Personal Opinion: Stoker vs DigiQ II

Never tried the stoker but mainly because I'm technicaly challenged :( but the DigiQ is very easy to setup and use. I put in the top 3 of aftermarket things I've purchased.

I have the BBQ Guru (pre-DigiQ II) and love it. To answer Fishlessman's comment, how much is a good night's sleep worth? And how much assurance is knowing you won't wake-up and find the temp in the BGE at 100 degrees worth? To me the answers are "Yes it's worth it".

Pato,

I have a DigiQ II. I like the fact that I can go to sleep and wake up in the morning and know that my food is still cooking and safe!
Ross

I have used both and can say that I like the Digi Q II much better. It is easier to use, smaller, very accurate and comes in multiple colors (for those who have to coordinate everything). In all honesty, we use two Digi Q II's for our contest cooking and trust them very much for the overnight. They really do make for getting some sleep much easier and are very easy to use and set up.

if i'm nervous, i'll check at 4am. since i got to bed at maybe 11 or 12, and get up at 7 or 8, i figure the thing can never be "in the danger zone" for four hours unless it magically went out the second i hit the sack.

only had two fires go out. one was in the small, and had to do with alcohol. the other was a center burn, which i've still seen happenanyway (from posts here) to folks with powered draft units.

Didn't you just answer your own question?

but its still good to know how to low and slow through the night just in case that guru dies at midnight. there is a reason we learn to ride a tricycle, then a bike, then a motorcycle. i would still get up, at certain times of year its nice to sit out late at night with the smell of bbq in ther air and i would be worrying that the guru either died or the power went out enough to get up and go check

It would help to know what is making you vacillate between the two.

You will see a big bias on the forum towards the DigiQII (q2).

I have and use both the q2 and the Stoker and decided to get the 10 cmf on both.

The q2 has slider on the fan to reduce air flow. Once the egg is lit and at temperature I close down the air flow to prevent temperature from overshooting. I very seldom use the ramp mode,a but it is there if I need it. (Stoker also has a ramp mode via computer software).

I had a problem with the q2 which was fixed very quickly. Customer service for me has been great.

I would need to re-read the q2 manual but my thinking is that it is water resistant not water proof.

Frankly, I wouldn't leave the q2 out in bad weather without a cover or inside a zip lock bag. Too expensive to take a chance.

When I use the q2 I always use the Maverick ET-73 so I can watch the temperature inside the house or around the yard. The temperatures between the ET-73 & q2 often differ so I just add or subtract the difference from the ET-73. The ET-73 also has audible alarms that I can hear when in the house a few rooms from q2.

The controls on the q2 are very simple but changing some features does require some button navigation.

The stoker controls take some button navigation also. However, the Stoker will allow assigning of the fan to any of the monitor probes.

The stoker can monitor & record the probe(s) & fan(s) when connected to a computer. This is a neat feature but not always used.

One can monitor the stoker from any device that can receive a network signal or wifi if the port is opened to the web. I haven't checked lately but I believe the stoker software will also send email with readings - I am not sure if this update was completed or not.

The display and command structure of the Stoker is more involved but like most things, once you use it, the functions are pretty simple.

I like the small size of the q2. Temperature probes are rated to withstand higher temperatures than the standard probes of the Stoker. If using the Stoker or q2 the temperatures in the egg shouldn't be all that high anyway.

I don't use either powered vent system as much as I did when I first got the eggs. The eggs will hold the temperature very well without help.

I do use a powered vent system when doing cooks longer than 4 to 5 hours, always for overnight cooks and or for expensive cuts of meats like dry aged standing rib roast.

If I don't want to be concerned about watching the temperatures I use a powered vent system.

GG

LOL... I too sometimes really enjoy sitting out by the egg in the wee hours of the night/morning.

GG

Fishlessman and GG:

Could it be you guys are getting older and HAVE to get up anyway to pee, so why not check the BGE while you're up? :silly: :woohoo: :evil:

you dont have to be old, you just have to drink enough. :laugh: the lake is pretty peaceful in the nighttime and its pretty nice out there at certian times, especially with the crisper air in the fall, just makes the smell of bbq extreme.

PWise

I have an XL and bought the DigiII w/10cfm fan. After lighting my fire(I use a chimney starter, 1 shot glass of 91% alcohol) I plug in my Guru and set on 250 and let the cooker come up to temp that way.