Masterbuilt Gravity Feed

[lokshy]

Yea I'm annoyed, my iPad doesn't get the latest os and the masterbuilt app needs it. So that wasn't an option. I've got a grill I can't connect to... Either by WiFi or Bluetooth.

I looked at the fireboard but it's 450cad by time I pay everything, shipping, taxes.. Unit and bbqhq cable.

I didn't hit order today as I wasn't sure how the ambient probe connects into fireboard then realized have to use a new one from fireboard not the masterbuilt one.

This thing uses huge amounts of fuel, like 5x my steel kamado kooker. Bonkers amounts.
Sear I got on the steaks wasn't impressive at all, I'll try with a cast iron pan or griddle. There's no true crust forming from a pan or char like you get right over the coals.

I like it's ease of use, I wish they had an electric element to start it, it was more fuel efficient, and the dammed wifi worked. I have to spend 30% of the grill price on a wifi controller? Then add the mods..

 

[ross77]

I can't compare to a kamado but the MB is a different beast as it has a fan stoking the coals. The type of fuel makes a big difference. I've had the best luck with B&B charcoal briquets. Smaller coals like Kingsford fall through the grate before they completely burn. Lump is also hit or miss as the smaller pieces fall right through.

As for searing and crust, I've had no issue with that. Once you hit searing temp, give it 5 minutes to warm up the grates then throw the steaks on. At 600+ I've been getting a great crust.

To be fair, you can't blame your old non-updating iPad on MB......

 

[lokshy]

I can't compare to a kamado but the MB is a different beast as it has a fan stoking the coals. The type of fuel makes a big difference. I've had the best luck with B&B charcoal briquets. Smaller coals like Kingsford fall through the grate before they completely burn. Lump is also hit or miss as the smaller pieces fall right through.

As for searing and crust, I've had no issue with that. Once you hit searing temp, give it 5 minutes to warm up the grates then throw the steaks on. At 600+ I've been getting a great crust.

To be fair, you can't blame your old non-updating iPad on MB......

Ya I ran it with maple leaf briquettes and cowboy lump. Chomped through both ferociously. Hopefully better at low and slow.
I don't blame mb for my old iPad, I think they should work with a note 10 plus or iPhone xr though wouldn't you agree?

Trying a flat chicken this afternoon. Hopefully turns out well. Should be as good as the kamado I think.

 

[Will Squared]

As for searing and crust, I've had no issue with that. Once you hit searing temp, give it 5 minutes to warm up the grates then throw the steaks on. At 600+ I've been getting a great crust.

We reverse seared a Rib Eye Steak last night that melted in my mouth !
...and a couple of Yukon Gold potatoes.

 

[worldbfreebase]

Yea I'm annoyed, my iPad doesn't get the latest os and the masterbuilt app needs it. So that wasn't an option. I've got a grill I can't connect to... Either by WiFi or Bluetooth.

I looked at the fireboard but it's 450cad by time I pay everything, shipping, taxes.. Unit and bbqhq cable.

I didn't hit order today as I wasn't sure how the ambient probe connects into fireboard then realized have to use a new one from fireboard not the masterbuilt one.

This thing uses huge amounts of fuel, like 5x my steel kamado kooker. Bonkers amounts.
Sear I got on the steaks wasn't impressive at all, I'll try with a cast iron pan or griddle. There's no true crust forming from a pan or char like you get right over the coals.

I like it's ease of use, I wish they had an electric element to start it, it was more fuel efficient, and the dammed wifi worked. I have to spend 30% of the grill price on a wifi controller? Then add the mods..

you are connected via bluetooth. you have that error because a door was opened after you connected. close the doors and then push the connection button on the grill controller and it will go away. every time you open a door, you have to push the button to resume the bluetooth control

Smoked a brisket @ 250 yesterday for 9 hours and went through about 14 #'s of charcoal.

It was my first brisket ever. Had a pretty uniform smoke ring close to 1/4 inch. All wood was put in the ash can, none in the hopper. MB probe was within a couple degrees of my thermapen. took it to 205°, gave it the poke test. sat in a cooler for 2.5 hours, was till steaming hot. Came out really well for my first one.

 

[worldbfreebase]

We reverse seared a Rib Eye Steak last night that melted in my mouth !
...and a couple of Yukon Gold potatoes.

did that saturday. used a cast iron pan. decent crust. was a little breezy so i was only getting up to about 660°. i missed my temp mark and it came out medium instead of on the rare side of medium rare, but it was by far the juiciest medium cooked steak i have EVER had.

