Quick Question - Fireboard Drive

[Cheesehead_Griller]

I'm in the market for a multi-port thermometer that I can add a blower to in the future. I am leaning towards the Firebird 2 Pro. (I have a vision issue and the large print on the FIreboard 2 is very helpful.) My question is how does the Fireboard Drive connect to the KK? I don't see they offer a "port hole" connection option. If the Fireboard Drive doesn't interface with the KK then I'll reconsider the ThermoWorks Signals + Billows. 

Any info you can share would be much appreciated. Thanks! 

 

Any info you can share would be much appreciated. Thanks! 

Edited December 21, 2021 by Cheesehead_Griller

[BOC]

I have a FireBoard pro and a I just use a pit Bull fan from bbq guru. I have a 32, if any smaller I’d have just gone with the pit viper. Works great. You could buy the FireBoard fan too, you’d just need the circle adapter so it fits in the guru port on the kk.


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[Cheesehead_Griller]

41 minutes ago, BOC said:

I have a FireBoard pro and a I just use a pit Bull fan from bbq guru. I have a 32, if any smaller I’d have just gone with the pit viper. Works great. You could buy the FireBoard fan too, you’d just need the circle adapter so it fits in the guru port on the kk.


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That’s what I’m going to do. Thanks! I have a 32 so I’ll go with the same setup as you. 
 

How do you like the Pro with the Type K? Regret not getting the Drive with more ports? 

[BOC]

How do you like the Pro with the Type K? Regret not getting the Drive with more ports? 

In hind site, I probably would have gone for the Drive because of the limited ports in the Pro. But I do like that I can use it for a sear, especially handy with a tomahawk steak. And I haven’t really needed that many different probes but on maybe one occasion where I had 3 different types of proteins going at once.

Once you get it, one starters note. Close the damper door on the pit Bull. You won’t want it all the way open, it will cause you to go over temp because it’s just too much air if not dampened.


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[Cheesehead_Griller]

1 hour ago, BOC said:

 

In hind site, I probably would have gone for the Drive because of the limited ports in the Pro. But I do like that I can use it for a sear, especially handy with a tomahawk steak. And I haven’t really needed that many different probes but on maybe one occasion where I had 3 different types of proteins going at once.

Once you get it, one starters note. Close the damper door on the pit Bull. You won’t want it all the way open, it will cause you to go over temp because it’s just too much air if not dampened.


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Regarding the limited ports on the Pro, couldn't you get another food probe and run three food probes and eliminate the ambient probe? Specifically for short cooks/grilling when you are not using the Guru. 

Close the damper 25%, 50%,....?

[BOC]

Yes to your question on the 3 and it isn’t really a problem I need to sort. I have I grill as well, so I have my options. I mostly went FireBoard for water resistance, battery life and Wifi connectivity. Very happy with it. I just thought I’d use the high temp probes more than I have.

I keep my damper about 50% closed. Give it a few test runs though.


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[tony b]

On my Guru fan, I'm usually running only 1/4 to 1/3 open. The fan does the "heavy lifting" and supplies plenty of combustion air to keep the fire going. If you allow too much natural draft with a fully open fan damper, you can easily lose control of your temperatures, as no device will lower the temperature once it exceeds the setting you've given it. Also another good reason to just barely crack the top vent off its seat - just until you see smoke exiting.

[BOC]

Good add Tony B. I didn’t touch on the KK vents at all, I was just talking the fan damper itself. What you stated is true for me as well. Just a crack open on the top hat of the KK. Once I get it going I usually adjust the bottom vent to be the big hole on the right or a quarter on the left max.


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[Murph27]

I might be too late if Cheesehead has already made a decision, but I have a relevant setup and thought I'd give my $0.02.

I went with the Fireboard 2 drive (up to 6 thermistor and/or RTD probes; no type-k thermocouples) and the pit viper fan (slightly cheaper version of the pit bull).  I am very satisfied with this setup and wouldn't recommend upgrading to the pro or the pit bull unless you expect most of your cooking to be at 450ºF or hotter.

While the pit bull is only $20-30 more expensive than the pit viper, I have never found the pit viper to be insufficient.  Remember, these grills are extremely efficient--they don't require the same kind of airflow you would need in a kettle (or even other kamado-style cookers, for that matter).  10 CFM has always been plenty for my needs (I believe the pit bull does up to 25 CFM).  If you expect most of your cooks to be high-temp cooks, I suppose the extra oomph from the pit bull could be worth the peace of mind.  That said, as others mentioned above with the pit bull, I close the damper on my pit viper to avoid too much unintended airflow.  I typically close it down to ~40%.  I also prefer the plastic housing on the viper to the metal housing on the pit bull--I can pull my fan off right after the cook without burning my hand.  To be fair, I don't know if this is an issue for the pit bull or not.

