HeaterMeter Gurus Wanted


 

Tom O.

TVWBB Member
Hello guys,

Long time BBQ/Griller (50 plus years) and Weber owner.

But now I have a Kamado Joe Classic II as well as my old Performer and I'm also thinking of a Smoky Mountain or stand-up smoker.

And I'm looking for a temperature controller.

It needs to be flexible enough to be able to be installed on several devices (see above) and I want WiFi and Smartphone control as well as online tracking of the cooks (graphs, etc.)

The HeaterMeter site is pretty confusing as to exactly what parts I need to achieve what I want. I asked the following on another site but haven't heard anything yet so any recommendations are appreciated:

Here is what I was looking at on the Heatermeter site and what I need help deciding.

1. Kit 4.3 With thermocouple and with blower... $96.00

2. 12 volt wall wart, already have a dozen or so ... Free

3. Raspberry PI... Have no idea what to buy. I need Wi-Fi and Display, and any other stuff for the hookups... Any help appreciated

4. Probes... Order with the thermocouple??? (which I assume is the grate temp probe???) and I have 3 or 4 Inkbird probes. Might they work??...Any help appreciated

5. Wiring and plugs? Again, I have no idea. Any help appreciated

As for all the 3D printed stuff, that is a piece of cake. I have a couple of 3D printers. Already downloaded all the files from Thingiverse for a couple of different blower/vent styles.


Tom
 
Im no guru, but one will be along soon.
Pi zero W works great, cheap
Thermoworks pro probes
Thermoworks thermocouple

Wiring is a lan cable
Jacks are type for lan cable...i forget what they are called

I recomend a damper assembly too
 
I'm no guru either but I did just complete a Heatermeter project. I used the 4.3 kit. The online instructions are great. Use your best glasses when you solder.
I used a Raspberry Pi 3 B 'cause I'm familiar with them. Works fine.
I printed an Adapt-a-damper which I like. I drew my own upper cover to fit a servo I had on hand (I'm an avid RC flyer). It turns out that it's very important to have exactly the correct servo height so that the damper seals properly but doesn't drag. I thought one of my 50 or so servos would work, but nothing would fit properly so I had to re-draw one of the components.
I use Thermoworks thermistor probes.
The entire rig is actually quite sophisticated and somewhat complicated. Anyone doing this from scratch had better be a smart guy, that's for sure. However, us regular folks who can read and who have Internet access can easily be successful thanks to all the good work by genuine smart guys and the fact that they've done such a wonderful job documenting their accomplishments.

I highly recommend the Heatermeter with an Adapt-a-damper. Mine works great. Last night I did some wings and some vegetables. I was able to monitor everything from both my desktop computer and/or my smart phone. The ability to change the temperature remotely is very nice. The alarms are good too.
 
Great info Bob and Martin, can you expand perhaps on the choice of Raspberry? And I could not find a single set of instructions in one place. I found a forum, but the thing itself is so variable, there was no simple step-by-step guide.

Please adapt your language as though talking to a dog, although an attentive and somewhat intelligent dog.

Thanks,

Tom

PS: I am also an RC hobbyist. Really great pastime when not grilling or getting ready for an SCA cook. :)
 
I thought Brian's wiki talked about the choices of raspberry pi?

The zero w has wifi built in, no adapter needed. Is powerful enough, cheap, good on battery.

I used to fly rc too. Still got planes, but theyll likely never fly again. I have vision in only one eye now, i expect depth perception to be issue in some circumstances, like landing approach.
 
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Great info Bob and Martin, can you expand perhaps on the choice of Raspberry? And I could not find a single set of instructions in one place. I found a forum, but the thing itself is so variable, there was no simple step-by-step guide.

Please adapt your language as though talking to a dog, although an attentive and somewhat intelligent dog. ............ snip............

Ok............SIT!................ Good boy.
Short answer............ just plug in the Raspberry Pi.
The reason the Raspberry Pi seems so confusing, at least to me, is that it can do so much stuff. I have one hooked up to my 3D printer so I can control the printer wirelessly. Another is set up as a security camera. But it can do tons of other stuff too. I don't understand any of it, but the Internet is full of step-by-step instructions for most of what the PI can do.

For the Heatermeter, I just bought a RP 3B because it has built in wireless capability, I already own several of them, and I know nothing about the RP zero or any of the other variants. I suspect any of the units on the "approved" list would be fine, so suit yourself. But I was confident that the 3B would work and the price difference between different models is not great.

I simply plugged it in as outlined in the detailed Heatermeter instructions. To make it work with my 3D printer requires doing some set up and configuration work. But for the Heatermeter you just plug it in; at least that's what I remember.

Then I used an app called "Fing" which runs on my Android phone. It displays the various IP addresses on your local wireless network. There are other ways to do it too. Find the address that has Raspberry Pi in the name and that is what you type in your browser so that you can link your PC (or phone) to your RP equipped Heatermeter.

Then you can see all the data, change most everything that needs to be changed or customized, and so on.
 
Then I used an app called "Fing" which runs on my Android phone. It displays the various IP addresses on your local wireless network. There are other ways to do it too. Find the address that has Raspberry Pi in the name and that is what you type in your browser so that you can link your PC (or phone) to your RP equipped Heatermeter.

There's an easier way to find the IP address: http://heatermeter.com/devices/
 

 

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