Can it run without a fan? Is there a temporary fan mounting solution?


 
C

CSchaaf

TVWBB Member
Hey everyone

Probably dumb questions, but here it goes.

I'm interested in building out a HM, but I don't anticipate using the fan all that often. I have a Kamado Joe Classic and, at least right now, I don't do a lot of low and slow cooks where I would need the fan. It's a great option to have, though, when I do one - especially an overnight.

So, I think the bulk of my HM usage would be or temperature monitoring (grate and food). The WiFi and alarming piece is also important to me.

My questions are:
  • Can I run the HM without the fan attached?
  • Is there a temporary way to attach the fan to my KJ so that I can add it when I need it and remove it when I don't?

Thanks!
 
Of course you can run without a fan! All the monitoring stuff works even if it isn't controlling anything. It won't get mad and shut itself off because it is out of control or anything.

As for attaching the blower, the ceramic cookers have that really nice vent down on the bottom that is easy to integrate with. Just attach the fan to a piece of metal that just fits inside the vent track. There's extra space on the top half of the track so you just insert that side first, lift it all the way up so it fits over the bottom half of the track and drop it into place. Close the vent to take up the extra space (shown here with rotodamper but the plate is the same for just a blower)



I actually used a piece of stiff cardboard (not corrugated, the flat stuff) for over a year because I stink at metalwork and it worked fine too until it got all soggy and slumpy.

For attaching the blower to that, you can just glue it to a piece of metal pipe (like a EMT conduit connector from the electrical section of Home Depot). An inch away from the firebox the temperatures are far below the melting point of the fan plastic.
 
As Bryan said, sure you can use the HM without the blower, but WHY? If you want to just monitor temps then maybe a Chef alarm or something similar would work just as well for cheaper. The whole point of the HM is to control the grill temp so it is stable and your food cooks reliably.
 
Thanks, guys

Ralph - I've been wrestling with this question. I like HM for the WiFi integration and that it can alarm through the app. I also think it looks like an interesting project. I haven't done anything like it before.

If I get a Chef Alarm, I'd have no opportunity to upgrade it to add a fan if/when I needed one.

At this point, most of what we cook doesn't need the low and slow temperature control. For those, I'd use it mostly to have it tell me when the grill is hot, and when the food is up to temp. Is the HM an expensive solution to do only that? Yeah. But,

I've done a few pork butt low and slows, but during the day so I could check the temp periodically. It wasn't a big deal to check the temps, and butts have a pretty wide range. When I graduate up to more expensive, and precise cuts, I'd like to use the fan. Or for an overnight cook.

Ultimately, I need a dual (or more) probe device anyway. I can go low cost and get one without a fan or WiFi, but I'd be without a controller.

The HM might be more than I ever really need, but, in this case, I think that's better than buying something that fulls my current needs - but having to buy something else down the road if I want temp control for a few cooks.
 
I use the HM just for temp monitoring, i don't need the fan function as i have a pellet grill. I wanted more probes than the mavericks have and 4 probe devices weren't yet available so i built a HM and haven't looked back..
 
I use the HeaterMeter for all sorts of things beyond controlling the grill too. I've:
  • Compared and plotted out the temperature differences at various points in my refrigerator
  • Monitored the temperature in my convection oven (which does an amazing job at maintaining a 300F temperature by the way)
  • Done toaster oven reflow soldering temperature monitoring
  • Kept tabs on fermentation of homebrew
  • Monitored oven roasts and pot roasts with notifications and graphs!

I mean it may not be as convenient as a battery powered temperature monitor for cooking and other stuff, but you just can't beat the wifi + graph. I can watch it while working on the computer, from the couch, at the grocery store. Just because it isn't controlling the device doesn't make it any less awesome! :)
 
Sure you can use the HM for lots of things, but if you are using a HM to monitor food temps on a grill that doesn't already have a temperature controller then I think it's a shame not to use the HM to control the grill. To each his own I guess...
 
I see what you are saying.

When I am throwing some pizzas on the grill - a temperature range of 100 degrees doesn't really make a big difference to me. Same with the burgers I did last night - 500? Fine. 550? Fine. 600? I can work with that.

For those cooks, I would just disconnect the HM. I wanted to make sure I could disconnect relatively easily.

I suppose on most cooks where I would be monitoring the food temperature, I'll probably also use the fan. But it's nice to know that I don't have to. That's all I was really asking.

Thanks for the responses. I think I'll go for it. I'm sure I'll be back with more dumb questions. ;)
 
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