In need of automation!

[thoner7]

Help! I’ve owned a Weber Smokey mountain for five years now. I’ve made some of the best bbq I’ve ever had in my life on it, BUT only when I get lucky and the silly thing holds near a temp I want!!!! I have struggled with it so much I bought a recteq pellet smoker because I was so tired of babysitting the thing. With the recteq I was able to cook the meat to perfect render and tenderness, BUT I sold the recteq after 3 uses because there was absolutely no smoke flavor at all! So frustrating.

So now I am researching new ways of control and automation, and I need your input. I’m reading about these add-on controllers, like Thermoworks and BBQ guru, which control a fan for making good temps. There’s also these masterbuilt charcoal smokers. Does anyone have experience with these? What should I get?

I like that the masterbuilt could be a grill too. But without direct heat from the coals, isn’t it really more of an oven than a grill? One of my complaints with the recteq was that you weren’t getting any charring on the meat when you used it at high temps like a grill. It also took a lot longer to cook something for that same reason— no direct heat. I like the crispy char on meat and it didn’t happen with the pellet smoker.

So for example, if you cooked a half chicken on the masterbuilt, could you get that same “church chicken bbq” flavor that you can get from a simple Weber kettle? Charred skin and all?? Or does it really just bake the chicken with smoke??

And for those fan controllers….. what’s the best one? And how hot of a temp could they control? If I go this route, it would be nice to use my Weber Smokey mountain for more than just low and slow

 

[Fooball]

You can have both char and more smoke flavor than a pellet grill with a plain kettle grill or even a drum if you know how to set it up.

Otherwise, have a dedicated smoker (cabinet, offset, etc.) and a dedicated grill for your char cravings. I get it. I love me some char, too. Gotta be able to grill.

I know you want a set it and forget it that gives smoke and char, right?

 

[sudsandswine]

I ran a temp controller on my WSM’s and it was rock solid.

My advice for you would be to use a smoker as a smoker and a grill as a grill. You’re sacrificing something in either example if you don’t. Get a Weber kettle for your dedicated grilling rig and continue using the WSM with temp controller for barbecue.

 

[thoner7]

Thank you both for responding.

Suds— what brand temp controller did you use? What ones get good recommendations on here? I’m ok with spending more money on a better one.

I’m fine having a smoker and a grill. By adding a temp controlller to my Smokey mountain, seem like I’m building one of Those masterbuilt units. Mainly running on charcoal and wood chunks. Would love to hear about someone’s personal experience with one still.

 

[LloydQ]

A WSM comes with a temperature controller. It is that big pan that rests on the middle rack. Put some water in it.

 

[Dweverett]

Thank you both for responding.

Suds— what brand temp controller did you use? What ones get good recommendations on here? I’m ok with spending more money on a better one.

I’m fine having a smoker and a grill. By adding a temp controlller to my Smokey mountain, seem like I’m building one of Those masterbuilt units. Mainly running on charcoal and wood chunks. Would love to hear about someone’s personal experience with one still.

No personal experience so could be completely wrong but based on what I’ve read here I don’t think you’ll get the same results (without some work anyway) between the masterbuilt and a WSM and controller. The WSM (and Drums) put out a pretty heavy smoke profile. The masterbuilt is basically a gravity fed design and I’m not sure I understand why but I’ve read enough comments here from some new owners of that design that they weren’t getting much smoke flavor until they played around with it a bit. I’ve never heard that comment on a WSM.

 

[sudsandswine]

This is what I was using 10+ years ago and it worked fine, but it's very basic. Set the dial and it holds the temp.

https://pitmasteriq.com/collections/automatic-temperature-control/products/iq110

If you want something that can monitor temps, graphing, wifi, etc and also control temps a Fireboard controller may be more to your liking.

https://www.fireboard.com/shop/fireboard-2-drive/

This thread talks about using the fan on the daisy wheel intake without having to cut a hole in the side with the "kettle adapter".

https://tvwbb.com/threads/any-wsm-and-fireboard-2-owners-around.82157/

 

[thoner7]

This is what I was using 10+ years ago and it worked fine, but it's very basic. Set the dial and it holds the temp.

https://pitmasteriq.com/collections/automatic-temperature-control/products/iq110

If you want something that can monitor temps, graphing, wifi, etc and also control temps a Fireboard controller may be more to your liking.

https://www.fireboard.com/shop/fireboard-2-drive/

This thread talks about using the fan on the daisy wheel intake without having to cut a hole in the side with the "kettle adapter".

https://tvwbb.com/threads/any-wsm-and-fireboard-2-owners-around.82157/

I’ve researched all these units and the thermopro.

The pitmaster IQ it’s mentioned it only holds temps within 20 degrees of the set temps. That doesn’t seem very good. I can’t seem to find any info on the Fireboard or other units. Does anyone know how accurate they are??

