Bad Stoker experience

Hi Folks,

I bought a Stoker recently and am beginning to wish I had purchased a DigiQ instead.

After my purchase, a week went by and I noticed that my account had not been debited yet. I sent an email asking when I might expect it to be mailed out. Another week goes by with no response. At this point I am feeling ignored, so I sent an email letting them know I was still waiting for a response to my previous email. I finally get a response that they are waiting for a part. I had no problem waiting for the part, but I did have a problem with the lack of communication. I think it was about a week and a half after that last email that I was sent my Stoker.

So last weekend I do my first cook with the Stoker. All went well. But today the Stoker began to act up on me. The blower would not stop blowing. I set my Stoker for 200 degrees and it was 240 before I decided that I needed to do something. I turned the thing on and off, unplugged and plugged back in the power cord, unplugged all of the blower and temp plugs multiple times in an effort to reset the thing. Finally it started working properly and I left it alone for most of the day. But late in the day when I tried to reset the temps higher I had the same problems. Nothing I did got it back on track, and I gave up and finished up in the oven. Now I am dreading the horrible customer service I am anticipating I will need to deal with. I hope I am wrong.

I bought the Stoker because it had multiple temp probes, not because of all the fancy computer stuff. Reliability is a much bigger factor now. I just thought I'd share in case someone is thinking of buying a Stoker.

-Christine

Well while I can understand anyones frustration with a tricky new device, I'm not sure coming on the forum and flaming the point in public is the best way to deal with your problems. There are a lot of people on this site that use one or the other of the two you mentioned, and I'm sure if you posted this in the appropriate forum you'll get all the help you might want.

As Tom said you should really post this in the appropriate form, that would be here. Sorry to hear about your troubles.

Moving to Automatic Temperature Control Systems forum.

Regards,
Chris

Originally posted by Tom Chips:
Well while I can understand anyones frustration with a tricky new device, I'm not sure coming on the forum and flaming the point in public is the best way to deal with your problems. There are a lot of people on this site that use one or the other of the two you mentioned, and I'm sure if you posted this in the appropriate forum you'll get all the help you might want.

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Hi Tom,

I guess I don't understand your viewpoint. If someone else was having problems with something I was interested in buying, I would certainly want to know about it. I don't think this is an operator error issue, I think I got a defective product and lousy service. I guess I thought people could state their true opinions about things on this site. I guess I was wrong.

-C

Christine,

Like others, I'm sorry to hear your experience. However, please keep in mind that I just got a used stoker, and it works, but I did have a couple small problems, one that turned out to be how the network was configured.

The unit seems to work ok. What revision is your stoker running?

I'm running the latest Alpha from the kaytat site. I can sympathize with your thoughts on making a mistake, and imagine the Stoker is not for everyone. A colleague of mine uses a Guru DigiII and he loves it for it's ease of use. I think that has a lot of pluses for the masses, but the Stoker is so much more.

I have worked with embedded systems, and the Stoker is setup nicely, for today's world. It allows you to monitor from a computer attached to the network, could even be a phone these days...and this is really nice.

Also, it has an interface that you can program to, and while it is slightly primitive, it is available and can be accessed by anyone.

The unit itself can be flashed, and I've updated mine several times now thinking that my network issue was really the revision it was running.

Because these are network devices, some problems require some knowledge of networks, my situation as a case in point.

I would like to know some of the basics of how you have your system setup.

Is it connected directly to the inet with a static IP? Or behind some type of firewall? Using NAT?

Hopefully this makes sense to you, I don't want to insult your intelligence, but don't know how much you know about computers...and for that matter I don't know what your problem is, just want to disclaim...

Also, how do you run your probes in to your cooker?

I just did my fist 2 cooks, but I used the Stoker and I did get a chance to test it and see how it works when the numbers are changed...

My pit got hot overnight a bit, and the alarm was on when I awoke, but when I closed the top vent it came down nicely and I ran mine mostly closed, about 10% open.

Another thing to check is the connectors on the probes, this looks to be a delicate area of these systems, the probe side especially, but the 1/4" jack has some type of electronics in it, I read so that it can determine what type of device it is.

