Temperature Controller

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bpeyton89

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Wondering if anyone can give me some advice. My team cooks on four homemade drum smokers and I'm thinking about getting controllers for at least 3 of them. Trying to compare costs and effectiveness between the Pitmaster IQ120, BBQ Guru, and Stoker. So far it looks like the stoker is the best option as I can power 3 smokers off one controller. Does anyone have experience with doing this? Can I set three different temperatures? Or am I better off just buying three individual units like the Guru or PitmasterIQ?
 
Not trying to make your decision more difficult but I use Auber Instruments PID controllers and like them very much.

A whole unit soup to nuts costs around $145-$160 depending on the size fan you get. I run my wsms on them no problem.

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=14_27

You would have to purchase one for each of your smokers however.

Good luck on your decision!
 
I've used the Auber all season on my V33 and I'm very happy with it. Simple and easy to use.
 
bpeyton89 said:
Wondering if anyone can give me some advice. My team cooks on four homemade drum smokers and I'm thinking about getting controllers for at least 3 of them. Trying to compare costs and effectiveness between the Pitmaster IQ120, BBQ Guru, and Stoker. So far it looks like the stoker is the best option as I can power 3 smokers off one controller. Does anyone have experience with doing this? Can I set three different temperatures? Or am I better off just buying three individual units like the Guru or PitmasterIQ?
Click to expand...


I have a Stoker and run two pits off of it without any problems. The Stoker is a little more money up front but it is very easy to use and very versatile.

I am working on building a Java application to control the Stoker. It is still in a pre-alpha state. The door logic is giving me fits in that the application is thinking that the door is opening and turning off the blower. I believe however that I have a pit probe going south on me.

If you have any questions feel free to ask and I will ask them the best I can.

-Eric
 
I guess I will be the first person to ask: are your drums inconsistent with temps or something?
 
LTG said:
I guess I will be the first person to ask: are your drums inconsistent with temps or something?
Click to expand...

My first question as well. My UDS had more consistent temperatures without a temp controller than with. I haven't even bothered to try one on the gateway drums.
 
If you are looking for a controller, the Stoker is my recommendation. I have used mine with 3 WSMs, each with different temp settings.
 
LTG said:
I guess I will be the first person to ask: are your drums inconsistent with temps or something?
Click to expand...

They are somewhat inconsistent at times. other times they hold steady. they're homemade drums with 1 inch holes drilled towards the bottom and I use circular magnets to control airflow. I got into a situation this weekend where I was kind of fighting keeping temperature stable. I don't have much trouble getting them to run 300-325, but had a hell of a time getting them down to 275. Ribs I like to cook at 250 for the first two hours.

I'll admit I never thought i'd be one to go to automatic temp controllers, but have decided if it's one less thing I have to worry about it's worth it. I Have less than $300 in each of my 4 cookers so I don't mind spending a little on a temp controller.
 
bpeyton89 said:
They are somewhat inconsistent at times. other times they hold steady. they're homemade drums with 1 inch holes drilled towards the bottom and I use circular magnets to control airflow. I got into a situation this weekend where I was kind of fighting keeping temperature stable. I don't have much trouble getting them to run 300-325, but had a hell of a time getting them down to 275. Ribs I like to cook at 250 for the first two hours.

I'll admit I never thought i'd be one to go to automatic temp controllers, but have decided if it's one less thing I have to worry about it's worth it. I Have less than $300 in each of my 4 cookers so I don't mind spending a little on a temp controller.
Click to expand...
I wonder if wind was affecting things? Used to cook on a wsm and would occasionally have issues with the wind since the intakes are not shielded like a drum with intake tubes.
 
I use Stoker to run two Backwoods and a WSM in competition. It lets me sleep worry free over night. You can absolutely run different temps - rock solid with high/low pit/food temp alarms. There's plenty of 3rd party integration apps including the one in my signature below. You will love your Stoker.
 
I cook on homeade uds and I've run into what your talking about several times. Its not a for sure fix but on your bottom intakes out another elbow on them so the wind can't blow straight in the intakes. It turns the intake up instead of straight. Its not a cure all but it helped mine alot, now the wind can't blow directly into the intakes.
 
erichasaces said:
My first question as well. My UDS had more consistent temperatures without a temp controller than with. I haven't even bothered to try one on the gateway drums.
Click to expand...
My gateways will run for hours without messing with them. I've never even questioned putting a controller on them.
 
I have been using a Stoker for years, and run everything from a WSM to a Klose offset with it. The Stoker has an optional "large" power supply. If you are running three fans off a single Stoker, you might want to get the larger power supply instead of the standard one. You can set up temp probe/pit pairs so each smoker can run at a different temp. The main unit has ports for 6 devices (fans or probes) but you can use splitters to add more, up to 32.
 
Ended up going with 3 pitmaster IQ 110s. Could not be happier with the purchase I've done a few test cooks with them. I've been able to hold temperatures from 250-300 without issue. This weekend I really put it to the test did a brisket at 300 then turned it down to 200 to slow cook a prime rib. Within 25 minutes the drum was down to the 200 range and the prime rib was perfect!
 
You can't accomplish that on a drum without a controller? I'd be looking at how well your drum is breathing.
 
tduffy said:
You can't accomplish that on a drum without a controller? I'd be looking at how well your drum is breathing.
Click to expand...

No I have issues getting my drum down to a desired temperature without getting that oxygen starved smell/ flavor. Again I'm not running a gateway, hunsaker, or other engineered drum. Like I said for me the decision on using temp controllers was simplicity. I don't have to adjust intakes or exhaust rather just turn a nob and within a few minutes my grill is at temp. For me it was worth it. There are some great manufactured drums that are well worth the price. I decided to save time and labor on the back end by building my drums for less than 200 each and now not having to worry about temperature.
 
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