Gravity Feed lights up this week....guru possibly?

[Puff]

My gravity feed cabinet smoker will be ready to build its first fire possibly on Sunday afternoon. I have great success with the RF tank but I have a plan to sit there and monitor things closely and feed sticks and charcoal as needed about every 45-60 minutes.

I have read about these attachments that automatically turn on a fan to feed air into the FB and keep the temps fairly steady using an electronic controller. There are several out there and I am wondering what experience anyone may have that can give me some guidance in the right direction. I think the Maverick Thermometers I have could have been setup with an iPhone and it would minimize the need for the readout box to be carried around. The phone is alway on my hip. All that information could simply be displayed along with the controls on the phone screen and possibly easier to read with good graphics.

I see they even have a wifi controlled thing. My interests are geared towards having the fire burn with auto feed charcoal and auto controlled temperatures. Any ideas? Thanks

[Pete Mazz]

I thought gravity Feeds had to be set up with a controller of some sort?

The BBQGuru guys are right next to my industrial park. In fact they moved to a larger unit in the same park not too long ago. I told them I knew Frank and was asked to leave.....

[Gizmo]

Puff from what I've seen here on the forum I have to say 2 things:

1) Guru's are cool, most of the time the users seem to enjoy them for a few months (burns) and then they get lazy and don't use them anymore. It's because they discover that once they get onto how each cooker works, they realize they can do just as good a job "manually" so it stays in the box.

2) You are far too infected with the "BBQ Bug" not to have one - at least for checking out new cookers. Just plan on it spending more time in the box than you thought. Amortized over several cookers it should be an excellent purchase (possibly put it on your Santa list?) ….. jm2cw

[Puff]

Thanks for the information. I've tried reading about the function and purpose but any site that sells them simply pushes the product and not the details of why and how it should be installed. I've read many of your posts Gizmo in searching for information and your answer remains consistent with your earlier views and comments. Thanks for that too.

I know this is naive to say: I really feel after about 15 plus uses on the 275 tank smoker, I know where it works best, how to add fuel and when and I can keep it almost rock steady for ribs. It's " sweet spot" as you've called it is clearly known. My only issue on that. Is that when I plan to serve at 6:00 and I don't remove them exactly on time....ribs dry out within 15 min. So I have to wrap them if people are not " ready".

On the other hand, I only knew I would love a cooker like Egor and when the plan was available for the " cabinet " smoker...I was all in. Now that it's done...the learning process begins again and to maximize its less attended use over night, I was thinking that the blower option is going to be a big part of that. Maybe I should look into the cookers manual...and get some clue as to using it. I have the greatest paint plan I could think of but I need to fire it up prior to painting to measure some critical skin temps. Mikekiker gave me an idea how his temps were and if I can get that or better, I'm in good shape to continue.

I had traded some simple frame welding to a friend who does murals on bikes, trucks whatever. He has my copy but said if the temps get too high it will mess up the work quickly.

[Gizmo]

Have you read the 'Night Light" thread I did on Egor?
That's still the best way I know of to eliminate the need for a Guru.
I'm not sure how lucky I got but I suspect ANY cooker that's well sealed could do that.
fwiw

[Puff]

Thanks Gizmo,

This cooker is well sealed. My oil tank is sealed well but in comparison this smoker is probably close to neutral pressure airtight. The three doors on it mate against flat steel skins backed by 2" square tubing underneath. With the thin Nomex gasket it just can't leak much. The main door tube parts were laid across the face horizontally and then welded square. I was excited to see that come together that way. When I push the door closed you can feel the "percussion" from the air compression and release thru the top stack.

I lookin it up next.....

[Puff]

Yep read it ..Even posted in it twice before ....Lesson learned!

[Puff]

October 19.... Decided that since I'm in it this far, I'd might as well jump from the top diving board next. Decided on the WiFi stoker controller and fan. As I've learned in discussion with Frank, it will be the most complex one to learn and wind up being the most expensive .. On the other hand, I have a fair amount of involvement in these smokers that I felt it should take this road to electronic control.

Does any one have something from this,line of controller and blowers and how it was adapted to your fire box? I Can moderately deal with the networ setups and iOS device options so looking to see where some of the rest of the group lies in this aspect of the smoker. Have you noticed any things to be on alert for ?

[Mmmmm]

My thoughts are: buy a pellet pooper. Everything you are looking for.

All kidding aside, stokers aren't for me. Part or more likely MOST of the therapy I get from BBQ is looking after the cooker. I love pulling all-nighters or spending the day puttering around the yard and checking the cooker every little bit.