Chris Young's Giant Grill Gauge, Combustion Engine, and Predictive Thermometer

[David Chang]

This setup replaces the dome thermometer (magnetic and removeable), the blower fan (now rechargeable and wireless), and wireless probes (900F limit).

If getting the bundle, an extra thermometer, and port adapter, you're looking at a wireless setup in excess of over $600 USD. 

 

https://combustion.inc/pages/giant-grill-gauge

 

 

 

 

 

[wrandyr]

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.

[David Chang]

14 hours ago, wrandyr said:

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.

some info from reddit

[wrandyr]

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.

[David Chang]

i see, your concern is because our tel tru is extremely long-stemmed. i was thinking of the stem diameter.

i dunno, someone needs to spend the $$$ and report back to us..

[David Chang]

their customer service got back to me on my questions. 

"The sensor tube for the GGG is 4mm x 86mm (0.16 x 3.39”)"

 

this is a very short thermometer stem compared to the 5 inch tel-tru on the kk..

 

[wrandyr]

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.

[David Chang]

if by tweaking, then making a longer stem just to satisfy 4 or 5 curious kk users will probably never happen…

[Syzygies]

My routine setup for using pit probes through the Tel-Tru dome hole is to set a "stop" on the probe using an alligator clip. (I now use those things hippies used to use to smoke joints, to smoke meats.)

This has the advantage of never exposing the probe cable to high temperatures, easing stabilizing the KK for making bread. I'm familiar with the standard advice that a pit probe should be near the meat, but that advice is cooker-agnostic. In my experience there can be a large discrepancy at first between dome temp and grill temp, but they converge as the KK stabilizes because the KK is so well insulated. Limiting the dome temp is a better way to keep the fire from overshooting; in a way the dome temp is the actual temperature, and asking the KK to maintain a flat pit temp near the grill is asking the fire to supply an initial surge so the dome temp can swing high. Of course there's an overshoot risk.

Controlling the dome temp is simply a different flight path for getting to your destination, and one I'm happy with. For low & slow barbecue, the meat stays colder longer, absorbing more of the clean smoke from my "smoke pot" (my other hippy to meat transition) before we reach cruising altitude.

Dave's not here! (I think he's in back, at the cooker.)

So I'd be very happy with a dome controller; that's what I already do. And I'm rather unhappy with my newest controller from that legacy company, so I'm ready to move on. Based on that experience, my biggest concern is how well the MeatNet™ Cloud works. My $30 Leviton Smart Switch in the garage updates its app instantly when I use the physical switch, so we know IT competence isn't a "class" thing. My legacy controller (cloud or bluetooth) will blithely lie that 20 minute old data is current, with no visual indication that my phone is failing to update. I so wish there were hardware episodes of Squid Game for AI to watch. I'd be happy to be the human on the ground, filming a YouTube video where sledge hammer meets product.

Anyhow, I've seen little difference between having the tip of the probe barely protrude and having it dangle well inside. One gets predictable cooks either way. Numbers are arbitrary (and this is coming from a mathematician).

Edited Thursday at 04:50 PM by Syzygies

[David Chang]

huh, i never thought of threading the ambient probe through the tel-tru hole. i've always used the side port for grate level monitoring. 

i honestly don't need this gadget as my cooking on the KK has declined over the years (eating less meats, smaller appetite as i get older), but i like the ideal of turning the KK into a wireless cyborg. 

you're probably right about the convergence of grate and dome temp over time as things stabilize, i'm just waiting for someone to pull the trigger and test if this thing works as advertised..

[wrandyr]

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. 

[Syzygies]

13 hours ago, wrandyr said:

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. 

I too have seen the "too long" effect but less the "too short" effect. I like would expect to guide experiments.

Perhaps my favorite BBQ book is Legends of Texas Barbecue by Robb Walsh, although I follow none of its recipes. The stories bring home the attitude and diversity of technique, discovered experimentally, of various cooks. No one to watch the fire while you sleep? Let it die, in a brick-lined wood oven that holds heat well, and build it again in the morning. The meat that comes out is famous.

Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas generally cooks everything at 275 F. Why? He builds these cookers from 1,000 gallon recycled propane tanks, and he has a restaurant to run. As it happens, I've found 275 F to be a far better universal choice than the 225 F I first learned, though one can learn to work with either.

This discussion reminds me most of Neopolitan Pizza discussions. I know an Italian cook who has traveled Italy with an infrared shooter thermometer, and the exalted temperatures people claim to use are relative to where one takes the reading. It's a temptation to latch on to a mythical high temperature as the "proof" one is a great pizza cook, rather than learning what reading works best with one's dough, technique, and cooker.

I love that Chris Young's Combustion Engine is a simple dial. I don't expect consistency in someone else's shower, and I expect the numbers I'll use are again just readings, relative to this specific feedback loop. I don't fear that the probe will be "too short" as long as its tip reaches dome air. I do fear that this discussion will spook Chris Young into making us a probe that's "too long", though as you imply the workaround is to be careful how one uses the upper grill.

In any case I do intend to take one for the team and buy this setup, after they answer my email.

Edited 19 hours ago by Syzygies

[David Chang]

17 hours ago, Syzygies said:

In any case I do intend to take one for the team and buy this setup, after they answer my email.

30-day return policy if it doesn't work out...