Cook Programs Useless!

[goodman]

New to the Smokefire figured I would start my smoking journey using the Cook Programs. First some ribs and then a pork shoulder. Unfortunately, in the middle of these cooks, the Cook Programs I started just disappeared leaving me not knowing where I was in the process. Lessoned learned I guess is to keep track of the steps myself and not rely on an app.

 

[Goneincognito]

Yes they are

 

[Bruno]

Have a plan before you start, what temp you are looking to wrap or not. If you need those cook guides you already lost.

 

[JpsBBQ]

Yeah, I’m not a fan of the whole idea. That said, I bet there are a bunch of folks who would love the idea. It’s far better to know the proper temps and as stated above, have a plan. I wish they had spent far less time on this idea. I see it’s a big part of the Weber Connect hub and their new smart gas grills too.

 

[goodman]

I found my controller hung 3 times during a 12 hour cook. Each time I noticed the app said it wasn’t connected. When I checked the smoker, the fan was cycling on and off and the controller would not respond. Only way to fix it was to physically turn it off and on.

Not only did it hang but it was no longer heating and reading the probe temp.

Going to speak to Weber on Monday and if they don’t have a fix this thing is going back!

 

[Goneincognito]

Going to speak to Weber on Monday and if they don’t have a fix this thing is going back!

Give it time and let them work with you. They will eventually make it right.

 

[AHoneyman]

Physically flipping the switch will lock up the controller every time. The controller does what it was programmed for and does not like the operator over thinking the process.

 

[goodman]

Physically flipping the switch will lock up the controller every time. The controller does what it was programmed for and does not like the operator over thinking the process.

I toggled the On/Off switch after the issue occurred, not before.

Given the controller would not respond, the grill and probe temp had not moved in hours, and the mobile app said it was disconnected, my only option was to toggle the On/Off switch to Off, wait ~30 seconds and toggling it back on.

When it booted back up, I noticed the grill temp had dropped down to 190 from the set temp of 275 and the internal temp of the pork shoulder had dropped. So I went back through the process of setting the temp to 275 and the probe notification to 200. I also checked to make sure pellets were still feeding and topped off the hopper.

Then a few hours later, the same thing occurred. App showed disconnected, no response from controller wheel or buttons. This happened 4 times during the 12 hour cook.

 

[AHoneyman]

These are symptoms of software/firmware/OS that have not been updated. Another thing to watch for is the loss of temp set point. This appears as dashed lines where the set point should be. Again, it appears that you need some updates, which may be fun also. Most of us have fought through these issues since the start. The first question is do you have the new pellet chute (single piece, painted black)? If that is not a yes, you need to start there.

 

[goodman]

it appears that you need some updates,

When I setup the grill it went through some firmware updates and now states its up to date.

Weber is going to send a new controller board which I should receive in 3-5 business days.

I'll give it a try only because returning it is going to be a PITA.

 

[Goneincognito]

When I setup the grill it went through some firmware updates and now states its up to date.

Weber is going to send a new controller board which I should receive in 3-5 business days.

I'll give it a try only because returning it is going to be a PITA.

Did you make sure the phone app was up to date also?

 

[goodman]

Yes, phone app is up to date.

Did a quick burger cook this afternoon. Started on 225 and then raised to 400 at the end. Grill hung towards the end and I had to “reboot” it to finish. I’m really regretting purchasing this thing.

 

[Goneincognito]

That really sucks.
A time is going to come where you need to decide if you are going to stick with it or pull the pin and tell them to take it back.
People (myself included) will say to stick it out because they are an awesome unit.
Only you can make the decision though on how much messing around you want to go through if you have a unit that is not playing nice.
When they act up they are a PITA and can sometimes take a while to get things resolved.
I have been fortunate enough not to have any problems but I have seen and read about the people who have and I really feel for them.

 

[abmet]

Definitely sounds like has bad controller. Hope they get you fixed soon.

 

[TwoWheeler]

Seems like they spent a lot of effort to make their programs and recipes on their website look all pretty and Instagram-y and not enough effort making them actually functional. Do we really need instructions on how to mince garlic? <sigh>.

The telling sign for me is that with the recipes on their website, they have the ”instructions” tab on top of the “ingredients” tab. Uh, no. You kind of need to know if you have what you need, before you worry about how to use it.