Smart BBQ Smoker Temperature Controller with Patented Variable Speed Fan, Flame Boss 400 Kamado WiFi with 2 Probes for Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe, Primo, Grill Dome, Akorn Kamado, Vision Classic

I did my first cook with the Flamboss 400 WiFi last Saturday. Setting up the MyFlameBoss account and pairing the device with my WiFi was pretty simple and worked the first time. Flame Boss uses the usual set up and configuration process of joining the wifi network of the device from your phone during its initial setup. I previously used a DigiQ DX3 which was an excellent control device but offered no connectivity. Additionally, I was pleased to see that the Flame Boss fan runs at a variable speed which is an improvement on the DX3 which just pulses the fan on and off. Setting up the adaptor on my Big Green Egg Minimax was also very easy. There were three adaptors in the box for different sizes of Green Egg. When I get a larger egg in the future or even a different brand, I'll still be able to use the Flame Boss 400. After starting my Egg's fire and placing the place-setter, I set the app to bring the egg to 225F for a low and slow smoke of some meaty St Louis ribs. It was terrific to see the egg's temperature come up gradually and stay in a tightly controlled zone. As you play with this device, you may want to experiment with where you place the pit probe. I like to control my temperature by putting the probe on the dome roof, rather than the pit. However, I've done it both ways and there is a bunch of chatter about this topic on the egghead forum. I experimented with changing temperature in the app and saw the temperature gently in a few minutes. The principal reason for this purchase was the wifi and internet connectivity. It was terrific to be able to visualize the pit temperature and fan usage percentage on my iPhone, iPad and a browser on my mac. To keep a close eye on the situation, I did an AirPlay from my mac to my large screen TV. Everything worked intuitively, and without issues. It was also helpful that the unit's design is simple. I don't need something with indicators and buttons or separate additional boxes if I can see and control everything I need in an app. In my opinion, the Flame Boss app is way more intuitive than their previous devices with their buttons and LCDs. If you BBQ for a living, you might feel differently. :-) If you've ever used a weber igrill for Bluetooth temperature monitoring, you'll appreciate the ease and convenience of viewing your pit temps on your phone/tablet. However, Bluetooth is quite limited in range and does not provide the Flame Boss useful internet connectivity. After several hours, with everything working correctly, I went out for a long walk, feeling comfortable that all was safely proceeding. 45 minutes into my stroll, I was both surprised and delighted to receive a text message warning me that I had a low-temperature condition in the green egg. Getting home quickly, I saw that the charcoal had burned entirely and that I needed to add fuel. That can be a common issue on small green eggs. It was terrific to get the warning and in a position to take action before losing the cook. On further investigation, I realized that the Flame Boss made it easy to see the emerging fuel condition at least an hour before it became a problem. Earlier, I mentioned that you can watch temperature and fan utilization over time. In the case of running out of fuel, the temperature stayed at a 225 steady, but the fan utilization slowly increased to a constant 100% during an hour. Now to be clear, you don't need to watch the screen or app constantly, but if you look every so often, you'll get a sense of impending trouble. All in all, I'm delighted. Given the newness and lack of reviews, the Flame Boss 400 Wifi might have been a shot in the dark. However, I was glad that it was a very solid out of box experience and first cook. I've included a pic of both the cook graph and my delicious smoky ribs. In the pic, you can see the fuel running out at 4pm, the fan going crazy to sustain the temperature in the hour before, the temperature drop, refueling, and the subsequent temperature recovery. Note that Big Green Egg created a branded version of this device that is only available through their retail dealer network. I am not sure if there are differences between the Flame Boss and Green Egg branded versions. That said, I'm happy with the Flame Boss version purchased and reviewed here. I'll update further if my experience changes. So far, So Good!

