Adventures in Smobotting

baychilla · April 2018

I've had an issue with my BBQ Guru ever since I purchased it (the email-warning functionality has been Tango Uniform). That said build quality of the unit itself has been excellent. The pit viper hard locked on its damper (probably due to moisture and creosote). So I looked for a replacement. Some other pit controllers look more appropriate for Darth Vaders life support via a Blue Light Special at Kmart (IMO/E). Enter the Smobot. It seems simple enough: control temps via the top daisy wheel rather than ram/forced air. Also it in theory should be more forward compatible than my guru (which can't be firmware updated and its several releases behind current - also doesn't/can't support the present cloud functionality).

Brief interruption: The Meater once again failed through the Egg... So far it's resumed but still... for something that isn't user serviceable build a stronger transmitter.

This is my first multi bird cook on the Joetisserie. Im thinking instead of a set of prongs for each bird I should've gone with a single set for both birds due to the size restraints of the LBGE.

So far my only issues with Smobot are: 1. The instructions didn't list a max temp (an email to CS resolved that quickly) and 2. I have reservations about the USB/power port on it. It doesn't "feel" overly robust to me. (oh and while there's a recover password option there's no D'oh I forgot my username automation option).

So far the birds are 88 and the Egg is either 213 (@ rotisserie) or 367 (Egg thermo point).

Forgot to get the before so only finish pix when done.

Also first cook on full Rockwood. And did the smoke ever clear up faster.

baychilla · April 2018

Just set the Smobot to 550. Im thinking I'm going to have to rely on the Meater (pity theres no API for dummies option to feed the output from the Meaters pit sensor into the Smobot for pit control as there's too much of a delta between the Meater and bot.

That being said, the Meater has worked correctly in the past and the Smobot appears to be functioning correctly (save for my hinky temp probe placement).

When I did this with a single bird there was a 50 degree delta between the Guru and Meater. With two birds I'm seeing a 100 degree differential between the Meater and Smobot; and the Meater seems like it doesn't want to keep a connection. Maybe there's a difference between the glass door of their offices oven and a ceramic/metal egg...

baychilla · April 2018

Using the WebUI the Smobot maxed out at 600 (the + button does nothing, however the ^ button will raise the temp. A save over 600 fails). Considering the BGE thermo and Meater are both over 200 degrees off the Smobot I'm wondering whats happening (The Smobot is clipped to the BGE thermo).

baychilla · April 2018

The cook finished. It seems the Guru was closer to the Meater and BGE thermo than the Smobot (at one point the Smobot pit clip fell into the charcoal so that might be the issue however it was off before then). I tried something new with this (start on smoke 225 finish on high 450+) and that didn't work; I had the benefits of neither. That being said - the Smobot maintained the temp it thought it needed and did so while working off my freebie 2200mah battery pack. If it wasn't for the rotisserie this cook would've been wireless

Aside from the confounding variables I introduced the Smobot worked well (maintained temp). The only issues I felt that could be attributed to it (rather than me) were the IMO flimsy feeling of the USB/power port and the noise of the servo (noisier than a 1985 Futaba). Setting it up was easy and the WebUI is simple. The history feature and multiple export options are to me a step up from the (old) Guru.

I look forward to using the Smobot in the future on a non rotisserie cook.

Two roaster chickens that were dusted and rubbed subcutaneously with Plowboys Yardbird then left to sit open air overnight in the fridge. The original goal was to try to smoke @ 225 for a bit then raise to 450 to crisp the skin. It didn't work out that way so not as much smoke flavor as I would've liked. However the moist, juicy and flavorful flesh was bang on.

The Smobot itself

Image: https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Ls5x442/0/ca7e062a/XL/i-Ls5x442-XL.jpg

The (to me) suspect USB port (tight fit with what feels like motion on insertion)

Image: https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-QPWrp5r/0/e1db3c8d/XL/i-QPWrp5r-XL.jpg

The servo on my top

Image: https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-gXpLdwH/0/ea7e2a93/XL/i-gXpLdwH-XL.jpg

My freebie battery powering the Smobot

Image: https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-CBRBGtw/0/9dc1e2e3/XL/i-CBRBGtw-XL.jpg

What the Meater thought happened:

Image: https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-DFncbwz/0/7ab75c7d/XL/i-DFncbwz-XL.png

What the Smobot thought happened:

Image: https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-8JqcnMB/0/7d55d033/XL/i-8JqcnMB-XL.png

What resulted:

Image: https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Rhq4C9s/0/04de89e0/XL/i-Rhq4C9s-XL.jpg

I'm not going to argue with the results. The chicken was excellent. I look forward to seeing what the Smobot can do in the future.

billt01 · April 2018

@baychilla if you ever decide to go another route...

Rock is right around the corner from you in SF. I have two of his boxes, they are the "bomb diggity yo"...

https://www.rocksbarbque.com/

baychilla · May 2018

I tried the Smobot on a short cook: Pizza. It was a store bought take and bake thing that I hadn't tried before. Instructions were to bake at 400 on the rack. I set the egg up with the pate setter feet down, the grate (to stick a pole into for the temp sensor to clip onto) the egg feet and a pizza stone on the egg feet. Aside from taking longer to recover from a large temp drop (when I opened the egg to get a shot) than I was hoping for the Smobot worked fine with my 2100mah USB battery.

Graph of the cook:

Smobot and power source:

Egg coming up to temp

Damper starting it second cook

The "raws"

The shot that caused the massive drop

Finished product:

For a store bought pizza it wasn't too bad. The sauce had a little character, ditto the pepperoni. The cheese wasn't plastic like and the crust was more like bread than pizza dought, but again - store bought pre-made pie.

Botch · May 2018

subcutaneous - adjective 1) Situated or applied under the skin: ie subcutaneous fat

In case anyone else didn't know. Isn't there a forum rule against using any words with more than 5 syllables?

baychilla · May 2018

Botch said:

subcutaneous - adjective 1) Situated or applied under the skin: ie subcutaneous fat

In case anyone else didn't know. Isn't there a forum rule against using any words with more than 5 syllables?

I think theres a beer exemption for that.

baychilla · July 2018

It'd been a long time since I'd purchased St. Louis ribs from CostCo. I'd forgotten that they come in a 3 pack and that sometimes the producer (Swift) seems to have what to me is an odd definition of a St. Louis cut. Not being a fan of using a rib rack and 3 being right out for fitting on my LBGE I was originally going to do two racks on the Egg and the third on my WSM. The more I thought about it the less of a stellar idea that seemed. It would've been a lot of fuel for not much of a cook.

Enter sous vide ribs. I opted to go the high tech route and do two racks on the Egg and the third would be cooked sv for 24 hours and then egged the following day.

The racks I did on the egg had some interesting bone structures. They were done with kosher salt, Yardbird rub and a bit too much Swamp Venom. Ok maybe a tad too much salt. They were finished with Sweet Baby Rays (I'm still trying to finish off the gallon jug I bought for whatever reason).

Image: https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-vHz2RMD/0/b28a9868/L/i-vHz2RMD-L.jpg

Of course the wind kicks up when I start cooking

Image: https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-hrmqBvf/0/f6a33ef1/L/i-hrmqBvf-L.jpg

Finished and showing the odd bits of bone

Adventures in Smobotting

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