<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Thomas Nguyen:
I'm curious how difficult it would be to build your own automatic temp control unit like the Guru or Stoker. Has anyone had any success in this kind of project? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
There was a recent thread on a homebrew solution based on off-the-shelf controllers. Problem is that it is not that much cheaper and you wind up spending at least half as much for a crude system.
I actually used to own a company building small specialized electronic devices. And I can tell you that this device does a ton relative to what they charge for it, and the small market for it.
If you have spent $600-$1000 on the smoker, adding $200 to it to make it a complete system is not much. If it saves two or three cooks from going bad, it pays for itself. And with things like the web interface, it adds a level of joy to the hobby that simply is not there.
Finally, as you may know, I have written a program to control the stoker. And you are getting that for free
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