Surprised no company has come up with a controller upgrade for the masses...

[TJSlayer]

After reading about all of the controller issues I'm actually surprised that no company has come up with a plug and play replacement PID controller for some of the pit bosses.
New and old alike

One with the appropriate bezel for the older models to convert to PID and also one for the newer ones.

Or better yet same basic controller with 4 ports, in horizontal configuration or vertical configuration with the appropriate wire harness and bezel.

Someone like rec-tec could really move a lot of units if the did something like this...

 

[Fireteam6]

There are a few people who have used the Rec-tec, one I have been looking at lately is the Muxall Pro BBQ controller for Pellet Grills, some say its pricey but I think for the flexibility it offers it worth it. Now the shape is not a drop drop in for most grills but I think there are workarounds if you want that kind of control.

 

[TJSlayer]

Well who know what will happen this year someone may step up to the opportunity... But there would be a good example they offer their controller in many colors so they should look at the different orientation and then making sure it's plug and play... just my opinion.

Just surprises me given how popular pellet grills have become... I would think that there would be a large market for it.

 

[GeekChef]

RecTec used to sell their controllers.....but they don't unless you have a RT Smoker. I installed one on my PB S4 V2.....and now I get 5 deg increments, a great app and a Probe offset to make the grill read the same as the grate temperature. Super easy install too.....after I crimped and soldered on the same Pit Boss Connectors for the power and the RTD. Now I can switch back, when they fixed the PB controllers in about 5 mins.

Smoke Daddy sells a Universal Autotune PID Smoker Controller....the issue is that with the WIFI option, it is $300! PID Controller Link

 

[birddogs2]

I installed a Savanna Stoker PID controller in my Pit Boss 1100, works great. The controller has 23 user adjustable parameters plus an auto tune feature to allow you to fine tune the controller to your grill and change temperatures in1 degree increments. It does not have WiFi though. It's plug and play with the PB harness, however it is a vertical controller, so you will have to make some accommodations to mount it on the cooker. This is how I mounted mine.

 

[david_ski]

I installed a Savanna Stoker PID controller in my Pit Boss 1100, works great. The controller has 23 user adjustable parameters plus an auto tune feature to allow you to fine tune the controller to your grill and change temperatures in1 degree increments. It does not have WiFi though. It's plug and play with the PB harness, however it is a vertical controller, so you will have to make some accommodations to mount it on the cooker. This is how I mounted mine.

Great that it is working well for you. Unfortunate that one has to budget an extra $200 into the cost of a Pit Boss grill for a controller that works. That is what finalized my decision to buy a Camp Chef Windwood. I was not afraid of changing out parts, but no sense in giving Pot Boss any $$ for a defective product. They should have an option to sell their grills without controllers.

 

[Fireteam6]

I have the 1100 and the1600, the 1100 controller worked great for me and the grill provided great tasting food, my buddy has a RecTeq 700 and both produce great food quality.

I have seen quite a few people change out their controllers from Camp Chef, RecTeq, Traeger.

I have been following the Muxall Controller and if I don't sell my 1100 I will get one just to see how well it works.

 

[david_ski]

I have the 1100 and the1600, the 1100 controller worked great for me and the grill provided great tasting food, my buddy has a RecTeq 700 and both produce great food quality.

I have seen quite a few people change out their controllers from Camp Chef, RecTeq, Traeger.

I have been following the Muxall Controller and if I don't sell my 1100 I will get one just to see how well it works.

If I went down the Pit Boss path, I was going to go with the Camp Chef controller pretty much right away. I have to say so far I am very happy with the Camp Chef controller on my Windwood 24.
Muxall was not on my radar.. A little on the high side for price.
There are numerous options: Camp Chef, Smoke Daddy, Savanna Stoker, Muxall, and probably more. All of these controllers are probably based off of the same microcontroller. (ESP32 that has Bluetooth and WiFi).

 

[GeekChef]

I have the 1100 and the1600, the 1100 controller worked great for me and the grill provided great tasting food, my buddy has a RecTeq 700 and both produce great food quality.

I have seen quite a few people change out their controllers from Camp Chef, RecTeq, Traeger.

I have been following the Muxall Controller and if I don't sell my 1100 I will get one just to see how well it works.