 

[sudsandswine]

That’s not my experience but any computer controlled fan should hold it pretty close to set temp. The Pitmaster is pretty basic so if you want historical graphing of smoker and meat temps you’re better off with something like the Fireboard.

 

[Shadowdog500]

Last summer I decided to go back to the methods used before regular webers had thermometers and we weren’t chasing temperatures all over the place. The exact temperature really don’t matter, you just need to get it in the right range.

My older Weber kettles didn’t have a thermometer and my 18”WSM didn’t come with one either.

If you fill the 18” WSM pan with beer and water and use the minion method with about 25 lit charcoals and run all of the vents wide open the smoker should park itself near the center of the smoking range and may hold that all day long. I did get in the habit of using one chunk of smoke wood on top of the coals and I add a new chuck every 45minutes until about halfway through the cook.

In a kettle a 2x2x1 snake should put you in the smoking range with all vents wide open as well. I put smaller chunks of smoke wood on top of the snake

The rotisserie attachment for the 22” kettle makes the best chicken and turkey hands down.

I start out with about 25 charcoals in each basket and add about 8 coals to each side every 30-45 minutes or so with all vents wide open and it roast the bird or a rib roast perfectly.

Best of all, I don’t even worry about the exact cook temp anymore and just let it cruise.

I use Kingsford blue bag for all of the above.

I do have an IQ100 temp controller but stopped using it after it failed a couple times. Replacing the thermometer usually fixes the problem, but I shouldn’t have to even worry about it during the cook.

 

[Nuco59]

I poopooed controllers for the longest time- called them "gizmos". "I run a drum and have no need of such". Then the little voice in my head finally got to me, saying "why not try them out? Maybe it would be "even better".

Frugal/broke, I cobbled together a digital PID controller and fan- spent a lot of time reading up on how to set it up and getting it just right. Was a fun exercise- love little projects like that.

Ran it for several cooks- then boxed it up. It added nothing to my cook but an extension cord- it was not more stable- it did not give me better fuel efficiency. It was cool to see the red digits glowing but that was about it. I got as good a feel for the cook using the 9" stem turkey thermo sitting an inch under the grate in my 30 Gallon.

If your cook equipment and style lends themselves to a temp controller set up- and you want it - get after it. Life is short- and that little voice in your head can be persistent. Give in to it occasionally- might be better than good.

 

[Swine Spectator]

My WSM will hold at 250⁰ or 275⁰ for 8+ hours if the vents are set right. No controller needed.

 

[thoner7]

My Weber has only once held its temp like advertised. No idea why that one time it worked and never before or since.

I could never get it to get hot. I put holes in it to let more air in. Didn’t do it. Drilled holes to let more air out. That kinda worked. I still have to adjust and play with air vents so often I have to check it 15 minutes.

Basic controller is fine by me but I don’t want something that breaks all the time or won’t keep the temp close to where it should be.

The Fireboard is like $400 bucks!

 

[MustGoFast]

I agree with the person who said 2 dedicated units 1 grill 1 smoker as the way to go.
That said I F'ing LOVE (maybe loved since there's a new one coming) my WSM with a temp controller. I ran a Rocks bbQ Stoker for YEARS until it died and am now running the Fireboard Drive and would highly recommend that. So easy.

 

[snadamo]

I know peoples experiences are hit and miss with the flame boss, but I got a flame boss 500 I’m selling if interested. This unit has never let me down. I always felt it was reliable. Used it with my wsm 18 for long cooks.

I did replace it with a FireBoard unit and also happy with that.

 

[thoner7]

Is the Fireboard 2 pro worth the extra 50 bucks?

I don’t need the high heat of the probes, but if they are more durable it could be worth it.

 

[Divemaster]

You know as someone that has multiple smokers and grills, I do own a Masterbuilt and keep it at our Grandkid house as our primary cooker there. It works well as both a smoker and grill, in fact I picked up a rotisserie and we often do chicken this way to fantastic results.

I have never used a temperature controller on any of my cookers, temperature control was always part of the process of learning the pit.

 

[JCBII]

I bought a BBQube for my 18" WSM because I wanted something "set and forget". I haven't used it enough yet to recommend but thought I'd mention as a possible option. I will say that the display could be bigger - I have a hard time seeing the numbers - especially in bright light.

 

[teamwhidbey]

Look into the Char-Griller 980. I have one and love it. As much smoke flavor as you want by adding wood chunks to the hoppper, and pretty much controllable.

 

[shares]

A wsm does not need a temp controller - they are very easy to dial in.

edit: Cooks really need to be able to control their fire without dependence on a forced air induction system. Power is not always available and equipment can fail.