan and toasted the fan relay which made my DigiQII worthless.  You can buy just the circuit board, but at the time (about a year ago) I was told it was $69 for the circuit board, and if I wanted I could buy just the packaged controller but not a new fan, wires etc for $120 bucks I think. 

    I actually never found out about getting only the circuit board until after I had ordered the new control unit, so when you are talking to them make sure that they know you only want the circuit board.  It may come down cheaper.

    Also if you like I can check me email, I'm sure I still have the email chain between them and myself with prices.
    Large BGE
    BBQ Guru DigiQ II

    Martensville, Saskatchewan Canada
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  • dougcrann
    dougcrann Posts: 1,129
    Ernie uses a FlameBoss, the BBQ Guru power pack and blower motor will work with it...although the straight blower plug may be a problem.  If you are only want a no frills pit controller may want to look at an Auber...
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,455
    edited September 2016
    Carolina Q said:
    RRP said:
    Yes I have a $25 Tip Top, but my experience with it on my egg is less than stellar! 
    Ron, what have you found wrong with the TTT? I gather the setting will be different depending on ambient temp, but once you get it locked in, seems like it should hold temp. I haven't cooked with it yet, but I did set it on top of my large and it held temp for several hours. No food, just playing with the new toy. 

    Just bought a pork picnic yesterday for 88¢ a pound and haven't frozen it yet. Maybe I'll throw that on with the TTT and see what happens.
    Michael - exterior air movement which I always have where my eggs reside draws off heat which affects the TTT. Also if you need to open your dome for whatever reason then you have to use gloves as the metal top gets hot. Also in spite of trying to adapt a  pipe reducer so it would stay in tact that was a major waste of time and effort!

     Here's an idea - since you are more of a Weber fan than a BGE fan anyway - the TTT was designed for the Weber - not BGE - so why not save it for Weber use?
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,455
    bigalsworth said:
    @RRP I have had some dealings with BBQ Guru and circuit board replacement because the leads came off my fan and toasted the fan relay which made my DigiQII worthless.  You can buy just the circuit board, but at the time (about a year ago) I was told it was $69 for the circuit board, and if I wanted I could buy just the packaged controller but not a new fan, wires etc for $120 bucks I think. 

    I actually never found out about getting only the circuit board until after I had ordered the new control unit, so when you are talking to them make sure that they know you only want the circuit board.  It may come down cheaper.

    Also if you like I can check me email, I'm sure I still have the email chain between them and myself with prices.
    Thanks for the idea! My only concern is my Guru is an old one back before it was analog so I doubt their circuit boards may even fit or whatever, BUT I will ask when I call.

    For any who have followed this thread permit me to address the comments made by @CarolinaQ when he said he wouldn't replace his etc. Last week I had committed to egging 8 butts - though I ended up doing 9. I agreed thinking I had my trusty BBQ Guru to baby sit both the turbo day time cooks and the night time lo and slo cooks. Well - 3 butt disasters into the week I realized my GURU had puked its brains so I went back to paying more attention than I wanted to! I have already informed the picnic committee that I will not be their pulled pork source in the future, but I do teach BGE cooking classes and count on it for a turbo butt the day of the class as I have other things on my mind. Likewise I do count on it has given me over the years for our Thanksgiving turkey so IMO it's a nice toy to have at my disposal when I want it. My guess is my Guru is 15 years ago so I have gotten my money's worth.
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • Ozzie_Isaac
    Ozzie_Isaac Posts: 21,673
    Maybe you could offer @Carolina Q $150 for his.  He dislikes it and hardly ever uses it.

    I would rather light a candle than curse your darkness.

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  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,458
    You use a controller for Turbo cooks??   Not trying to start a Ron vs Matt argument but I thought most cables wouldn't hold up to higher heat cooks   Also thought 350 was a good self holding target for the egg once stabilized.  


