Upcoming Fireboard review

[tsonka]

I purchased a Fireboard a few months ago, the smaller kit with 2 meat and 1 air probe.

During my first real cooking with it, the air probe temp spiked sharply, but I also had my Therma-Q probe very near it, and it was not changing temp

When this happened I verified probe connection was normal, it was, I unplugged / reconnected it, and temp went back to normal. Slot 1 was being used


After this I have done some boiling water tests comparing the 3 Fireboard probes along with my 2 Therma-Q probes and my Therma Pen. The Therma stuff and the 2 Fireboard meat probe are usually all the same or within a degree or so and I can accept that as temp differences within the pot. The air temp probe is usually with the same +/- 1-2deg but every once in awhile the air temp probe will be the farthest one out of the mix.

I decided I did not trust the air probe, so went to All Things (I live in Wichita) and bought another probe, there just $15.

Now this Sunday 11/5


Providing Im still motivated, and I usually am, I have 2 pork butts and a pork belly to go onto the Yoder, this will be a 12-14 smoke to test them.

I am going to plug the new air temp probe into the #1 slot that was being used when issue occurred and will switch the older air temp probe to slot 6.

I hope that the issue reoccurs and I can see if it is just a probe, or trouble with the box.



I will start my cook thread and put a link here. Going to keep the topics different

 

[lovethemeats]

I have a similar situation with one of my air probes. Noticed it during some testing I was doing on my MES40. The probe spiked really high then when I unplugged it and plugged it in. It started reading normal. Happened again later. What I found was the wire must have a short right where the wire enters the plastic part of the plug. I have 3 air probes and only one of them shows this issue.

 

[SmokinAl]

i'm sure if you contact Fireboard they will have a new probe in the mail immediately free of charge. Or if it's the box, I'm sure they will replace it with a new one.

Al

 

[lovethemeats]

I'm sure they would. I had other issues that they worked with me and resolved.

 

[tsonka]

Just getting off work, home and sat down, sorry for slow reply

I am also sure they will, I would also like to make sure my initial post did not come off as negative. We are all enthusiasts here which by nature are usually a bit more particular. I can stare at my Therma-Q for 2 hours straight making sure my temp stay EXACTLY where I want and not consider it wasted time.


But that aside. Due to a busy RL I have not been able to have a long smoke since I purchased the Fireboard. I did a 3-4 hour something or other and a lot of hot water testing.

During my 3-4 hour playing I had the temp spike posted above. That caught my attention and I started critqueing things. I expect that it is the temp probe that is acting up. But if you get right down to it, a Fireboard probe is $15. That is a killer cost, a new probe for the Therma-Q is $65. I am just fine with having a probe that is acting up. If Fireboard keeps temp probe prices reasonable Ill even consider them expendable ... $15 is the cost of a bag of lump charcoal.

What I hope to verify is that it was the probe and not the box. I hope the spike happens again tomorrow, is on a different channel so I can verify the probe malfunction, pitch it and move on.


Now .. what do I want to accomplish in this post tomorrow

I have my cooker set up and I have temp probes everywhere (Therma-Q meat probe is missing from pic)

I have no doubt in the Fireboard accuracy ... It is accurate


I will be running it for 12-14 hours for the first time .. Some of the questions I want to answer with my own experience (In no particular order)

1a. Do any of the channels in the firebox go off line?
1b. Do they come back?

2. Battery life -- I will start with 100% battery and I am the person who will give it a lot of activity --- Will the battery be alive after 12-14 hours

3. At the end of the day would I be happy with this and my ThermaPen as my only 2 devices??

 

[lovethemeats]

For me. My WiFi is in my living room. Behind a big speaker. Plus it has to travel thru 3 walls. It had issues with it dropping out but that was due to location/distance. My faults. It worked but limited. I went and picked up a WiFi extender and have had no more issues with it. The guys at Fireboard can look at how your unit is running by looking into your runs. It stores all info in the cloud so they can look at it. They are good about trouble shooting problems.
But in the end. You are right. It has to please you. You put good money on it and that is the bottom line.
For me. I am satisfied with my purchase.
I like being able to store all my info and go back to it. Like you stated probe price is nice. The more I use it the happier I am with it. I like all the fancy stuff with tech advanced gadgets. Hand writing all my smoking info and then storage. Not for me. But for some. Its the only way.
Good luck in all of your testing and such.
May you feel satisfied at the end of your day. Happy smoking.
Rob. MI

 

[tsonka]

OK. 4am and meats on

Here are some starting pic's

Info screen showing Ping- Band- Bit rate

And 100% battery

 

[tsonka]

2 hours in .. no loss of connectivity, no spikes, all works properly, battery 96%

 

[tsonka]

6 hours in and all is good, battery 85%

I did doze off and let my temp drop before I noticed the alarm!!

 

[tsonka]

OK. Unless I have an issue or someone makes a reply for me to respond to, this will be my last post

8 hours in and all is normal. No temp spikes, no loss of connection, no channels lost, any time I opened the app I was reading temps in less than 15 seconds and battery life is at 71%

Could this replace my Therma-Q = yes. This is a good device and I am now comfortable with it


Yes I had a temp spike with the ambient temp probe and when doing boiling water tests, all of my temp devices were the same +/- 1-2deg except for the ambient probe which at times could be different

Now, again. Fireboard probes are $15 -- That is a cost to consider them disposable -- Im not going to send it back.


Also there were no accuracy tests here. With the tests I have already performed, I have no doubt in its accuracy

 

[maineac]

Good thread. Where do you check the battery %?

 

[tsonka]

"Devices" tab -- It has now dropped to 68%, but is going to last the entire cook which is all that matters

 

[lovethemeats]

The graphs are nice. Good luck in all your smoking.

 

[maineac]

Awesome! Didn't know that was there. Thanks.