Stoker Wi-Fi - Better Than Sliced Bread


 
Chad M.

Chad M.

TVWBB Super Fan
Had my 1st cook with my Stoker Wi-Fi this weekend and it went almost flawlessly. The only minor hiccup was when I did a 5-min Off Lid and the connection dropped for some reason. May have just been a coincidence. I was initially bummed since I was running StokerLog and thought I'd have to start over on the graph. But once it reconnected the graph seemed to fill in the downtime and continued on. Awesome. I wasn't using a static IP address, but my router didn't assign a new one so it worked out just fine.

Stoker held the temps very stable. Worked like an oven. Bumped up the temp from 250 to 275 for ABTs after I took the pork butt off, and it quickly climbed to 275 and held there. Really cool. Very pleased with the whole deal. Super easy to set up and I'm not very experienced with network configuration. I highly recommend one.

One question though. Did everyone else stare at the StokerLog graph all day like a mental patient during their first Stoker cook? I know the idea is to kind of set it and forget it, but watching the graph and actually seeing the pork temp plateau was pretty cool. Could hardly take my eyes off it.

Everything turned out great. Can't wait for the next cook.
 
Don't worry there's plenty of room in the ward for you. I've had mine for about 2 months and i still sit and stare at. I know it will run just fine without an audience but it is addicting.
 
I haven't figured out how to upload my graph yet, but here's brief rundown. Fired up the WSM ala Minion with a full ring and about 30 lit Kingsford. As soon as I assembled the smoker, I fired up the Stoker and then went and started StokerLog. I initially set it to 225 and it came up there in about about 5 minutes or so and leveled off without much of an overshoot (2-3 degrees). Right away I bumped up the temp to 250. Within another 5-10 minutes or so it reached 250 and overshot by 7-8 degrees. Settled down to within a couple of degrees either way within 30-35 minutes total.

I'll try and post the graph soon.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chad M.:
One question though. Did everyone else stare at the StokerLog graph all day like a mental patient during their first Stoker cook? I know the idea is to kind of set it and forget it, but watching the graph and actually seeing the pork temp plateau was pretty cool. Could hardly take my eyes off it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I've been working on HeaterMeter for 2 years now and I still stare at the graphs and numbers coming in. What's the temperature swing? 1.3F? What's the period? 3 minutes 20 seconds that time. How many degrees per hour is the butt climbing? 48F/hr and declining. Ok I'll watch this just a few more ticks...
 
Did a small shoulder cook last weekend. Used half a ring of RO lump. Overshot my target of 225F within 20 mins. Don't think I can blame it on the Stoker. Probably used too much lit to start, even though I generally try to start with very little.

As far as the WiFi, ran great with food and pit probes using Stokerlog. I ran the Maverick parallel just to ensure temps were right. Early readings were about 15f apart but they equalized after 30 mins.

WiFi was great. Stokerlog ran great. My shoulder was bad, but that was a product issue, not a process problem.

Overall, great to be able to use my laptop for monitoring. Next up is an overnighter and I can report back then. Function seems fine though. Worth the wait.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chad M.:
Had my 1st cook with my Stoker Wi-Fi this weekend and it went almost flawlessly. The only minor hiccup was when I did a 5-min Off Lid and the connection dropped for some reason. May have just been a coincidence. I was initially bummed since I was running StokerLog and thought I'd have to start over on the graph. But once it reconnected the graph seemed to fill in the downtime and continued on. Awesome. I wasn't using a static IP address, but my router didn't assign a new one so it worked out just fine.

Stoker held the temps very stable. Worked like an oven. Bumped up the temp from 250 to 275 for ABTs after I took the pork butt off, and it quickly climbed to 275 and held there. Really cool. Very pleased with the whole deal. Super easy to set up and I'm not very experienced with network configuration. I highly recommend one.

One question though. Did everyone else stare at the StokerLog graph all day like a mental patient during their first Stoker cook? I know the idea is to kind of set it and forget it, but watching the graph and actually seeing the pork temp plateau was pretty cool. Could hardly take my eyes off it.

Everything turned out great. Can't wait for the next cook. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Chad,
What size blower are you using?
 
I wanted to add some information for folks who have ordered and received new black boxes.

I got mine Saturday, which coincidnetally was the day Rocks bar b que was getting first place in ribs AND brisket in Mesa AZ!

Being famiiar with setting up my previous stoker and bridge, I thought getting wi fi working would be a snap. Unfortunately, although ethernet worked fine, for whatever reason the stoker was not attaching to my wifi (even after configuring per the instructions). I had a cook to do, so I set the wifi issue asside until this morning. Still no wireless from the new black box when I tried this am.

I bit the bullet and cleared the stoker DB, and went through the configuration again. It connected via wifi right away, and all is well with the little black box. I love not needing a bridge any longer, and I love the native 6th port. (What a difference one port makes). The new blue LCD screen will take some getting used to. I think I prefer the old screen on the white box, but time will tell.

