Smartfire BBQ

[Mkrause]

So i pulled the trigger on an ATC today. Seemed to be the best bang for the buck. In a response from the owner about some questions i had, he provided me with a discount code (SUMMERISCOMING), so it took the total down to about $190 usd with free shipping, included the unit and an adapter. They are based in Australia hence the "SUMMERISCOMING" coupon code and "usd" clarification. Looks pretty cool and they seem to have good customer service, so I'll keep everyone posted.

https://smartfirebbq.com/



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[mhiszem]

Looking forward to hearing what you think.


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[LightningBoldtz]

Yes, let us know what you think.

[Mike in Roseville]

That's awesome! Please review it when you have put it through its paces.


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[Mkrause]

I ordered it with a universal/weber kettle adapter for use on my wsm. The wsm adapter basically chokes it down to a size where you have to file one of the holes to enlarge and block off the other two on one of the daisy wheels. The kettle adapter is just a nipple that you have to drill a hole for. I don't mind drilling a hole in the wsm but I'd rather not on my 3 wheel kettle since it would be rare that I'd smoke on it, but I'd still like to try it out. I figure you'd probably need more air flow in the wsm vs. a kettle anyways. On the site it says that it's compatible with bbq guru adaptors. So if anyone has one of the guru adaptors that hooks thru a vent hole that they'd like to part with, I'm interested.
Like this...

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[Big Dawg]

If I didn't already have both a DigiQ and CyberQ, this looks like the direction I'd be heading.

Let us know how it does.





BD

[grantw]

Looks sweet to me


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[Mkrause]

I gotta say, Mark Terrill, the owner of Smartfire, is a stand up guy. I had ordered one because it's hard to beat a WiFi ATC for under 200 bucks. But I still had more questions about it and he took the time to respond to me, again. A few of my concerns were:

If using the guru adapter cuts down too much on airflow.
- fits perfectly the guru adaptors, airflow is the same. Designed to make it easy for folk to upgrade. Guru also have a wider range of smokers that are found in the US and uncommon here

Ease of swapping from kettle to kettle or kettle to wsm.
- the easiest way to swap from kettle to kettle would be multiple adaptors. You could switch the adaptor over without much effort, you'd have to unscrew and then screw into the drilled hole on the other unit. I'll include an extra adaptor.

And what would happen if WiFi goes down.
- if the unit connects to wifi and internet and gets its settings it will continue on that setting until its told otherwise. You won't get notifications, which turned out to be an issue for me last weekend when my internet provider had an outage.

Those were his responses... Can't wait to get this thing!


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[mhiszem]

It's good to get great service even before you receive the product.


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[Hogsy]

It's AUSTRALIAN MADE! Of course it's going to be good 😀

[Mkrause]

So i received my smartfire yesterday!

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[Mkrause]

My only initial complaint is that there wasn't any kind of "quick start" guide or anything. However, once you fire it up and get the app the app kind of walks you through setup which went very smoothly. I ordered it with the "universal" adapter which you have to drill a hole for. There is also an adapter that will fit in a filed out daisy wheel, you would then block off the other two holes. There isn't much info that i could find regarding placement specifically on the wsm but i assumed inline with the daisy wheels, leaving room for the retaining nut above the grate, was acceptable. i happened to have a carbide hole saw that was the perfect size so drilling the hole went easy.

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[Mkrause]

I tried my first test run as soon as i had everything installed. I totally botched it. I let the temp get waaay too high before i buttoned everything up and i used too much lit charcoal initially. It took a couple hours to settle down from 300 to my 225 setpoint. Once it was there, it held from about 4pm to 2am fluctuating from 220 to 230, until the coal was spent. I should mention i didn't have nearly a full load of charcoal. I realized that there is some not so obvious settings within the app that had my unit programmed to a big green egg setting, so i don't know how much that impacts things.

A few features i like so far

I was out all evening and then was called in to work and was there until 430am, i was able to monitor what was going on the whole time and receive notifications when the pit temp couldn't maintain anymore.

The fan ramps up and down depending on how much airflow is needed and kicks on briefly at low speed every couple minutes to circulate air within the smoker.

It is powered via usb so i used a phone charger ac power supply and plugged it in outside. This also gives you the option to use a usb battery pack which are readily available and gives you the option if a wall outlet isn't available.

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[Mkrause]

I am currently doing another dry run. This time i used a fresh ring of kbb (just what was left in the bag, maybe 2/3 of a full load), lit about a dozen, dumped in the center of the ring, and buttoned everything up. Plugged in the smartfire and set it for 225. I started with the bottom dampers closed and the top wide open until it got up to temp, i then dialed the top vent back to about half. The smartfire "ramps" by slowing the fan as it gets closer to target temp. This is where it's at so far...

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[Mkrause]

Some screen shots of settings the sliders are for high and low alarms

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