# Just Ordered a Rock's BBQ Stoker For My Lang 60



## smokeon (Apr 15, 2010)

Really looking forward to getting it. Should be here in about 2 weeks. Last few smokes I've done have lead me to believe that the stoker system could help out a lot.

The person at Rock's was very courteous and helpful.  A good impression working with them so far.  

 I'll give an update when I get it.


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## kanadan (Apr 28, 2010)

let me know if you like it im building my own reverse flow and am thinking of installing one on it.


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## bmudd14474 (Apr 29, 2010)

Sweet. I cant wait to see a review on it from you.


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## smokeon (May 12, 2010)

Me too.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Still waiting on delivery.  I contacted them 2 weeks ago and was told that the last unit they had was designated to be mine, but when they put it through the self test it had a bad board and they don't have a replacement now.  I work in the high tech industry and I fully understand these types of situations coming up.  I just wish they had given me an update to let me know of the delay.  Yes, I've got warning flags going up in my head right now, but I still have a wait and see attitude to find out how they follow through.

I plan on checking with them again today.


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## tom37 (May 12, 2010)

Wow, what a bad deal. 

I would be like the kid on x mas waiting for present time, but Worse....

Good Luck and I hope it makes it soon.


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## smokeon (May 13, 2010)

Ok, next update.

I called them yesterday.  The guy I spoke to was very polite.  He told me that a new shipment of boards had just arrived and that my order was being shipped out that day.  Later I got an email with the tracking information from the shipper.  I discussed with him that I was fine with the delay but that I really wished they had kept me in the loop.  I understand the problems with low volume production and lead times from vendors.  Had they kept me informed of this, I wouldn't have been upset about it.  As it was, they had over $500 of my money and I had no product and no idea if I'm going to get it.  Makes me a little nervous.

Even now, I'm still not upset with them.  I do appreciate the fact that they test the systems before they send them out and that they did not just send out a bad system in order to fill a quota.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	







Here's the current tracking information:

"Your item was processed through and left our OAKLAND, CA 94615 facility on May 12, 2010. The item is currently in transit to the destination. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later. "

I should have it in hand by Saturday.


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## indyadmin1974 (May 13, 2010)

Hey Smokeon check out this site:

http://boxoh.com

It will give you a Google Maps view of your package's journey.

Looking forward to your review.  I'm buying another WSM today (up to 2) and would like to get a stoker system for them if / when I do comps.


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## hernando (May 13, 2010)

I would have had them bump the shipping at no cost to same day. Ah well. At least it's onit's way . and, you are right at least they didn't send you out a crap prod. then you would have had to wait longer. the fisrt shipment. the return and reshipment...


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## kanadan (May 13, 2010)

hopefully you can get a test run in this weekend and let us know how it works. congrats hope you like it


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## smokeon (May 14, 2010)

Latest update:

Your item is out for delivery or available at a PO Box at 8:52 AM on May 14, 2010


WOOT!! It's in my town now.


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## Dutch (May 14, 2010)

Smokeon-I'm looking to setup my Lang with a Stoker. What items did you order and how are you going to attach it to you Lang?

Thanks~


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## smokeon (May 14, 2010)

I ordered the basic system +3 food probes, + 25cfm blower upgrade + 2 inch wheel adapter.  Wasn't cheap, but I know me.  If I don't bite the bullet and get everything at once, I'll try to cobble something together and get by, while all the time wishing I had just bought it all to begin with.  

I consulted with the folks at Rock's and those were their recommendations.  It's going onto a Lang model 60 (not the delux with warmer).


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## smokeon (May 14, 2010)

BTW, the wife just texted me and told me it's been delivered.  Going to have to bail from work soon and get a brisket from Sam's.


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## Dutch (May 14, 2010)

Sweeeet. Can't wait to see your set up!!


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## smokeon (May 15, 2010)

Ok. Everything arrived and works. I have pics but I'll have to post later. 