I looked at their controller and it looks like they made it in their garage....would be worried about the repeatability of making them by hand....at least it looks like they do.....and the web interface is a ungodly yellow mess....looks like it was hacked together in about 2 hours. They need some serious polish before I would pay $329 for the controller....when I only paid $360 at lowes for the entire S4 V2 Pitboss Smoker. Just thinking out loud.....

 

[Fireteam6]

I looked at their controller and it looks like they made it in their garage....would be worried about the repeatability of making them by hand....at least it looks like they do.....and the web interface is a ungodly yellow mess....looks like it was hacked together in about 2 hours. They need some serious polish before I would pay $329 for the controller....when I only paid $360 at lowes for the entire S4 V2 Pitboss Smoker. Just thinking out loud.....

If I went down the Pit Boss path, I was going to go with the Camp Chef controller pretty much right away. I have to say so far I am very happy with the Camp Chef controller on my Windwood 24.
Muxall was not on my radar.. A little on the high side for price.
There are numerous options: Camp Chef, Smoke Daddy, Savanna Stoker, Muxall, and probably more. All of these controllers are probably based off of the same microcontroller. (ESP32 that has Bluetooth and WiFi).

You are absolutely right, I think all the controllers I have seen use the ESP32. Savanna has not yet implemented Wifi, but the rumor is that is should coming soon.

 

[GeekChef]

If I went down the Pit Boss path, I was going to go with the Camp Chef controller pretty much right away. I have to say so far I am very happy with the Camp Chef controller on my Windwood 24.
Muxall was not on my radar.. A little on the high side for price.
There are numerous options: Camp Chef, Smoke Daddy, Savanna Stoker, Muxall, and probably more. All of these controllers are probably based off of the same microcontroller. (ESP32 that has Bluetooth and WiFi).

Yes....I agree with you....but a Windwood 24 Wifi pellet smoker is $800....that is significantly more than $360.....bad controller or not.

To be honest....it is time for someone to come out with a fully functional Stand-alone PID controller in the $200 price range....that would dominate the market.

 

[Fireteam6]

I looked at their controller and it looks like they made it in their garage....would be worried about the repeatability of making them by hand....at least it looks like they do.....and the web interface is a ungodly yellow mess....looks like it was hacked together in about 2 hours. They need some serious polish before I would pay $329 for the controller....when I only paid $360 at lowes for the entire S4 V2 Pitboss Smoker. Just thinking out loud.....

I agree with you it is not the most polished, on the price when you look at the SmokeDaddy with Wifi you are pretty close to $300. What would be nice is if someone actually came out with an Opensource PID Controller.

 

[Fireteam6]

Yes....I agree with you....but a Windwood 24 Wifi pellet smoker is $800....that is significantly more than $360.....bad controller or not.

To be honest....it is time for someone to come out with a fully functional Stand-alone PID controller in the $200 price range....that would dominate the market.

I hope when the market is more established that will occur, you can get a control board for a 3d Printer for $60 and that is pretty much really a PID controller and does more than a grill controller. On the high end side for 3D control board you are talking $229, so hopefully eventually we will see Pellet Grill Controllers with all the bells and whistles for under $200.

 

[GeekChef]

I agree with you it is not the most polished, on the price when you look at the SmokeDaddy with Wifi you are pretty close to $300. What would be nice is if someone actually came out with an Opensource PID Controller.

I have put feelers out to two companies that make PID controllers to see if they are interested or able to make a pellet PID controller for around $200......volume may be the biggest issue.

On another note....I could make the PID controller, as I already have for my charcoal Akorn smoker....but am not as savvy with iPhone app programming for sure. See below the one I made and programmed with a 3D printed fan blower and servo damper. Won't work for a Pellet Smoker...and it needs some better packaging....LoL...!

 

[david_ski]

I looked at their controller and it looks like they made it in their garage....would be worried about the repeatability of making them by hand....at least it looks like they do.....and the web interface is a ungodly yellow mess....looks like it was hacked together in about 2 hours. They need some serious polish before I would pay $329 for the controller....when I only paid $360 at lowes for the entire S4 V2 Pitboss Smoker. Just thinking out loud.....

Their price is way to much. $199 should be the max price.