 

[Btfu]

Of everything I've made on it so far, the ribeye steaks were the best. Easily a top contender for best steaks we've ever eaten

 

[Will Squared]

was a little breezy so i was only getting up to about 660°

We got hit by a sudden rain. I was running to cover things when it was @700' so I blinked for a minute and the IT was a little higher than I like but it was just fine.

 

[worldbfreebase]

exactly. IT was sitting at about 100°. went in the house, poured a shot, grabbed another beer and it jumped to 115°. seared each side for about 2 minutes.

 

[BoardStiff]

Wow, this has been a great thread, and I'm nearly sold (leaning towards a 1050 if I can find one). Got a couple of questions still, particularly about the 1050 vs 560:

• Is the 1050 going to be very inefficient for small cooks? It would be great to have the extra space when I need it, but more often than not I'm firing up my gas grill on a weeknight to quickly cook a couple burgers, sausages, or steaks. How much charcoal will I be burning through for each small cook like this? I guess I could hang on to the gas grill, but if I'm springing for the larger MB, I'm inclined to sell it to recoup some of the cost and reclaim some space.
• Is the build quality good enough for the price? I've had both my WSM and Weber Genesis Silver gas grill for 14 years, and despite heavy use, year-round outdoor storage (often uncovered), and minimal maintenance, both are in very good condition, with only grill grates, flavor bars, and a starter button replaced. Based on the 1 year warranty and some comments in this forum and the FB groups, I'm a bit concerned that the MB won't hold up nearly as well. At $800 (not including any mods), I can't afford to replace a 1050 every few years. Have other MB products that have been around longer held up over many years, or are MBs built more like my cheapo CharBroil electric smoker that was falling apart after a couple of years?
  
  Thanks!
  
  

 

[lokshy]

Wow, this has been a great thread, and I'm nearly sold (leaning towards a 1050 if I can find one). Got a couple of questions still, particularly about the 1050 vs 560:

• Is the 1050 going to be very inefficient for small cooks? It would be great to have the extra space when I need it, but more often than not I'm firing up my gas grill on a weeknight to quickly cook a couple burgers, sausages, or steaks. How much charcoal will I be burning through for each small cook like this? I guess I could hang on to the gas grill, but if I'm springing for the larger MB, I'm inclined to sell it to recoup some of the cost and reclaim some space.
• Is the build quality good enough for the price? I've had both my WSM and Weber Genesis Silver gas grill for 14 years, and despite heavy use, year-round outdoor storage (often uncovered), and minimal maintenance, both are in very good condition, with only grill grates, flavor bars, and a starter button replaced. Based on the 1 year warranty and some comments in this forum and the FB groups, I'm a bit concerned that the MB won't hold up nearly as well. At $800 (not including any mods), I can't afford to replace a 1050 every few years. Have other MB products that have been around longer held up over many years, or are MBs built more like my cheapo CharBroil electric smoker that was falling apart after a couple of years?
  
  Thanks!
  

Uh based on amount of charcoal I'm burning for quick cooks, and 90min cooks.. It's bonkers level consumption. Some. Are suggesting only load the unit with how much you want to use that cook.. As it just burns away tons of extra in the hopper. It doesn't get snuffed out like a egg does. I'm down over 24lb of charcoal in burn in. 1. Steaks@700 2. Burgers 350. 3.flat chicken 350/90min

I am about to order another 10 bags of charcoal.. I'm used to 1 bag lasting me a month in my akorn....

Keep your gas. Buy the 560 with the vent so it can be modded for consumption, and don't count on this thing being around in 4 years.. Maybe some later versions of it will last longer.

It's convenient but go into it with open eyes.

 

[Sudz]

That does sound a bit extreme. I'm on my forth short cook with having filled the chute once. I may get a fifth but I'll add some more charcoal just to be sure. I've been cooking from 225 to 350 on these cooks. For certain running at 700 does suck the fuel.

It also appears the shutdown of some grills significantly exceeds that of others. Leaks are being blamed which is probably fair. Mine appears to be dead somewhere between 1 and 1 1/2 hours. This is smoldering coals. Normal burning stops within minutes.

 

[lokshy]

That does sound a bit extreme. I'm on my forth short cook with having filled the chute once. I may get a fifth but I'll add some more charcoal just to be sure. I've been cooking from 225 to 350 on these cooks. For certain running at 700 does suck the fuel.

It also appears the shutdown of some grills significantly exceeds that of others. Leaks are being blamed which is probably fair. Mine appears to be dead somewhere between 1 and 1 1/2 hours. This is smoldering coals. Normal burning stops within minutes.