Just to start off. I am a seasoned Kamodo Bbqer. I have been making food on my large Kamodo smoker for years. For the most part I have no issues with temp control. Where this thing shines for me is overnight cooks. No more BBQ nightmares Aw here the smoker is at 450 with a brisket inside. Or 100 degrees becuase the fire went out while I was sleeping. This thing is incredible. It keeps the smoker within 5 degrees of what ever I set it at. But the best part is the kamodo runs really really efficient and I seem to get many many more hours out of a basket of coal. Issues. Probe registered at 207 in boiling water. Not a huge deal but at the same time how accurate are these probes going to be after several cooks? My done thermometer should give me a good baseline so not an issue Buy it. Worth every penny

While the promise of this product is great, and the design of the app is also excellent, the product itself is completely unreliable. It simply does not connect to your phone. You continually get the “unable to connect” error, which I’ve attached a picture of. While this was going on, I was literally within 2 feet of the device, and the device and my phone were literally within 10 feet of an Orbi satellite, which usually provides about 500 MBPS of connectivity. So I know it was not my Internet connection. That was the problem. I spent a half hour on the phone with a tech from the company, and he gave me a dozen different ways to try to connect, most of which I had already tried, and none of which worked. and then to top it off, the phone call dropped, and he never called me back. Meanwhile, I had two racks of ribs on the grill. This is the second product I’ve had from this company and they both have the same problem. Connectivity. The last resort is you have the option of connecting “direct“ but that means your phone connects to this device as your Internet connection, and it disconnects you from your home Wi-Fi. So if you are doing a cook that lasts five or 10 hours, for that entire time, your phone will be unable to connect to the Internet. If you manually change your phones connection and then try to switch back to the app, you have to start from scratch and go completely through the whole process of resetting the device and trying to connect, which will usually end up with you having to connect direct and give up your Wi-Fi access. I am a technology nerd and have been CEO of several mobile technology companies and I have never experienced a product this bad. Unfortunately , I was able to return my second purchase to Amazon, but I would never again buy a product from this company and I would recommend that you steer clear of it unless you want to spend more time trying to connect the app than you would otherwise spend barbecuing whatever it is you’re trying to cook.

I purchased the FB400 a couple months ago because I was having difficulty maintaining a constant temperature in my Kamado Joe. Yes I am a newby to smoking, but I have been grilling a long time. I recently wanted to start smoking and after hearing the nightmares my friends have gone through I decided that I was going to find an easier way to smoke meats. In my research and experience I have found there are several factors to why a kamado has variations in temperature. The vents are the only way to set a temperature, but the temperature can change because of the size of the fuel (lump charcoal is not the same size. A bunch of small pieces have more surface area than one large so the temp can go up and vice versa), changes in air flow and how the fuel is placed. I have found the FB400 does an excellent job in keeping the temperature constant because it manages the air flow. Once you get the FB400 app and connect the device it is a very simple process. You start the fire and leave the lid open until you get about 60 degrees below your target temp. Close the lid and the top vent until it is barely open. Attach the FB to the lower vent and make sure there are no gaps for air to get around the FB400 and its adapter. Plug in the FB400 and set the temperature then wait. It is that simple. It works by restricting the air flow so the FB400 is the only way the fuel can get air. Once the grill reaches the target temp the FB400 will maintain it within a few degrees. Understand the oven in your house does the same process of keeping the temperature within an established range. Critical points: 1. Make sure the FB400 has a connection to the wifi before you start your cook 2. The location of the grill probe is critical. I purchased clips to attach the probe above the grill, because the temperature was a false high reading when attached directly to the grill and moving it will change the reading it gets. Pro: 1. The FB400 keeps the temperature within a few degrees of target. 2. You will get messages about the status of the temperature should it go above or below the alarm threshold with a suggestion of what you should do to correct the problem 3. You will get a message when the temperature goes back within the threshold of the alarm. 4. The software will graph the temp of the grill, the temp of the food and how much speed (percentage) the fan is using. 5. The information for each cook is recorded and can be shared. 6. You can also include notes in each cook 7. Device works as a stand alone device, through the local network only, and if it has internet through the wifi it can notify your phone while your away. (Why anyone would leave their grill unattended is beyond me, but hey. Different strokes for different folks) 8. The FB400 senses when the grill has been opened (you will get a notification) and it will wait 2 minutes before starting the fan (if needed) to get it back to temperature to avoid overshooting the set temperature. Cons: 1. Probe location is critical and using tin foil to keep in the grill didn't work too well. (Buy a probe clip. You will be happy you did) 2. Make sure the FB400 works before starting your cook to make sure you can connect. (The software has been updated to allow you to connect through the local wifi if the servers are down or to connect directly) 3. The software does not tell you when it has lost connectivity so you have to go to a different screen and then back to make sure it is connected. ( Should be a minor fix for the software) 4. Some issues with logging into the account sometimes. (My second cook took me 30 minutes to get connected for some unknown reason and then it worked. I have not had a problem since) Pro/Con (debatable): The unit is all one piece which makes it small, light and inexpensive. I have read some people voice concerns about what ifs and they are valid. But if you are that worried about a failure and replacing the unit then purchase some other model that is modular and takes up far more space. Remember, you not just paying for the hardware. It comes with software too, and that is where it either works or doesn't. (this little guy works) I am very happy with my purchase and it has been fun watching some of my friends marvel over how well the kamado and FB400 work together. After hearing their stories, I am pretty sure they will be ordering an FB400 for themselves.