It is a well designed system, IMO, has a web server built in for the interfacing, and that is good for a lot of folks. The bad side is that HTTP is not a real friendly language for most.

Understanding and having it, even though I've had a couple issues getting it setup myself, I wouldn't want the guru at all, and knew that already. This is an appliance, the guru is a device. This has a lot of smarts built into it, and you can add on top of it, StokerLog for one, but the Ruby on Rails interface shows some promise, IMO, it will not be for everyone either.

Anyway, hang in there, I believe this is a very interesting product, take some time to get it setup and see how it works, there's a lot of folks that do cooks on it all the time. There must be something wrong in the configuration or the network. Knowing how your network is setup would help alot (i.e., DBCP, static, NAT, ISP, etc...).

Perhaps it was the tone of your posting. Perhaps reading this post:

http://tvwbb.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9270072103/m/7370034755

will let you understand what has been going on there. Give them a break.

Besides, in your post, your just raving about the product, which you used once, telling how bad it is and how poor the service is. You didn't ask for help, or if anyone else had the same issue, you just fired away in anger. Which I get. You dropped lots o fcash on a product. It didn't work the first time you used it. But remember, it was the first time, according to your post.
In any case, sometime the stoker overshoots. There are lots of variables when getting it up to temp. Did you do any of these things?

Did you boil your probe in water and test to see if it was accurate? A 10% variable on a probe at 212 is 21 degrees... Probes can be bad...
Did you allow for time for the grill to get to temp and hold it, without opening the lid or touching it in anyway?
Did you do a test run to see how the unit performs with your grill/smoker?
According to the Naked Whiz, the stoker can overshoot:
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/productreviews/stoker/stoker3.htm

I have used the stoker countless times, and have never had an issue. And maybe you have a bad unit. But i would try it again, doing some dry runs (as in no food) and see if it is bad.
And give the Stoker guys a break. If you took the time to read that post, you would really understand the situation.
jb

Christine, I had a very similar experience to yours out of the gate with my Stoker. In-fact, I had to send my first two Stokers back to the factory due to hardware issues. I've had customer service issues, emails not returned, phone calls not returned etc., and I hate to say this if you had done your homework regarding Rock's this wouldn't have come as a surprise to you. I'm not saying its right just a fact. If you look at an earlier post/rant I did today I said as much regarding Rock's eyelets/customer service. However, once I got a good unit I've never looked back. Did a brisket today, monitored from my laptop while doing some catch-up work using Stokerlog, got emails sent to me using Stoker Timer. I don't currently have multiple pits but once my Kamado gets here I will. Hang in there, it may not be pleasant and it may be frustrating but once you get your unit working properly you'll be very satisfied, trust me.

Regarding stating your true opinion, your post is still active, the moderator (Chris) didn't delete it so I don't think you've been censored . . . yet Just kidding of course, if I haven't been censored yet you won't be. If you have any questions feel free to email me at my email address listed in my profile I'm happy to provide whatever assistance I can.

James, I had the same hardware issues Christine is having and had to send two Stokers back to the factory, not operator error. These were pre-John's medical issues, which of course I feel bad about and I wish John the best, however, customer service has never been Rock's strong point. This fact is very well documented on this site and others, no secret here. In the beginning I had great customer service from Rocks . . . when I could get someone on the phone. I would call in and John would answer himself and dealt personally with my two bad units. He was sincere and helpful when I got him, this is documented in previous posts. However, there were still issues similar to what Christine has expressed and it took three units being sent to me to get it right. If memory serves me correctly I mentioned that stuff happens with hardware, which I understand, it’s still not a reason to return someone’s phone call, that’s basic customer service and courtesy. Again I’m sympathetic to medical issues but all my issues were pre-these conditions.

Lastly, love my Stoker and Stokerlog.

Did you associate the blower with the pit probe?

The stoker needs to know which probe is to be used to control the fan. It sounds like there was no association.

IMHO the stoker system is a great value. It's not a simple on/off switch.

Roger

Hey all,

Thanks for your responses. I apologize if my tone came off too angry, I didn't mean to offend anyone.

Yes, I was ticked off because I spent a lot of money on the thing, and I probably should cool off first before I post. And the comment about not being able to share what I think on this site was inappropriate. This is a great site, and one that I have learned a lot on. So, again, apologies to all, but mostly to Chris A. who runs a great site.

