Multiple HM vs. Stoker question


 

Todd E.

TVWBB Member
My brother has gotten the competition BBQ bug and is looking to add some ATC to his WSM fleet (18" and 22"). He's looking at the stoker primarily due to its ability to control multiple pits. Of course , I'm trying to steer him to the HM build because I'm biased. Looking at the latest from the HM Store a 4.2 kit with blower is $95 from the HM store (ordering from individual vendors would be about $$87 so I'm calling this a wash). Add $30 for pit/food probes, $30 for a case, and $45 for a Pi with WiFi dongle, for a Stoker "comparable" total of $200 (standalone $155). Times two; one for each WSM for $400 ($310). $600 ($465) for three just to have a comp for the max the Stoker could handle.

A Stoker with a 5 cfm blower is $309 shipped (backordered). Add a 10 cfm blower and pit/food probes for the 22" and the Stoker total comes to $538 for a unit that would control two smokers. $637 for everything to have three pit going.

I'm assuming 1) my back of the envelope math is close enough (a leap of faith) and 2) that I fabricate blower mounts for the smokers.

I have two v4.1.4 boards I could use and save ~30 if I wanted (assuming 4.1 components are priced similarly).

So, any thoughts? Other pros/cons? Did I miss something on the pricing?

I built my HM because I like to get my hands dirty (and fingertips burned) and like the idea of a community approach to ATC development as well as other endeavors. If I got him to go the HM route I wonder if anyone had any thoughts about herding multiple HMs into a single case.

EDIT - Don't know yet about putting a damper in the loop.

Todd
 
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Well, controlling multiple pits is not something the HM has ever aimed to do...
Seeing that the HM's would be used for competition cooking I assume someone will be present for the cook, so I'm not sure if the wifi functions would be utilized or needed? You could run the HM in stand alone mode without the rPi to save some $$ if you don't need the web functions. And the good thing about the HM is if you decide you need the web functions you can always add the rPi(s) later.
As for saving $30 with the HMv4.1 boards, I would suggest perhaps you bite the bullet and get HMv4.2 boards instead. Reason being, the HMv4.1 was one of the noisiest HM boards to date. It didn't have the RC filters on the probe leads and the way the board was laid out there was a lot of noise picked up by the probes. The blower driver circuit also did not have the feedback circuit required to run the blower in Voltage mode either. The HMv4.2 is an outstanding board, the best HM Board to date, great feature set and very low noise. For instance, some probes will drop OFF with the HMv4.1 at room temperature on the HMv4.1 due to the noise level, the same probes will read right down into the freezing range on the HMv4.2.
 
Well, controlling multiple pits is not something the HM has ever aimed to do...

Understood. It's all I can do to manage my single WSM.

Seeing that the HM's would be used for competition cooking I assume someone will be present for the cook, so I'm not sure if the wifi functions would be utilized or needed? You could run the HM in stand alone mode without the rPi to save some $$ if you don't need the web functions. And the good thing about the HM is if you decide you need the web functions you can always add the rPi(s) later.

Spot on again Ralph. The main motivator is to be able to get some reasonably stress free shut eye once things are set. Good point about the HM route providing a staged entry option. Standalone would fit the bill but I just loooooovvve the thought of checking things w/o getting out of the tent/car/chair.

As for saving $30 with the HMv4.1 boards, I would suggest perhaps you bite the bullet and get HMv4.2 boards instead. Reason being, the HMv4.1 was one of the noisiest HM boards to date. It didn't have the RC filters on the probe leads and the way the board was laid out there was a lot of noise picked up by the probes. The blower driver circuit also did not have the feedback circuit required to run the blower in Voltage mode either. The HMv4.2 is an outstanding board, the best HM Board to date, great feature set and very low noise. For instance, some probes will drop OFF with the HMv4.1 at room temperature on the HMv4.1 due to the noise level, the same probes will read right down into the freezing range on the HMv4.2.

