wrandyr

I have a FireBoard 2 Pro, which works well with my 21". I got the pro because it uses thermocouples, which I prefer for the broader temperature range and I believe to be more durable. I'm using it with a BBQ Guru Pit Viper fan, because it fits into that handy port. I replaced the Tel-True thermometer on my KK with a thermocouple probe. Even if I am not controlling with the FireBoard, being able to easily save a log of what was going on during a cook has been a wonderful learning tool. I also have several Combustion V1 thermometers. As a geek type, I find them to be a lot of fun. The prediction feature is iffy for low & slow, but works well when grilling. I haven't had any connection problems. They do present a lot of information in their app, maybe too much for someone who only wants to be told when things are done. Again, being able to save a log is great. Their customer support has been very good. Combustion is supposed to be releasing a totally wireless controller soon. They have had some teething problems with their products, so I don't know if I would want to be the first one on the block to get one. It is not clear yet if the sensor part will be long enough to work with the thickness of a KK.

It looks to me like there was some sugar in that mop. If so, sugar burns at 300°F. I would lower the temp and let the thermometer tell me when it was done. Or mop at the last minute only.

I replaced my Tel-Tru with a thermocouple probe that can extend up to 5.5 inches past the inside of the dome. I have noticed temperature anomalies if I have it too far in when there is something on the upper grate. I too have noticed that the dome and grate temps converge over time, but that can be quite a long time. My main concern with having the dome probe close to the dome's inner surface is that I would expect it to respond rather slowly to changes in the interior air temperature, which would be an issue if you were using it as input for something like a fan controller.

Based on what they have published so far, I estimated only 6mm or so of the probe would extend into a KK. I don't think they ever did the tweak Chris mentioned.

You will likely have to do some experimenting to get things dialed in, which should be a pleasurable task in itself. I started out with a round cordierite stone (not the KK stone), aiming for 700°F, which was what worked on my previous rig. 700° was too hot, so I went to 600°F. The tops were burning before the bottom crust was done, so I switched to a 1/4" steel. The bottoms burned before the tops were done. Then I tried with the stone on top of the steel-success! 600° for about 5 minutes. I don't even have to turn them. I have a 21"KK, so YMMV. There are lots of more experienced experts here who will have more tips, and there is for sure more than one path to pizza nirvana.

What is not clear to me is how far the sensor would reach into the KK. Chris was surprised by the thickness I measured on mine. I wouldn't think having it just barely peeking through the hole would be ideal.

It is not clear to me if the GGG temperature sensor probe is long enough to work with a KK. Chris indicated that they would be posting dimensional drawings a while ago, but it hasn't happened.

I keep my FireBoaord turned on even when I'm controlling manually. I like to have a log of what I did and what happened as a result, so I can learn a little bit along the way, without having to actually pay much attention in the moment.

I have discovered that putting a pan of water in the KK will drop the temp pretty quickly, at least if it hasn't been heat-soaked for too long.

I don't know about Meater, but the Combustion probes don't have any problems for me.

I just got my 3rd and 4th avocados in 45 years. (Don't grow your tree from the seed.)

Kinda like a basket splitter just for the middle.

This is true, but that does not mean it is useless information. It indicates the temperature the food is actually "feeling" due to it's own evaporative cooling. This opens up an entirely new way of managing a cook. Although not that practical in a KK, you can start with a high "oven" temperature, than dial it back as the cooling cloud around the food dissipates to avoid overshooting the desired internal food temperature.

I have two of the Combustion thermometers. If you lean towards the geeky, they are lots of fun. Users on reddit have reported reliability issues, but it's not clear what percentage of the user base they represent. I did have one go bad and they replaced it right away.

We did pizza last night and I clipped a temperature probe right under the steel. It settled in to an average of about 740°F while the dome was at 600°F, and ran that way for a solid 2 hours before I shut it down. I didn't think to measure the stone. It's hard to estimate how much longer it would have gone by looking at the remaining fuel this morning, but I think the may have been another half hour if I needed it. Another data point.

21", cordierite stone, 600°F. I start the fire, get it to ballpark temperature, which takes an about an hour, add more fuel, the grates, steel, and stone, then let it heat soak another hour or so. The steel and stone are on the upper (as opposed to main) grate with the short handles down, so the stone is slightly above the lip of the KK. I find I can hold the temperature longer with this setup than any other I have tried so far, although I haven't done it enough times to know for how long. I think we are doing pretty much the same thing in principal.

That's very interesting. I found that a stone by itself doesn't get hot enough (top burnt/crust under done), and a baking steel gets too hot (crust burns before the top is done), but if I put the stone right on top of the steel, it's about right. I then manage the fire for the dome temp I want, which has been around 600°F lately. Quite astute.

Why do we believe anything? I'm not going to touch that. . . Probably because it works pretty well. It's hot enough to move things along, but not so hot that the outside gets burned before the inside gets done. There are a couple of thoughts here. The first that comes to mind is that older ovens don't have settings in that fine of increments. My 1950s era gas stove only has marks in 25° steps. One of the things I learned in my brief stint in the world of metrology is that a specification isn't to meaningful without a tolerance, and a measurement isn't too meaningful if you don't know the uncertainty of your measuring instrument. We assume or tools are sufficiently accurate, and mostly they are, but I rather suspect that ∓25° is plenty good enough for most food in an oven. So some of us probably are cooking at 361°, 342°, or 373° and we can't tell the difference. The same goes for time. Also, I think round numbers are just easier to publish and remember, and most recipes come from a time when the available tools were much simpler than what we have access to today.

I have trouble leaving well enough alone, so I stole some doll eyes from my wife's craft supplies and glued them to the buttons. The clear silicone adhesive I tried first failed, but the light grey construction adhesive seems to be holding up ok. It makes the button more visible, too.

I use a Fireboard 2 Pro with thermocouple probes and a BBQ Guru Pit Viper fan. It has worked well for me. I like the large display that can be read from a distance. The the BBQ Guru fans are the only ones that fit the KK's fan port, as far as I am aware. My main gripe is that the on-unit control buttons are both hard to see and feel.

You don't have to worry about any biological contamination.

What temp are you cooking it to, and over how long of a time? I would expect that your restarted cook would be enough to eliminate any pathogens.

I have made pandoro a couple of times, but my wife doesn't like listening to the mixer for an hour while I incorporate the butter.

Actually, I like using the FireBoard, mainly for the logs I can get that show the interplay between all the temperatures. Today I used it without the fan just to see what effects the vent controls were having. Different stokes, I guess...

As one of the klutzes using a FireBoard, I haven't experienced the kind of problems @Mcdddy describes. A few things to check: Do you have the open lid detect on or off? I find that it can be a little glitchy. On a low and slow, once the KK is well heat soaked, you don't really need it. If you are running the fan off the FireBoard battery, it will not run at 100% unless the FireBoard is freshly and fully charged. Even then it will start cutting the fan back before long. Plug the FireBoard into the AC charger, and it will then run at 100% as long as it needs to. Yep, another wire. Where is your pit probe? The closer it gets to your meat, the more the meat will cool the probe, resulting in the fan blowing more. If the probe has a line-of-sight path to burning fuel, it will pick up some radiant heat and the fan will blow less. It's just another thing to try to be consistent with. I use a Looftlighter to get 3 or 4 chunks of lump with spots glowing, then close the lid and let the KK and FireBoard do their thing. It usually takes an hour to get to temp, although I wouldn't say things are heat soaked until another hour after that.