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Flameboss ... excellent service support

It's been raining this past week here in Peoria.  So, with a rib cook planned for Tuesday, out came the Flameboss 200.  The blower controllers work well with the Smokeware cap ... especially when it's raining ... no tin foil caps to keep out the rain.  Unfortunately, I had some start-up problems ... I use Firefox as my main web browser and it wouldn't allow me to control the temps nor see my past history.  A quick call to Flameboss service and some data exchanges showed that Firefox made updates that caused the problems I was seeing.  No biggie, Flameboss will work the problem and google Chrome worked perfectly.

The egg was fired up a couple hours before the cook to ensure an on time finish with company coming.  I noticed some chatter on the pit probe graph that started a little over an hour into the warmup ... the chatter seemed to confuse the controller algorithms and resulted in a lower pit temp than targeted.  I pulled the Flameboss and substituted another controller ... it worked great and the cook was on time

I called Flameboss service back and talked with Terry for quite awhile.  He gave me several suggestions to try out ... a dry-run test the next day showed no problems with the components.  I told Terry that I would run an "in-egg" dry run on Friday to try some other ideas.  I told him my cook number, unit number, and pass word.  Sure enough the chatter showed up about 1.5 hours into the dry-run test.  The chatter disappeared after an additional 1.5 hours and I started to understand what was happening.  I called Terry back. ... he had been monitoring it all day.  Turns out he had got the IT guys involved with monitoring my cook and they uploaded a fix to my unit that they've been working on.  The fix cleaned up the functionality of my unit. 

Once again, Flameboss amazed me with the level of customer service they provide.  Watch for the update next week ... unlike politicians, they don't release updates on Friday.

Washington, IL  >  Queen Creek, AZ ... Two large eggs and an adopted Mini Max

Comments

  • 4Runner
    4Runner Posts: 2,948
    edited January 2017
    wrong forum but glad it worked out for you.
    Joe - I'm a reformed gasser-holic aka 4Runner Columbia, SC Wonderful BGE Resource Site: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramicfaq.htm and http://www.nibblemethis.com/  and http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/recipes.html
    What am I drinking now?   Woodford....neat
  • Jeepster47
    Jeepster47 Posts: 3,827
    edited January 2017
    4Runner said:
    wrong forum but glad it worked out for you.
    @4Runner ... wrong forum ???

    Washington, IL  >  Queen Creek, AZ ... Two large eggs and an adopted Mini Max

  • pgprescott
    pgprescott Posts: 14,544
    4Runner said:
    wrong forum but glad it worked out for you.
    @4Runner ... wrong forum ???
    That's what I was thinking. Maybe he's digging at all the political rancor I've been playing in? Idk. Good info Tom. 
  • 4Runner
    4Runner Posts: 2,948
    4Runner said:
    wrong forum but glad it worked out for you.
    @4Runner ... wrong forum ???
    You might be right...searching post for big green egg or any combination.  
    Joe - I'm a reformed gasser-holic aka 4Runner Columbia, SC Wonderful BGE Resource Site: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramicfaq.htm and http://www.nibblemethis.com/  and http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/recipes.html
    What am I drinking now?   Woodford....neat
  • Ozzie_Isaac
    Ozzie_Isaac Posts: 18,944
    edited January 2017
    4Runner said:
    4Runner said:
    wrong forum but glad it worked out for you.
    @4Runner ... wrong forum ???
    You might be right...searching post for big green egg or any combination.  
    This response confuses me.  Are you saying, since the words "Big Green Egg" did not appear, it does not belong in the Egghead forum?
    A bison’s level of aggressiveness, both physical and passive, is legendary. - NPS
  • 4Runner
    4Runner Posts: 2,948
    Never mind...it's a pet peeve of mind
    Joe - I'm a reformed gasser-holic aka 4Runner Columbia, SC Wonderful BGE Resource Site: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramicfaq.htm and http://www.nibblemethis.com/  and http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/recipes.html
    What am I drinking now?   Woodford....neat
  • pgprescott
    pgprescott Posts: 14,544
    4Runner said:
    4Runner said:
    wrong forum but glad it worked out for you.
    @4Runner ... wrong forum ???
    You might be right...searching post for big green egg or any combination.  
    This response confuses me.  Are you saying, since the words "Big Green Egg" did not appear, it does not belong in the Egghead forum?
    Someone forgot to take their jerk blocker pills. 
  • 4Runner
    4Runner Posts: 2,948
    edited January 2017
    You guys are so predictable.  just an OT.   damn  you would think I said your mother wears army boots.  relax
    Joe - I'm a reformed gasser-holic aka 4Runner Columbia, SC Wonderful BGE Resource Site: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramicfaq.htm and http://www.nibblemethis.com/  and http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/recipes.html
    What am I drinking now?   Woodford....neat
  • Ozzie_Isaac
    Ozzie_Isaac Posts: 18,944
    edited January 2017
    4Runner said:
    Never mind...it's a pet peeve of mind
    Egghead forum is for eggs, accessories, and cooks.  This Flame Boss is an accessory and used on a LBGE for a cook.  Seems to check all the boxes.  That is why your concern with @Jeepster47 's post is confusing.