In response to questions, yes I did make sure each time I turned the stoker back on that it did have the blower turned on for that particular temp probe.

The version I am running is 2.1.3

The probes were run through eyelets I had installed.

All of the connectors (and blower) looked like they were in good condition, but there could have been something going on internally. Although if there had been a faulty connection, I would assume the blower would shut down, not continue on.

I never saw an indication that the grate and food temp probes were off the temps they should be at which makes me think it is either the blower wiring or the unit itself.

When the temp overshot itself, I did not open the WSM at all. I just sat and watched as it climbed 40 degrees higher than the goal temp, realizing that wasn't ever going to stop.

In terms of my setup, it was really simple. I put the stoker on a chair near the WSM and had only the blower, grate temp probe, and meat temp probe hooked in. I double checked the meat probe with my CDN thermometer and it was only 2 degrees off. The grate thermometer is about 20 degrees off from my lid thermometer. Both of those seemed to have been rock steady since I got the thing, so I have no concerns here. My issue is just that the blower does not stop blowing. If anyone can see where I have not done something right, I would be more than happy for advice. I have a feeling that I will just need to work with the folks at Rock's until this is resolved. It's a bit discouraging to hear that it took Larry 3x to get one that worked, but hopefully it will only take one return for me.

Well, I think I've overshot my welcome on this topic. I'm outta here.

-C

I knew you would get the info you wanted here in the appropriate forum. It's not a matter of venting frustrations. We all do it from time to time. Your opinions are as welcome here as anyone else's. It just interpreted poorly sometimes when someone gets a lit hot under the collar and starts slamming a product or a person behind it, when it could be resolved another way.

Christine,

Welcome to the forum..

Sorry to hear about your experience. My advice would be to just call John at Rock's BBQ. The email communication is in fact a medium that we all get hooked in to using first vs. just picking up the phone and calling. I am on the east coast and if I need something from John, I just pick up the phone and he answers. I am quite sure it a pretty simple fix. Also, take your time to really use the Stoker. At the end of the day, it is a great product. I own one and it's competitor. Both again are great units.

Christine,

Here's one more suggestion, which comes as a result of my own occasional confusion in trying to find my way through the Stoker's menus while setting the unit up. It appears that it is possible to inadvertently associate the blower with the meat probe. If that happened, the blower would want to run continuously until the meat had reached its target temperature (which of course would run the cooking temp sky-high). I have not tried this to see if it can actually happen. But I have accidentally pushed the wrong button at the wrong time, while trying to set up the meat probe, and had to go back and undo my error. Be sure you have the blower associated with the pit probe, and no blower selected when setting up the meat probe.

Christine,

Try hooking up the stoker's Ethernet connection. I'm curious to see the status page. This will show which probe is associated to the blower. Maybe you can post a screen shot here.

You can also telnet to the stoker and it will feed data back through the connection. This data would be helpful The login is:

Login: "root"
Password: "tini"
command: bbq -k
command: gc
command: bbq -t (this will start the data stream)

Post a sample of this data if you can.

Good luck,

Roger

It's a bit discouraging to hear that it took Larry 3x to get one that worked, but hopefully it will only take one return for me.

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Christine, as much as it sucks, hardware issues happen; just happened it happened to me twice. In the end everything worked out and I'm glad I stuck with it. At the time my frustration level was increased as my buddy Ed C. had just received his DigiQ II and was smoking like crazy telling me how great his unit was etc. You're experiencing the exact same problem I had, no matter what I did the blower would not turn off. Under normal operation when you turn your Stoker on the blower turns on for about 5 seconds and then turns off and goes into whatever cycle it needs based on where your pit temp is set. Not mine, she just kept running and running, would never shut off. John told me it's a known issues with a couple of the units, stuff happens . . .

Just keep calling Rocks, I found if you call early in the morning, say around 9:00 a.m. you have a better chance of reaching someone. Once you do they'll take care of you but you've got to be proactive and not just leave a message or send an email and expect you'll receive a response.

Stick with it as in the end you'll love your Stoker, it's such an awesome tool (toy), I don't regret sticking with at all.

