Considering purchasing the Stoker

[tlhiv]

Hi folks. I'm an Alabama boy (at least I still feel like a boy at 34 years old), and growing up I was taught that BBQ consisted of pulled pork (and that's about it). However, in 1999 I moved to College Station, Texas to begin my studies for my Ph.D. in Mathematics at Texas A&M, and during my time there I was introduced to smoked brisket (among other things). I was a fan from the very beginning. I knew then and there that I *HAD* to learn how to cook this stuff. So, after moving back to Alabama last year, my brother-in-law and I began building me a smoker/grill. I am using a design similar to the the Oklahoma Joe's Longhorn Smoker which is basically a 20" diameter pipe with offset firebox. We're almost done with it (it takes a while because we have to work on it when I visit him which happens less often that I would like).

Now I'm a math professor in Mobile, AL and I want to have my Calculus class over for a smoke this semester. However, even though at the end of the day the goal is to enjoy some good brisket, I would like for my students to do some mathematics related to smoking (I won't get into the details of that yet). As such, I would like to be able to collect constant smoke chamber and meat temperature data and provide this data to the students to analyze and answer questions that I ask them about it.

Now, being a geek, I am quite comfortable with virtually all aspects of computers (especially networking), and I just stumbled across the Stoker from Rock's BBQ. This appears to be the answer that I have been searching for for over a month now. I would like to get some feedback from any of your Stoker owners about how well it performs and specifically if you've used the network interface to collect the temperature data. Also, I've read that you can get "extension cables" for the thermometers so that the Stoker itself can sit inside (where it's nice and dry) and the cables can run outside where the smoker is. I would like feedback on whether these extension cables affect the accuracy of the temperature readings.

Sorry for the long read, and I look forward to hearing from everybody that would like to give their 2 cents.

 

[bcfishman]

Ah man...

i Just fired up the smoker about 30 minutes ago and some how after reading this post, all the enjoyment was yanked out. Smoking isn't about mathematics, it's about some great q-ing. Just kidding

. Good luck with the class.

The only math I do when cooking is... I bought a 12 pack, there's x amount of beers left in the pack, so that means I've consumed...

Formula looks like this.

P - R = C

P = Pack
R = Remainder
C = Consumed

 

[fatback joe]

I don't know of many people on the forum running stokers on the forum, but I suppose it only will take one to possibly get the answers you are looking for.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[bb53chevpro]

Nice introduction. Maybe should have been placed in Roll Call. I would like to start by saying Welcome to the SMF family. It is a great place. Don't forget to post pictures of your smokes and smokers.
As far as a Stoker, sorry I am not they guy to help you.

 

[geek with fire]

Welcome. The Geek population around here needs a boost, so nice to have you.

I've been working on a project for about a year and a half that started with what you were are talking about....collecting data. I'll PM you my email address. If you email me back, I'll send you the link to my web page that I am using to track my progress.

Here's some data from one of my initial tests:
http://www.jegreer.com/images/forum/...07-BCC-Log.jpg

 

[pinkmeat]

The funny thing about this equation is that it doesn't take into account the speed at which the value for "C" is calculated. It has been pretty hot here and a 12pk just doesn't last as long as it used to.