    Btw, check out @Jeepster47 's other posts and threads.  I cannot recall one time he participated in or started anything besides BGE positive threads.  Believe me, I participate in all the others.
    A bison’s level of aggressiveness, both physical and passive, is legendary. - NPS
  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
    I wonder what they did. Better data smoothing? I imagine there must be some ideal data sampling rate / response rate. 
    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
  • beerguy
    beerguy Posts: 116
    What do you mean by "chatter"?
  • bhedges1987
    bhedges1987 Posts: 3,201
    You have bigger problems than your FB if you're using Firefox as your browser ;) 

    Kansas City, Missouri
    Large Egg
    Mini Egg

    "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" - Gandalf


  • HofstraJet
    HofstraJet Posts: 1,156
    I had a problem last month of the pit probe not being recognized (jack was bad - probe worked fine in the meat probe jack). They promptly sent me a new one with a label to return the defective unit. Great company and great customer service. And a great product too. Simple, functional interface without a lot of BS on the page. Same for the mobile site.
    Two Large Eggs, 6 gal Cajun Fryer, and a MiniMax in Charlotte, NC - My New Table
    Twitter: @ Bags
    Blog: TheJetsFan.com
  • Makes me hesitate on purchasing a FB200. There seems to be alot of program problems. You would think by now they would not have to still make changes online for bugs.
  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,110
    Makes me hesitate on purchasing a FB200. There seems to be alot of program problems. You would think by now they would not have to still make changes online for bugs.
    What makes Flame Boss great is their updatable product and customer service. They fix issues that arise and take care of their customers. They have no control over the company who makes changes to the the internet browser you are using. This is not a FB issue. 
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
  • HofstraJet
    HofstraJet Posts: 1,156
    Makes me hesitate on purchasing a FB200. There seems to be alot of program problems. You would think by now they would not have to still make changes online for bugs.
    I have not experienced any software issues - just the hardware issued mentioned above. Software works great IMO - connects to wifi easily and web interface is very solid. Software updates automatically if there is a new version available when the device connects to wifi. Couldn't be easier. Not sure what "program problems" you are referring to.
    Two Large Eggs, 6 gal Cajun Fryer, and a MiniMax in Charlotte, NC - My New Table
    Twitter: @ Bags
    Blog: TheJetsFan.com
  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,110
    Makes me hesitate on purchasing a FB200. There seems to be alot of program problems. You would think by now they would not have to still make changes online for bugs.
    I have not experienced any software issues - just the hardware issued mentioned above. Software works great IMO - connects to wifi easily and web interface is very solid. Software updates automatically if there is a new version available when the device connects to wifi. Couldn't be easier. Not sure what "program problems" you are referring to.
    If you read the first post, his issue was with his browser, Firefox, but Flame Boss quickly had their IT people upgrade a fix.
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
  • HofstraJet
    HofstraJet Posts: 1,156
    Photo Egg said:
    Makes me hesitate on purchasing a FB200. There seems to be alot of program problems. You would think by now they would not have to still make changes online for bugs.
    I have not experienced any software issues - just the hardware issued mentioned above. Software works great IMO - connects to wifi easily and web interface is very solid. Software updates automatically if there is a new version available when the device connects to wifi. Couldn't be easier. Not sure what "program problems" you are referring to.
    If you read the first post, his issue was with his browser, Firefox, but Flame Boss quickly had their IT people upgrade a fix.
    Understood, but the poster mentioned "a lot" of them so I thought there were others.
    Two Large Eggs, 6 gal Cajun Fryer, and a MiniMax in Charlotte, NC - My New Table
    Twitter: @ Bags
    Blog: TheJetsFan.com
  • bhedges1987
    bhedges1987 Posts: 3,201
    Makes me hesitate on purchasing a FB200. There seems to be alot of program problems. You would think by now they would not have to still make changes online for bugs.
    I have a FB 200.  I will agree though, the amount of threads the past few months praising their customer service is nice and all, but why do they have so many problems in the first place.  It's nice that they stand by their product and help the customer out, but that should be a given since you are purchasing something.  It should work correctly, if not the company should have to fix it.

    With that being said.  My FB has given me zero problems YET.

    Kansas City, Missouri
    Large Egg
    Mini Egg

    "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" - Gandalf


  • HofstraJet
    HofstraJet Posts: 1,156
    Makes me hesitate on purchasing a FB200. There seems to be alot of program problems. You would think by now they would not have to still make changes online for bugs.
    I have a FB 200.  I will agree though, the amount of threads the past few months praising their customer service is nice and all, but why do they have so many problems in the first place.  It's nice that they stand by their product and help the customer out, but that should be a given since you are purchasing something.  It should work correctly, if not the company should have to fix it.