This brought our Brisket cooking to a new level. Not only does it improve the results because of our ability to track the temperature and maintain it with total accuracy, but the convenience aspect is just next level. We have literally put the brisket on in the morning and gone to the zoo for the day and watched the brisket temp from the app, only to come home to a perfectly cooked brisket. It’s absolutely criminal how easy it is. If you are someone who almost didn’t buy a Kamado because you felt it would be too much work or too difficult compared to a pellet smoker... this device will absolutely change your mind. It just feels like cheating.

This is my second controller from them, I bought my first one (500 Series) about 4 years ago (I still have it and it still works great) this is a second unit for me because I have two Big Geen Eggs. Setup is extremely easy, no exceptional network capabilities needed, the most difficult part of the setup is remembering your home network password. Product accuracy is excellent, range is good, app is also well designed and easy to use. I have not had a need to contact the company for this unit, but it bears commenting on their customer service if you ever do need anything. On my 500 I had a defective temperature probe, I called them about it. They were absolutely awesome, they overnighted a new probe and threw in an extra one and an extra meat probe as well just so if I’d happened again I wouldn’t be unable to cook. Who doe that anymore, well obviously these guys do. Buy one of these, heck buy two, you will not regret it.

It works exactly like you'd expect it to, as long as their software is up and running. I use a Vision Kamado Classic-B series. Here's a few tips: *Make sure you have the top vent almost closed. The top vent controls higher swings in temp, and the fan won't be able to cool off your grill if it gets too hot too fast. It doesn't realize that you have the top vent open so it can get to temp super quick, and out of control if you're not paying attention. *Set up your profile and settings on the website before you start the cook. The software is not intuitive to connect to your Wifi, and the instructions do not give clear advice. PROS: +Works as intended, very consistent temps. I'm very comfortable leaving the house or sleeping during longer smokes. +Probes are accurate. Many successful smokes on my Kamado. +Text message alerts for when it's done! This is pretty cool. +Software is convenient, and it also allows for website usage which is pretty handy if you don't get cell signal. CONS: -Servers went down all day on Thanksgiving... putting many people in a stressful situation. Apparently this is an annual holiday challenge that they have not resolved. See Instagram or Facebook for additional research, feedback and commentary. -Software doesn't always refresh temps when you pull it up, I have to exit out of my cook and go back in. Minor issue. -Instructions provided could be much better. Myself and friends all struggled to get it paired with the Wifi - the directions are vague. -Metal plate that slides over my bottom vent is not a very tight fit. It's a piece of stainless with a square cutout - nothing fancy. The problem is that smoke escapes out the bottom vent and I've noticed the fan has to work much harder unless I have the plate sealed better. I don't have a solution yet, my photos show me jamming a nearby bolt so you can see how big the gap is **See photos** Overall it's a great product with some obvious flaws. Their customer service on Thanksgiving was not reassuring or very kind on the phone, saying that "This isn't something we planned for and stuff happens." I'm not sure I would recommend it. Unfortunately for me I'm just out of the return window for Amazon by 4 days, otherwise I would return it based on the company not being able to resolve server issues, and they way they handled customer service. If this is not important to you... get it. It works.

This is a must-have accessory if you own a big green egg. My first cook was with a 8 and 1/2 pound Boston butt. I set it to cook at 250 degrees and it works flawlessly. I used the second set of meat and pit thermometer (Maverick PRO-Series XR-50) and they were within 2 degrees of each other throughout the 8-hour cook. After a few hours and after I got comfortable with the performance I left the house for a trip to the grocery store. At the store I was able to monitor the cook temperatures through the Boss app on my Android phone. Also, customer service was outstanding. The day before my cook I set up the boss and open up the app on my phone but I had a problem logging in. I called customer service and I was up and running 2 minutes later.