I saw someone on FB find big holes behind screws in the firebox area approx if I recall and added washers for a better seal. May try that and the grid mod as I see lots of droppings lol.
But spending about 6 bucks per cook is not gonna sit well with me. I'll know more as next week or two goes on. But has me considering going back to a newer egg. Primo or kj

 

[Sudz]

I've had my 560 for three weeks and must say it has been flawless with the exception of the app.
The app is good when it works which in my case is rarely.

I've been trying to work with Masterbuilt Customer Service which has been very frustrating. Once I did begin to receive emails the responses avoided my questions and provided standard suggestions which did not address the problem. It appears they have no answers to the WiFi issues many of us experience.

Have any of you seen a detailed description of how this app works and what to do with WiFi and/or Bluetooth issues? Its really been a challenge trying to troubleshoot this thing without any knowledge about it.

 

[lokshy]

I've had my 560 for three weeks and must say it has been flawless with the exception of the app.
The app is good when it works which in my case is rarely.

I've been trying to work with Masterbuilt Customer Service which has been very frustrating. Once I did begin to receive emails the responses avoided my questions and provided standard suggestions which did not address the problem. It appears they have no answers to the WiFi issues many of us experience.

Have any of you seen a detailed description of how this app works and what to do with WiFi and/or Bluetooth issues? Its really been a challenge trying to troubleshoot this thing without any knowledge about it.

I ordered the Fireboard2 and cable separately from thebbqhq , damn expensive tbh, but wifi wouldn't work, and hitting connect repeatedly is baffling, not to mention if it got on WiFi once, why does it keep losing it and requiring only Bluetooth, and saying it's out of range, when it has WiFi configured.. I at least got it on WiFi to get the new firmware. I hope you got that going

 

[BoardStiff]

FWIW, I saw over on one of the FB forums this morning that AmazingRibs.com has rescinded their Platinum rating of the 560 due to quality problems with their own test unit:
https://amazingribs.com/ratings-reviews/combination-grills-smokers/masterbuilt-gravity-series-560

Considering it was their recommendation that got me thinking about buying one of these, I'm going to hold off at least until they get to the bottom of this. At a $200-300 price point, I'd roll the dice on the 560 and expect to do some mods or maybe have to replace the whole thing after a few years. For $500+, I need something that will hold up on its own.

Maybe I'll go with a cheaper gas smoker for now (MB makes an AmazingRibs.com Platinum award winner one of those too), and revisit the Gravity in a couple years when MB or another manufacturer has worked out the kinks.

 

[lokshy]

FWIW, I saw over on one of the FB forums this morning that AmazingRibs.com has rescinded their Platinum rating of the 560 due to quality problems with their own test unit:
https://amazingribs.com/ratings-reviews/combination-grills-smokers/masterbuilt-gravity-series-560

Considering it was their recommendation that got me thinking about buying one of these, I'm going to hold off at least until they get to the bottom of this. At a $200-300 price point, I'd roll the dice on the 560 and expect to do some mods or maybe have to replace the whole thing after a few years. For $500+, I need something that will hold up on its own.

Maybe I'll go with a cheaper gas smoker for now (MB makes an AmazingRibs.com Platinum award winner one of those too), and revisit the Gravity in a couple years when MB or another manufacturer has worked out the kinks.

I took the unusual step for me of assembling this myself so I would know where everything goes, so if it fails it won't seem as daunting.. I would normally never do that.. But this is a early product, and issues are expected. Fan failures, electronics etc.. Until they realize they should use better components. They already ship longer screws for the lid, as everyone was loosing them, so they're listening.. A bit lol.

 

[gary s]

Pretty Cool

Gary

 

[Sudz]

Have any of you noticed if the type and brand of fuel has any effect on the amount of creosote produced?

 

[ross77]

Uh based on amount of charcoal I'm burning for quick cooks, and 90min cooks.. It's bonkers level consumption. Some. Are suggesting only load the unit with how much you want to use that cook.. As it just burns away tons of extra in the hopper. It doesn't get snuffed out like a egg does. I'm down over 24lb of charcoal in burn in. 1. Steaks@700 2. Burgers 350. 3.flat chicken 350/90min

I am about to order another 10 bags of charcoal.. I'm used to 1 bag lasting me a month in my akorn....

Keep your gas. Buy the 560 with the vent so it can be modded for consumption, and don't count on this thing being around in 4 years.. Maybe some later versions of it will last longer.

It's convenient but go into it with open eyes.

You must have an air leak in the ash bin area. Maybe the door isn't sealing properly? I am not seeing an unusual amount of fuel usage. I've been using primarily Royal Oak Classic briquets. After shutting down, the grill has usually cooled down enough to cover it after a couple hours. I tried out a bag of B&B Oak briquets and that lasted even longer than the RO.