    With that being said.  My FB has given me zero problems YET.
    If only that was the case with all companies. See this thread as an example.
    Two Large Eggs, 6 gal Cajun Fryer, and a MiniMax in Charlotte, NC - My New Table
    Twitter: @ Bags
    Blog: TheJetsFan.com
  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,110
    Makes me hesitate on purchasing a FB200. There seems to be alot of program problems. You would think by now they would not have to still make changes online for bugs.
    I have a FB 200.  I will agree though, the amount of threads the past few months praising their customer service is nice and all, but why do they have so many problems in the first place.  It's nice that they stand by their product and help the customer out, but that should be a given since you are purchasing something.  It should work correctly, if not the company should have to fix it.

    With that being said.  My FB has given me zero problems YET.
    "It's nice that they stand by their product and help the customer out, but that should be a given since you are purchasing something."

    I agree, customer service should be a given. But it is seldom a given in reality. Especially with the ease and speed given from FB. We are lucky as many of the great products we use and talk about on this forum are backed by great customer service. I have owned Stoker and 2 BBQ Guru units as well as my FB200. I guess it's just my bad luck but all ended up having issues. Stoker and BBQ Guru had to sent back for service. FB was one phone call and new unit mailed out the next day with prepaid postage to return bad unit. Fast and easy.
    I returned a battery for my motorcycle last weekend. Or should say tried to.
    Purchased from Auto Zone. It was almost $100 with tax. Turns out it only had a 90 
    warranty. Well mine was 96 days and they would not budge...The sales manager said these batteries are crap, I would never put one in my bike...made me feel great about Auto Zone. At the time, they were the only store in town to have one in stock. My bad, I thought it would at least have 6 months. Not even a discount on another battery.lol
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
  • pgprescott
    pgprescott Posts: 14,544
    Remember that even if there is an issue with your IT stuff or theirs, you can use he FB 200 just like any other non wifi unit. 
  • Jeepster47
    Jeepster47 Posts: 3,827
    Makes me hesitate on purchasing a FB200. There seems to be alot of program problems. You would think by now they would not have to still make changes online for bugs.
    I've owned my FB200 since June of 2015 ... it gets a lot of use.  I've never had a hardware problem. 

    The software problem I reported above was created by Firefox making changes to their program ... first FB service walked me through some steps to see if the glitch was on my computer ... when those steps didn't clear up the problem, Terry turned in a ticket for their IT folks to fix the problem.  In the meantime, the FB software worked correctly on Chrome.  PS: I see that they have the Firefox problem corrected already, so ignore this PSA.

    The pit probe chatter shows up on this graph from 11:10am until 12:50pm.  You'll notice that the pit probe line is not smooth during that time frame, but deviates up-n-down a couple of degrees.  Not sure what caused this during this test run, but I'm told that rain on the unit can cause the chatter to occur.  Either way, they uploaded a fix during the cook at a little before 1:00pm and the pit temp line smoothed out perfectly. 



    Some folks probably shook their head when I pulled the unit 'cuz it wasn't holding right on the money.  The cook would have been okay, but I'm terribly OCD about instrumentation and meeting target temps.

    I have absolutely no hesitancy in recommending the Flameboss 200.  Ozzie bought a Flameboss 100 early in 2015, so I had some experience with their product and with their service support.  When the FB200 came out, I got the first unit that showed up at my dealer's store.  My DigiQ hasn't been out of the storage box since the 200 arrived.  BTW ... Ozzie has since upgraded to a 200 unit.

    This is what you'll find on their website under contact us:

    We also want to know if Flame Boss lets you down. Give us a chance to make it right. If you are ever dissatisfied with Flame Boss customer service, ask to talk to our President. He’ll personally contact you.

    Product support really doesn't get much better than that.

    Washington, IL  >  Queen Creek, AZ ... Two large eggs and an adopted Mini Max

  • Ozzie_Isaac
    Ozzie_Isaac Posts: 18,944
    Makes me hesitate on purchasing a FB200. There seems to be alot of program problems. You would think by now they would not have to still make changes online for bugs.
    I have a FB 200.  I will agree though, the amount of threads the past few months praising their customer service is nice and all, but why do they have so many problems in the first place.  It's nice that they stand by their product and help the customer out, but that should be a given since you are purchasing something.  It should work correctly, if not the company should have to fix it.

    With that being said.  My FB has given me zero problems YET.
    Both my FB have worked flawless for 2+ years.  No probe problems, no software problems.  I use Chrome though.
    A bison’s level of aggressiveness, both physical and passive, is legendary. - NPS
  • Ozzie_Isaac
    Ozzie_Isaac Posts: 18,944
    I have talked to Michael Collins (president) a few times.  He is a great guy.  Super nice and knows his product inside out.

    Btw, I didn't have a problem.  I called for a question on Good Friday and he answered!  Other time we talked was on a Sunday.
    A bison’s level of aggressiveness, both physical and passive, is legendary. - NPS
  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
    My experience has also been excellent. But to derail this a bit - I'll be interested to hear how the fireboard works out for people.  The probes they use are really nice - extremely heat tolerant, and very precise. 
    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
  • Ok then.... this is why this forum is great sometimes... Glad for all the feedback you eggers that own a FB chimed in about... Will be purchasing one real soon!