Newbie to the Stoker Temperature regulator...it is Great!

[MadMedik]

I just recently got Rock's Stoker power draft system. I know nothing of the competitor's product (bbq guru), so i speak only of the Stoker. It worked very well and was quite accurate. I lit the fire an hour before i wanted to cook so i could play with the Temp Settings on the Stoker. Got the hang of it, and then set it for 260 and began my cook... it was an overnight 14 hour cook for the pork butt. It regulated the Pit Temp quite well. I noticed that the Pit Temp was at 260, and the Dome temp was close to 240 most of the night....close to 250 when i woke up in the morning. A few hours later, the Dome temp was 280, so i turned the Stoker Pit temp down to 250, and the Dome Temp did come down a bit. It was a relaxing night of sleep knowing my fire temp was being regulated with the Stoker. Definitely worth the price of it. The temperature i set it for, 260, was accurate all night within +/- 2 degrees all night. I did get it networked so i could view the chart/graph of the cook via the internet. Stoker has a 3rd party application you can download that has a very cool way to control your temps, see the Pit and Food temps, and see also when the fan is turning on.... below is a screen shot of this for those who have never seen this before. It will mark/indicate when you started the cook, when you opened the lid, when the fan turned on, and will show you your Pit Temps and Food Temp continuously. It is really cool...unless you don't like gadgets..... The only "confusing" part of using the Stoker is Pit Temp (where your food is placed) versus the Dome Temp (the TruTel Thermometer that Dennis supplies). I had to decide if i wanted to cook on the Dome Temp...which is what i am used to...or the Pit Temp....which is different than the Dome Temps. The two Temps are not the same. At first i thought Dome was about 20 degrees less than the actual Pit Temp, but as the cooked progressed, the Dome PIt actually got hotter than the Pit Temp....but this was in the 12th to 13th hour of the cook before it exceeded the Pit.. Gotta think about this difference for future cooks... ??? It was very cool seeing this Stoker in action. quite easy to use. Fairly easy set up. If you ever wished you could control your heat more easily, or monitor the temps while away from your home, this is the way to go. I have read the BBQ guru works well, but without remote/internet monitoring... Either way, you probably cannot go wrong. Thanks for reading....come on people, get out there and cook something !!! MadMedik

[mguerra]

Re: Newbie to the Stoker Temperature regulator...it is Great

This temperature discrepancy between the KK thermometer and the Stoker, or Guru, thermometer is oft remarked on. It is of no consequence whatsoever for a low and slow. Set the Stoker for 225 and forget it. You will get perfect results. Don't waste time thinking about it.