Kamado Joe® iKamand™ Smart Temperature Control and Monitoring Device for Classic Grills in Black

Product Information

Based on the readings from the probes, the device directs the speed of the fan to control the ambient temperature inside the cooker, by controlling the amount of oxygen given to the fire.

For the most part, which model you decide is best for you comes down to your budget, how many food probes you wish your controller to support, and overall design aesthetics when comparing similar models head to head. If your vents are all but closed, and the controller cannot control temp, it’s usually that your smoker isn’t sealed correctly though and is not a fault of the temperature controller. We’ll cover the origin, workings, and benefits of an ATC. Then we’ll follow with a product review of these 4 top models from the top 2 manufacturers: The Flame Boss 400 is their mid-range offering, consisting solely of a fan that you connect to your smoker, and ot which you MUST connect to over Wi-Fi. There is no controller for making setting changes or seeing data on your cook, you simply MUST use the smartphone app with the 400. If you’re both an avid smoker/griller and social media user, both company’s products cloud-sharing technology should pique your interest. The ability to brag beyond your immediate circle of friends and nemeses is too good to pass up!And so many things can change the temperature: Diminishing charcoal, external air temperature, quality of smoker (e.g., does it leak?), or trouble figuring out the air vent settings. The green LED screen is just the right size for displaying 4 lines of information, and limited to just the vital information you need to know. Push buttons are easy to move through the menu and adjust settings. BBQ Guru has many useful products which aren’t related to temperature management, FlameBoss’ tunnel vision is only on making superior ATCs

The BBQGuru DigiQ DX3 looks entirely different to the previously mentioned 2 models, it being from a previous generation of BBQGuru products. In this article, we compare the line-ups from both manufacturers, discussing in detail the leading models on the market — The Flame Boss vs BBQ Guru. FlameBoss only does temperature control, offering a few versions of kamado or universal smoker controllers: Pellet smokers, gas grills and electric smokers do not need a temperature controller as they either have them built-in (pellet and electric models) or are easy to set to a fixed temp (gas.) The top of the line BBQGuru UltraQ controls the temperature of your pit, as well as being able to measure the temperature of 3 further probes inserted into food.Flame Boss and BBQ Guru were created by engineers, so right off the bat, there’s some assurance of products built to do what they do, incredibly well. Based in Warminster, PA, BBQ Guru was founded in 2003 by Shotgun Fred Pirkle, founder of ThermoOmegaTech®, a manufacturer of control valves, thermal actuators, safety showers, and rail freeze protection valves. Besides being connected to the probes, the ATC is also connected to or has an inbuilt variable speed fan that is firmly fixed to a bottom vent, to control the amount of air that can flow into the BBQ or smoker.

Both BBQ Guru and Flame Boss have a number of slightly different products in their ranges, with varying feature sets and of course at different price points.The BBQGuru DynaQ is a stripped down version of the UltraQ, and looks similar at first appearances.

A thermodynamic engineer, Fred responded to a friend’s challenge of creating a control valve for grills by creating the first BBQ Guru. Control your digitally connected Kamado Joe grill with our all-new mobile app for a seamless grilling In the 2000s, the first automatic temperature controllers (ATCs) for BBQs and smokers were created to manage the temperature of both pit and food throughout the cooking process. Based in Apopka, FL, FlameBoss, was founded in 2013 by Roger Collins, a computer engineer and smoked barbecue fan.It has a fully featured Smartphone app that you can use to monitor and control your cooks, save historical data, and share cooks with other BBQ enthusiasts. The ATC frees you to go and do other things, monitoring and adjusting the cooking process as needed from wherever you are — in the house, at the store, or on the job — via Wi-Fi connection. About its business’ is our first impression of this controller, though it does sleeker and more ‘designed’ than its predecessor the flame boss 300.