With respect to the probe types, I will admit that I rarely use more than three probes anyway--the three-port pro isn't likely to hamper you too much there.  Even if you have, say, five butts smoking at once, you don't need to probe all five constantly--maybe one per grate level.  The only time I will use more than three probes is when I want to keep ambient temperatures for multiple parts of the grill.  For example, I might do a brisket with a point probe, a flat probe, one ambient on the main grate's right side (over the fire using grate splitter), and one ambient probe on the main grate's left side.  Honestly, this arguably gives me too much data and I end up spending more effort than necessary trying to perfect my cook.  Having said all of this, I have never been in a situation where I wanted to monitor a temp beyond the max temp for the probe ratings.  If you're cooking at those temperatures (over 700ºF for the RTD probes), you might want to consider a different type of grill.  Also, the hottest temp I cook at is for making pizza, and you don't really need more than the dome probe for that.  As such, I wouldn't spend the extra $50 to get the pro, even if you never expect to use more than three probes.

 

[BOC]

Agree with your sentiments on pit viper vs pit bull. The stronger fan is not required. Based on grill size, I went for the more powerful version but it doesn’t really need to do much in actual practice.


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[Poochie]

I use a pit viper fan with a Fireboard 1 and it does the job. Fireboard is the best controller/temp reader I've ever used. And I've had a bunch of 'em.

[Cheesehead_Griller]

1 hour ago, Murph27 said:

I might be too late if Cheesehead has already made a decision, but I have a relevant setup and thought I'd give my $0.02.

I went with the Fireboard 2 drive (up to 6 thermistor and/or RTD probes; no type-k thermocouples) and the pit viper fan (slightly cheaper version of the pit bull).  I am very satisfied with this setup and wouldn't recommend upgrading to the pro or the pit bull unless you expect most of your cooking to be at 450ºF or hotter.

While the pit bull is only $20-30 more expensive than the pit viper, I have never found the pit viper to be insufficient.  Remember, these grills are extremely efficient--they don't require the same kind of airflow you would need in a kettle (or even other kamado-style cookers, for that matter).  10 CFM has always been plenty for my needs (I believe the pit bull does up to 25 CFM).  If you expect most of your cooks to be high-temp cooks, I suppose the extra oomph from the pit bull could be worth the peace of mind.  That said, as others mentioned above with the pit bull, I close the damper on my pit viper to avoid too much unintended airflow.  I typically close it down to ~40%.  I also prefer the plastic housing on the viper to the metal housing on the pit bull--I can pull my fan off right after the cook without burning my hand.  To be fair, I don't know if this is an issue for the pit bull or not.

With respect to the probe types, I will admit that I rarely use more than three probes anyway--the three-port pro isn't likely to hamper you too much there.  Even if you have, say, five butts smoking at once, you don't need to probe all five constantly--maybe one per grate level.  The only time I will use more than three probes is when I want to keep ambient temperatures for multiple parts of the grill.  For example, I might do a brisket with a point probe, a flat probe, one ambient on the main grate's right side (over the fire using grate splitter), and one ambient probe on the main grate's left side.  Honestly, this arguably gives me too much data and I end up spending more effort than necessary trying to perfect my cook.  Having said all of this, I have never been in a situation where I wanted to monitor a temp beyond the max temp for the probe ratings.  If you're cooking at those temperatures (over 700ºF for the RTD probes), you might want to consider a different type of grill.  Also, the hottest temp I cook at is for making pizza, and you don't really need more than the dome probe for that.  As such, I wouldn't spend the extra $50 to get the pro, even if you never expect to use more than three probes.

 

I appreciate the detailed review. I have not placed an order for anything yet. Been still debating what I need and what I do not need. The only reason I would go with the Pro version to reach the higher temps is to leave the proves in the steak while searing a steak. I have through about this endlessly and I think I'm going with the basic Firebird 2 Drive. If I sear a steak over the coals I'll just wing it. I can figure it out over time without the need for a thermometer to finish it. 

I was considering the less powerful fan after reading the recommendation to close the port so much. I will take your recommendation and go with the smaller one. 

[C6Bill]

You don’t need a probe for searing. After you get the steak to your desired internal temp let it rest until that internal temp starts to drop again.  Then you can sear for a good long time before that internal temp tries to climb again.

[Murph27]

10 hours ago, Cheesehead_Griller said:

I appreciate the detailed review. I have not placed an order for anything yet. Been still debating what I need and what I do not need. The only reason I would go with the Pro version to reach the higher temps is to leave the proves in the steak while searing a steak. I have through about this endlessly and I think I'm going with the basic Firebird 2 Drive. If I sear a steak over the coals I'll just wing it. I can figure it out over time without the need for a thermometer to finish it. 

I was considering the less powerful fan after reading the recommendation to close the port so much. I will take your recommendation and go with the smaller one. 

Glad I could help.  Fwiw, I also thought about getting the pro for that reason and do not regret my decision to stick with the FB2 Drive.