Had some problems installing the adapter. The bolt that holds the wheel air flow door on the side of the Lang firebox was either rusted or welded in place. The bolt broke off so I drilled it out. There was also a nut welded to the inside of the firebox for that bolt. It interfered with the new wheel adapter so I used a dremel to cut it off. No big deal if I want to go back to stock. I'll just use a bolt and nut to reattach the wheel.

Setup was a breeze. There is no configuration as far as how to connect things up. Just pick an empty socket from one of five and plug stuff in. The stoker auto-recognizes what is plugged in where. Configuring the stoker with the temperature setpoints and alarms is straightforward with the onboard menus. 

It did have difficulty running at first. This was due to how I configured the air adapter and completely my fault. I had the adapter blowing into the back wheel air door in the back slot (the wedge closest to the fire door). This location had the stoker blowing air across the back of the firebox where there was no wood to burn. After fooling around with air door settings I finally cut up a large coffee can and made a baffle to go in the firebox that would redirect the air toward the fire. The fan was on, the fire heated up and the smoker temp came up. I had the control temp set at 245, the high alarm at 250 and the low alarm at 240. Once the air was blowing on the fire, the heat came up to 245 and then the fan started cycling on and off. Currently the stoker is puffing away and the chamber cook temp is 245 +/- 1 degree. (actually, it's a little tighter than that 244.3 - 245.3)

I tried to hook it up to my laptop but I'm having problems configuring the network. It's probably my own ignorance and I'll work through it. I think I need to get a wireless bridge to get it to log into my DSL router.

So far, I am happy with it. Things I would do differently at this point:
1. Locate the fan on the front air wheel instead of the back one.
2. If I had it to do over, I probably wouldn't spend $110 on the sheet metal adapter and instead just go buy a steel pipe that was threaded and posssibly an elbow to be able to direct the air flow toward the fire and drill another hole in the firebox for the pipe.
3. Set up the network connections ahead of time so that it doesn't interfere with the smoke.


One other thing I've found while looking on the internet for help configuring the I/N settings, I'm not the only one who was dissapointed with communication with Rock's BBQ. Seems they have a habit of not returning emails or phone calls. The unit itself seems veryh well built. But I'd feeel more comfortable if their customer service was more responsive.


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## Dutch (May 17, 2010)

To bad that there isn't a Stoker Users Forum where you can get help. Looking forward to seeing pics of your set up.


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## indyadmin1974 (May 17, 2010)

Dutch, the guys who wrote the software that interacts with the Stoker on on the Virtual Weber Bullet forum quite a bit:
http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/9270072103

I have e-mailed them several times and though it took several hours to get back to me, they've always been responsive.  I hope that when I'm ready to buy I don't have the same issue.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I still think this is a better setup than the BBQ Guru though but who knows.


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## smokeon (May 25, 2010)

Sorry guys,  been busy enjoying using the stoker.  It's da BOMB!!!!  Got pics up finally.

Here's the kit I ordered:













Users manual:

 
	

		
			
		

		
	







Back of Controller:







Front of controller:







Another view of the kit:







Chosen location for adapter, the right side wheel:







Adapter installed:







Inside firebox adapter installation:













Hooked up:



















Running:







Test Subject:







Sorry, no after pics.  I was too hungry.  But it was delicious.

Native User Interface:







Aftermarket (Free downloadable) User Interface:







After the first run, I found I didn't like the idea behind the Rock's adapter wheel.  I decided to do something different.  So I bought two 12 inch long, 1.5 inch diameter black iron pipe stubs, 1 Tee fitting, 1 pipe plug and rigged up my own adapter.  I drilled two, 2 inch holes in the top of the firebox.  Put the pipe stubs through the holes and threaded the Tee fitting in the middle.  I put the pipe cap on one end and clamped the silicone hose on the other.  Now the fan blows into the top center of the firebox, straight down onto the fire and it doesn't interfere with loading or cleaning out the firebox.  You can see the fan in the upper left corner of this picture.  It works like a dream.  If I rotate the fan, I can point the Tee fitting where I want it in the firebox.

Here it is in action with the new fan adapter.  Note the fan is now at the top of the firebox:







An observer for my second smoke with the stoker:







This smoke was 24 pork shoulders, 14- half trays of Dutch's beans and 14 trays of cole slaw for a Boy Scout fundraiser.  The food was great, the turn out sucked.