So, if you get one and wifi is not connecting after following the instructions, go ahead and re-set the DB. Do this BEFORE you name all your sensors and blowers (and recalibrate probes) or you'll need to go through that process again.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Gerd Hilkemeyer:
I wanted to add some information for folks who have ordered and received new black boxes.

I got mine Saturday, which coincidnetally was the day Rocks bar b que was getting first place in ribs AND brisket in Mesa AZ!

Being famiiar with setting up my previous stoker and bridge, I thought getting wi fi working would be a snap. Unfortunately, although ethernet worked fine, for whatever reason the stoker was not attaching to my wifi (even after configuring per the instructions). I had a cook to do, so I set the wifi issue asside until this morning. Still no wireless from the new black box when I tried this am.

I bit the bullet and cleared the stoker DB, and went through the configuration again. It connected via wifi right away, and all is well with the little black box. I love not needing a bridge any longer, and I love the native 6th port. (What a difference one port makes). The new blue LCD screen will take some getting used to. I think I prefer the old screen on the white box, but time will tell.

So, if you get one and wifi is not connecting after following the instructions, go ahead and re-set the DB. Do this BEFORE you name all your sensors and blowers (and recalibrate probes) or you'll need to go through that process again. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I had to reset the DB before mine would connect also. I thought I had done something to mess it up or that it was a fluke.... or I would have posted that it seems to be needed on some units.
 
I've learned to bring my WSM up to temp within 15 minutes with the Stoker. As someone posted above, it is all about how you light things up. With charcoal I have found that I can light 5, or 7, or 9 briquets and get 225, 235, and 250 respectively. Also, play with lighting the pile from the middle of the pile and from the opposite side from teh blower. It makes a difference how the ash piles up.

The only thing I have noticed since going wifi is that sometimes the stoker seems to lose the blower assignment after updating with a new temp setting. Last weekend I had to set the blower to the pit probe a couple of times.

Does anyone else play with little things like top vent opening and watch what happens? It's really cool to learn how this wsm/stoker combo works.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chris Finney:
I had to reset the DB before mine would connect also. I thought I had done something to mess it up or that it was a fluke.... or I would have posted that it seems to be needed on some units. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah Chris, I thought maybe I hosed it trying to initially give it a static IP or something, but I do not think tht was the issue so I posted my "fix". I did note that it appeared when I got it, that it had rocks wifi network populated in the settings (which may be intended from a bench test). Even after giving it my info, it never connected until I cleared the DB. That is now the first thing I would suggest to a brand new black box user having wifi issues.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dan Edmondson:
Also, play with lighting the pile from the middle of the pile and from the opposite side from teh blower. It makes a difference how the ash piles op. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Dan, I typically light from opposite the blower. Specifically what ash differences do YOU see when lighting from thecenter vs. opposite the blower?



<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The only thing I have noticed since going wifi is that sometimes the stoker seems to lose the blower assignment after updating with a new temp setting. Last weekend I had to set the blower to the pit probe a couple of times. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Dan:
-How many blowers are you using when this happens?
-Are you using stokerlog to set temps, the native web page, or controlling from the box when this happens?
 
Hi Gerd,

Just a singe 5 cfm. The blower assignment issue seems to be newly introduced with the wifi support. It seems like interaction between the latest firmware and stokerlog. Others are reporting it as well. Once I knew what happened I kept the status web page open and corrected it from there.

I've learned the hard way with the ash from charcoal. I started lighting the side in front of the blower but found the resulting ash pile can hinder air flow. The middle has been working pretty well for me the last several smokes. I haven't tried lighting the opposite side but it should work as far as the ash pile is concerned, but I wonder if that creates hot spots(?).
 
I've been looking for an ATC system, and have done a lot of reading.

If I understand it correctly, the Stoker does not have an automatic open lid detection system. You have to manually hit a menu option, which shuts the blower off for 5 mins.

Is that how it works?

Thanks,

Bob
 
Thanks Dan. I wanted to ensure that you saw the blower mis-assignment only when using stokerlog. Thanks for that confirmation. (This matters to me because I run 3 cookers, without stokerlog, at competitions. So far as I have seen, all the blower assignment issues on the new wifis have included stokerlog, so I can rest easy for now that as long as I am doing disconnected cooks, all is well)

I have always lit coal on the side away from the blower, and have never noticed hot spots or ash problems, on either the 22 or 18. Logic would reason that it might create uneven temps. I have not seen them but also habve not been looking for them.
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Hi Bob,

I'm still learning how to use the lid detect. Yes, I think this is a stokerlog feature. However, I've only seen it work the first time during a cook. I"m sure I'm not doing something right. Many times I just turn the stoker off myself for a couple of minutes when I'm in the smoker.

Hi Gerd,

I did a 1 hour cook yesterday and used the stoker status page to adjust things, and did the F5 refresh in stokerlog. It is a small inconvenience for now. I see Amir will be getting a black box wifi unit from Rocks to test with so I can handle this til we get a fix.
 
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