HMv4.1.4 LIBEL!!!:) Agreed. Any new builds should be on the 4.2 platform.

Todd
 
HMv4.0 had less noise than v4.1, I recall being happier with the performance of my v4.0 after I built the v4.1... and then elated with v4.2 when I got that one together.

As for checking the pit from the tent on the cheap, if that is a goal... you can run the pit through a CAT5 cable and pull the whole HM into the tent if you can get your power there too.. I run my pit with servo damper, blower, TC Pit probe and two food probes all through the one CAT5 cable which is about 50ft long... So there is a wired option there if the $100 for the pair of rPi's is out of the budget.

I wonder if there is any way things could be written so more than one HM could report to the same rPi? Probably something that would take a lot of work for a feature that would rarely be used, so I expect that will never happen unless someone takes it upon themselves to attempt it. (if it's even physically possible?)
 
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Technically, you could setup a laptop with a couple of serial ports, run 2 instances of OpenWRT in 2 VMs, each talking to an HM board. I doubt it's worth the effort / aggravation.

Just remember that if you suggest an HM based solution to your buddy and it's not really his cup of tea, you'll be spending a lot of time doing tech support.
 
Any big layout of cash is hard to swallow, but with an open source design, at least you aren't locked into buying proprietary hardware. If a blower goes bad on Rock Bar-b-que's Stoker, you have to buy another expensive replacement from them. With HeaterMeter, there are many companies from whom you can buy your thermocouples, probes, and blowers.
 
If you are wanting to use the hm at a comp. Then get a cheap $20 wireless extender and a 12v adapter for your car, plug in the adapter and then connect the heatermeter to it.

When I go somewhere I just bring the same wireless adapter that I use to connect at home and plug it in where ever I go. No need to do any extra setup.
 
If you are wanting to use the hm at a comp. Then get a cheap $20 wireless extender and a 12v adapter for your car, plug in the adapter and then connect the heatermeter to it.

When I go somewhere I just bring the same wireless adapter that I use to connect at home and plug it in where ever I go. No need to do any extra setup.

I have had a few occasions to do this, but I am not following your concept on this. Do you mind giving a little more info please?
 
Any big layout of cash is hard to swallow, but with an open source design, at least you aren't locked into buying proprietary hardware. If a blower goes bad on Rock Bar-b-que's Stoker, you have to buy another expensive replacement from them. With HeaterMeter, there are many companies from whom you can buy your thermocouples, probes, and blowers.

Another good observation and one I (and maybe others) have come to take for granted. Sometimes I get so far into DIY, open source, MacGyver mode that I forget how and why I got here in the first place. I used to be more of a "Look at me! I'm sticking it to The Man!" but now am more motivated by the inherent flexibility and non-proprietary nature of endeavors like the HM project.

Todd

EDIT - I'm firmly in the HM camp but for completeness sake, I do see that the Stoker does release firmware upgrades whereas some of the other "off the shelf" units do not.
 
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Another good observation and one I (and maybe others) have come to take for granted. Sometimes I get so far into DIY, open source, MacGyver mode that I forget how and why I got here in the first place. I used to be more of a "Look at me! I'm sticking it to The Man!" but now am more motivated by the inherent flexibility and non-proprietary nature of endeavors like the HM project.

Todd

EDIT - I'm firmly in the HM camp but for completeness sake, I do see that the Stoker does release firmware upgrades whereas some of the other "off the shelf" units do not.

Yes. Stoker does release firmware updates. For what it's worth, I emailed them this exact question on 8/18 when I was debating which product I wanted. They replied on 9/29 when I was already happily working on my HM build.
 
I have had a few occasions to do this, but I am not following your concept on this. Do you mind giving a little more info please?

I think he is just saying bring a cheap wifi router with you to your competition, which you have already connected your HM to at home. This way when you power up that wifi router your HM will just connect to it, and you can connect to it with your phone, tablet, laptop etc at which point you have your HM wifi access up and running without changing it to Access Point mode or messing with the connecting to it...
 

 

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