Christine,
Couple of other things to chime in here. Assuming your Stoker is hooked to a WSM, make sure your other two bottom vents are closed completely, and if cooking at 250 or less, top vent only needs to be 25-50% open. Make sure your fan is oriented properly so that the metal flap can close air flow off when the fan is off. On mine (one of the very first ones produced) that means the hole from the dog bowl is at the bottom side when mounted to the WSM. Also, make sure there is enough space between the meat your are cooking and the pit probe. A cold butt next to the pit probe would cause it to read low, and obviously keep the fan on. I'm assuming the 240 temp you mentioned was from the pit probe and not the lid thermometer you have?

Based on what you wrote, it does sound like it is more likely to be either a defective unit, or a miss on something such as the blower association that others have mentioned. I would also highly recommend Amir's StokerLog program as I think it makes "understanding" what is going on with the Stoker easier. It is easy to get confused when working through the various menus on the Stoker itself.

I too have had Stoker problems and I can understand peoples anger and frustration,especially since you can get virtually NO help from John at Rocks for usually weeks,if ever ! I just ordered a DigiQ II today and I am looking forward to putting it thru the paces.I now know of several people who have had to return their Stoker unit 3 and 4 times before they got a good unit,what does that say about quality control ? I guess I will see which one works better for me and then I will sell the other.I just have a REAL issue(I own my own bussiness)with customer care and satisfaction,and from what I and others have experienced and from reading alot here,there is NONE from Rock's or John.When I ordered my Stoker,10 months ago,I also ordered the 12 volt adapter,when I got the Stoker a note was there saying the adapter was out of stock,I waited 2 months and finally called John,he said he would send one right out,2 more months I call again,he said he would send it out,well I never got it and have finally given up on getting what I paid for.I also bought the Stoker for the basic intended use,not all the computer stuff that I will never need nor use,but again,the basic Stoker has so many problems that it is hard to get really reliable service out of it on a regular basis.I was using mine for competions,I will now tri the DigiQ II and see how it performs,hopefully better,because one of these units will be history !

Sorry to hear about your experience with the stoker. May I ask what version of software you are running on your stoker?

I have had my stoker for months and have not had one issue with it. The only issue that i had was with the wireless connection, which was third party, but I have since then gotten a new adapter. Other than that, it has not given me any issues that I know of. I have used the it with out the laptop and it still works as advertised. I too own the digi Q2 and it has worked great as well.

Originally posted by T Hoffman:
I too have had Stoker problems and I can understand peoples anger and frustration,especially since you can get virtually NO help from John at Rocks for usually weeks,if ever ! I just ordered a DigiQ II today and I am looking forward to putting it thru the paces.I now know of several people who have had to return their Stoker unit 3 and 4 times before they got a good unit,what does that say about quality control ? I guess I will see which one works better for me and then I will sell the other.I just have a REAL issue(I own my own bussiness)with customer care and satisfaction,and from what I and others have experienced and from reading alot here,there is NONE from Rock's or John.When I ordered my Stoker,10 months ago,I also ordered the 12 volt adapter,when I got the Stoker a note was there saying the adapter was out of stock,I waited 2 months and finally called John,he said he would send one right out,2 more months I call again,he said he would send it out,well I never got it and have finally given up on getting what I paid for.I also bought the Stoker for the basic intended use,not all the computer stuff that I will never need nor use,but again,the basic Stoker has so many problems that it is hard to get really reliable service out of it on a regular basis.I was using mine for competions,I will now tri the DigiQ II and see how it performs,hopefully better,because one of these units will be history !

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Sorry to hear of your problems with the Stoker.

If you decide to get rid of the stoker, I might be interested in purchasing it from you.

Roger

My 2 cents worth. Stuff happens. I would be very curious to know how many times I've heard, "Well, that's never happened before" when returning a brand spanking new product because it didn't work the right out of the box. In the case of my Stoker however, it worked correctly the first time, even though I've had issues. But I still trust it to do the job, so I did a long cook yesterday while at the golf course. This being said, you're not the first person who might have received a bad one, and you probably won't be the last. I'm sure John regrets the problem people have and will do what he can to resolve the problem if you call him. Just don't expect a response to your e-mail inquiries, not going to happen.