    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Ozzie_Isaac said:
    Maybe you could offer @Carolina Q $150 for his.  He dislikes it and hardly ever uses it.
    I don't dislike it, it works great. It's true that I don't use it very often, but it's not for sale. Besides, if I sold it to Ron, I wouldn't take less than $1500. That way, I could buy that new Weber Summit charcoal.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,455
    Mattman3969 said:
    You use a controller for Turbo cooks??   Not trying to start a Ron vs Matt argument but I thought most cables wouldn't hold up to higher heat cooks   Also thought 350 was a good self holding target for the egg once stabilized.  

    Actually I do since I have found much better "turbo" results at 325 instead of 350 and above. Also contrary to popular myth/belief I have always wrapped my cables in foil. I take a strip about 1.5" wide and 12 or 15" long of HD foil and then carefully fold it over and crease it so it becomes .75" wide. Insert the cable clear to back of the fold and then fold over again so it is 3/8" and then start crimping tight. This protective shield lasts for umpteen uses and prevents the cruddy build up of grease splatters, creosote and whatever in those fine mesh covered cables. If you don't believe me then try it and after a couple months note how hard and rigid that foil sheath has become. Then you might understand how the foil has protected the tiny wires inside those mess cables. My cables last your years! 


    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • reccitron
    reccitron Posts: 176
    RRP said:
    My BBQ Guru has gone whack-o and likes to run the temperature up the scale. At first I thought it must have been my cables so I replaced them - in fact I bought a spare set when I did! Now after 4 episodes last week I no longer trust it. I'm a practical dude and see no reason to scrap the perfectly good blower, adapter, power block, case and of course those two new cables. They want $155 for replacement brains and I'm thinking I will go that route. Anybody have any experience going this route?

    Have you seen the Open Source HeaterMeter?  I came across it last weekend while I was looking for a thermometer I could check over the internet.  I got excited after reading a lot about it and ordered the kit.  It just came tonight and haven't put it together so I don't have any experience with it yet.

    It is open source, has 1 grid and 2 meat thermometers.  The settings for ramp up, what temp drop the fan comes on, etc.. are all configurable. It will record and graph your temperatures and fan speeds which is accessible from the internet.  It controls the fan speed as well as a damper.  I'm really excited about the damper since the BGE really doesn't need a fan to control temp for low and slow.

    The guy lists all the parts (down to resistors) to buy, or you can buy the full kit or there are people on their forum that will put it together and sell it if someone isn't into building electronics.  The kit minus the Raspberry pi was 88.  You would need a Raspberry pi, and a few other things but should come in around the same price or lower than the replacement board.  A lot less than the Cyber Q I was considering.

    Like I said I have no experience with it yet and am not associated with it but I'm excited to try it out.

    The website for it is
    https://github.com/CapnBry/HeaterMeter/wiki

    There is also a forum for it for support.

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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,455
    Epilogue: My Guru is the older model called The Competitor #0405. Today I called about making sure a replacement would be compatible to my fan, probes, power block etc and sure enough the DigiQ DX2 is and it sells for just $95 so one is on its way to me! No brainer, no build etc - just unpack and run with it!
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • westernbbq
    westernbbq Posts: 2,490
    RRP said:
    Epilogue: My Guru is the older model called The Competitor #0405. Today I called about making sure a replacement would be compatible to my fan, probes, power block etc and sure enough the DigiQ DX2 is and it sells for just $95 so one is on its way to me! No brainer, no build etc - just unpack and run with it!
    Efficient and solid solution

    This is what i would have done.   
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  • northGAcock
    northGAcock Posts: 15,173
    edited September 2016
    Ron, I don't know why it is....but every time I read this thread title, my eyes seem to just skip over the " BBQ Guru" portion. 
    Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax

    Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
    Run me out in the cold rain and snow
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,455
    northGAcock said:
    Ron, I don't know why it is....but every time I read this thread title, my eyes seem to just skip over the " BBQ Guru" portion. 
    Oh - and here I thought you were trying to work in the proverbial mouth and *sshole being interchangeable parts for some professionals.

    Had I known I could have replaced my "brain" like I did today for a mere $95 then maybe I would have set myself for a reoccurring purchase plan every few years!  =) Wonder if BBQ Guru offers any other body part replacements...
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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