Any reports on the “Spider Venom” ATC?


 
Timothy F. Lewis

Timothy F. Lewis

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I’ve seen this a couple of times, but, I’ve not heard “Boo” about how well the thing actually works. I like the concept but, maybe I’m just old, I don’t feel the need for all these newfangled Jimcracks and Gee gaws most of the time but, this is kind of intriguing.
Anyone have any experience.
Sorry, I can’t seem to attach the Amazon link.
 
Assuming this is it, here's the link:


Can't help otherwise, but I also tend to ignore "Jimcracks and Gee gaws". Give me an instant read and a decent remote thermometer and I'm content to grill and smoke the natural way. :LOL: Granted, I've never used one of the electronic contraptions, but in general all the devices I bought when starting up that were supposed to help, I found to be unnecessary and pretty much never used. So money wasted on fish basket, beer can chicken holder, rib rack, and a few others. A decent small veggie basket and my cast iron skillets are basically all that get used. But to each his own.
 
My Son wanted one. I told him it's a unitasker only good on a kettle,
He has a 18.5" WSM, a vertical cabinet charcoal smoker and 3 kettles.
I recommended he find one that would work on all, if that's the way he wants to go.
 
On slow cookers sure, I use a controller.

What I cook on my grill takes only from 5-15 minutes..... It's grilling. High temperature short duration.

Yeah if you work really hard you can slow cook something on your grill using the little metal charcoal boxes and offsetting it to the side to get indirect heat etc. Before you spend $200 on that thing you might as well go buy you a 14-in WSM for that.
 
I ordered a Venom today. They are on back order and should be available (read as shipping to customers) late Oct/early Nov. I do not have an ATC and like the idea of not having to drill holes in my kettles. I only have Weber Kettles so compatibility is not an issue. Although, I do not plan on moving it from kettle to kettle. I am hoping I can control it from my Apple watch, that would be awesome.
 
Fred Strickland said:
I ordered a Venom today. They are on back order and should be available (read as shipping to customers) late Oct/early Nov. I do not have an ATC and like the idea of not having to drill holes in my kettles. I only have Weber Kettles so compatibility is not an issue. Although, I do not plan on moving it from kettle to kettle. I am hoping I can control it from my Apple watch, that would be awesome.
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Okay Fred, you’re the guinea pig on this, I want a detailed report, including installation headaches (if any), time to assemble, ease of use, quality of materials, all that important stuff.
Interesting that it’s backordered in two months, must have been a small initial run, I don’t have a problem with that, one must test the waters but, I wonder why they didn’t send one to Chris!? Suckers, they are not seeing this place as a huge spot for customers?
 
After watching a couple of videos I am impressed. The build quality appears to be good, and the design makes it look as if it was an original part of the grill. If I was limited to only one grill I'd be tempted. Since I have a WSM for low-and-slow my kettles are only used for grilling, and I run them WFO for just about everything I grill, so adding a temperature controller doesn't interest me.
 
Colin said:
Running an extension cord to your Weber Kettle, Blasphemy!! :ROFLMAO:
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They make a battery pack for it or you can home brew one. I have seen some very good reports about it on the kettle mods FB group. I was about to pull the trigger on one before I got my MB800. It is still my backup plan.
 
Overall, very happy with my purchase.
Received my Venom and free battery last week. Really easy to install, and I do suggest taking one or more legs off. Just easier because they are not in the way. Cooked some Hollywood style ribs with a Skyflame charcoal chamber/diffuser. Venom held 250 for almost 6 hours towards the end of the cook I noticed temp was now at 193 and blower was on. After the kettle cooled down I pulled the grill and diffuser and found that the vents were blocked with ash. I had used some off brand charcoal briquettes and they had lots of ash - at least compared to my experience with Kingsford briquettes. If the lower vents are blocked, it is just like closing the vents and shutting off incoming air to fuel the fire. Ash would have blocked the vents with or without the Venom. Next time I will open and close the vents a few times during longer cookies to help keep the vents openings clear. Anyhow, ribs were good, but a little too salty for my taste, so pass the BBQ sauce please.
 
It was a tough decision between the venom/kettle/Aura and the MB 800. If the MB800 let's meet down I would go to the venom
 
Thanks Fred, good to get an opinion from someone here, I’m not impressed with Horsman. He does some very weird modifications that simply make NO sense to me. I’m sure there are those who find him educational but, I see him as just odd.
 
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