I would definitely recommend getting one of these.  I'll post the screen shots of the stoker controller in action.


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## smokeon (May 25, 2010)

One other thing I've noticed is that my fuel usage is way down with the Stoker.  I don't have measurements but what used to take 2 or more wheelbarrow fulls now can be done with less than one.

Here is the data from the last smoke of 24 butts.  This is cooking the meat. Started at around 9:00am and finished about 1:00am.  The red trace is the chamber temp.  The dips are when I opened the chamber.  The blue trace is the fan on/off.







This is from the next day at the event.  There are 3 more traces to track the food temps (didn't figure out how to do those the day of the smoke.)  Ran the temp up high to heat the food, then ran it back down to keep it warm.


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## txbbqman (May 25, 2010)

Couple of quick questions for you Smokeon,

First do you mind sharing what you paid for that? I may have missed it if you said it

second, in the last Pic with all the Butts, did you drill a hole beside your door to run your probes threw ? if so how did that effect chamber temp and smoke?

Thanks


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## smokeon (May 26, 2010)

Txbbqman said:


> Couple of quick questions for you Smokeon,
> 
> First do you mind sharing what you paid for that? I may have missed it if you said it
> 
> ...


No problem.  From the invoice:

Basic Plus 3 $340.00 Qty: 1

25 c.f.m. Blower Upgrade $100.00 Qty: 1

2 inch Wheel Adapter $110.00 Qty: 1

　

　

Shipping: $15.00

Tax: $0.00

Grand Total: $565.00

The break down is this:

The basic + 3 is an upgrade.  It is the controller, 1 blower, 1 pit temp sensor, and 3 meat sensors.  You could save money if you only wanted the basic which has only 1 meat sensor instead of 3.  That costs $280.00

The 25cfm blower is needed for the larger pits.  It works very well with the 60 and I recommend it for this size pit.

The 2 inch wheel adapter for me was a waste of money.  For less than $20 at Home Depot you can get some black iron pipe and make your own adapter if you don't mind drilling 2 inch holes in your firebox.  If I had put the adapter in one of the forward wheels, it would have worked some better, but I notice that the air inlets get covered over with ash by the end of the smoke.  Having the vent on top means this doesn't matter.  Also, I'm now thinking about lining the box with fire brick to keep the heat in the fire so it burns more efficiently.

Regarding the hole in the pit, Yes, I put it in there.  It is a half inch hole.  I have not noticed any problem maintaining heat or smoke in the pit with it there and it saves stress on my expensive probes.  I don't even see any smoke coming out of that hole.  I figure if I want to close it later, I can tap the hole and put a bolt in it.  It is a 1/2 inch hole.


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## smokeon (May 26, 2010)

So overall, if asked would I buy it again, the answer is yes.  Without a doubt.  The people at Rocks are courteous and professional.  However, they will not call you if there is a delay with your order.  So don't be afraid to call to check up on it.  They answered my follow up calls very well. 

The performance of the unit is just what I expected.  My fuel usage is down and I can get much more stable temperatures than I could before.  I also think I can maintain a higher temperature than I could without the stoker.  Without the fan and with all four vents open, the pit just wasn't drawing enough are for a really hot fire.

Future upgrades might include another fan and pit temp sensor for a warming box I'm thinking about adding.  If I put a warming box on, I want it to take a full size steam table tray.  I was concerned about being able to juggle the temperatures betseen the box and the pit.  With the stoker, I would just build a fire in the bottom of the warmer box and run it like a seperate smoker.


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## cwarner (Nov 28, 2011)

Smokeon-

I know this is an old thread, but I'm looking to get a stoker, and had a question for you. How did you drill the 2" hole in the firebox?

Also, now that you've had it awhile, anything new to add about performance/reliability/etc?

Thanks!


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## raymo76 (Nov 28, 2011)

I used a circular saw drill bit to make the hole my Guru on my former pit. It worked great I'd give it a good word of mouth.


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