# How would we petition Masterbuilt to include chart tracking in their app?



## mummel (Jun 23, 2015)

It cant be hard!  All you need is someone to code the logging feature.  It seems like such a simple and valuable addition to their app.  Does anyone have a contact there that actually listens to customer requests?  Where is the suggestion box?


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## mummel (Jun 24, 2015)

Are there any IT guys/coders on the forum?  Would it be worth it to contact MB and offer your services to help design the app?  I'm sure they will gladly pay for it.  Who designs their app?  They do it in-house?


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## mbtechguy (Jun 25, 2015)

Please be more specific in your request, and I will make sure the information gets in the right hands.  Tks.  Darryl


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## mummel (Jun 25, 2015)

Hi!  Are you from MB???  That's fantastic that someone is listening.

The iGrill 2 has a bluetooth enabled app which generates charts.  It seems really simple to do.  The Masterbuilt app already takes probe and smoker temp readings every couple of seconds.  So why not include a data logger to capture those readings, then just project them to a chart generated from the log file!!!!?

This would be EXTREMELY useful. 

I could leave the smoker unattended (go to bed, go to the store etc), but come back and have a record of what temps the smoker was at for the last couple of hours to see if I need to make any adjustments. 
I have a log file to compare my future smokes against.  "Hey, this butt was a little underdone", so next time I can check my chart to see what I did, and adjust.  I can even go back a year later because now I have a solid record as a reference. 
As there are a lot of variables that affect smoker temp (wind, sun, ambient temps etc), using the smoker temp on your digital panel is a guide for future smokes yes, but the actual fluctuations around that temp can vary a lot between different smokes because of these variables.  Having a chart will show my how long above that temp I have been running (i.e. I've set my smoker to 225F, but I have actually been topping out at 260F for the last hour because the sun came out etc), would be very helpful.  
I can share the chart online and get feedback.  Good marketing for MB!
Here are some examples.  You can fast forward to 5:20 in this vid to see the charts.  What do you think????















BsX82fxCMAAY8QN.jpg



__ mummel
__ Jun 25, 2015


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## floridasteve (Jun 27, 2015)

I would just like to see a heater element on/off indicator, so I can see if the smoker is struggling to hold temp.


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## brickguy221 (Jun 27, 2015)

FloridaSteve said:


> I would just like to see a heater element on/off indicator, so I can see if the smoker is struggling to hold temp.


My new Bluetooth has a small red light that goes on-off when the element is on or off. My old Gen 2.0 did also.


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## floridasteve (Jun 27, 2015)

Yes, but it would be nice to see that on the app.


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## mummel (Jun 27, 2015)

The app does show it lol. Says heating.


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## mummel (Jun 28, 2015)

So anyone?  You know what would be super useful too, is to see what the average temp was for your smoke.  Sure smoker temps swing quite a bit, +- 50F sometimes.  But wouldnt it be very useful to see at the end of a 4 hour smoker your average say was 240F even if you set your smoker at 225F??  That way you could adjust if your meat was over or under done.


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## Bearcarver (Jun 30, 2015)

mummel said:


> So anyone?  You know what would be super useful too, is to see what the average temp was for your smoke.  Sure smoker temps swing quite a bit, +- 50F sometimes.  But wouldnt it be very useful to see at the end of a 4 hour smoker your average say was 240F even if you set your smoker at 225F??  That way you could adjust if your meat was over or under done.


I watch mine closely & take copious notes, so I know what my averages are. I sometimes use those notes to adjust the temps I post in my Step by Steps.

That way my Step by Steps tell people the actual temps I used, and not necessarily what my MES was set at.

If my MES was set at 225°, but the average Temp was 240°, it's the 240° that is important to be in my Step by Step.

Bear


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## mummel (Jun 30, 2015)

Ah good point, doh.  I guess the iGrill 2 is your only real option for charts and averages :(


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## Bearcarver (Jun 30, 2015)

mummel said:


> Ah good point, doh.  I guess the iGrill 2 is your only real option for charts and averages :(


That I can't help you with.

There's a few Computer & Electronics Geniuses on this Forum, but I'm definitely not one of them.

I'm just a Dumb Old Bear.
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Bear


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## letthemeatrest (Jun 30, 2015)

coder here... i'm surprised this isn't something that is already included in the app as it seems like this would be the main feature people are looking for... unless you like to tweak out and stare at the temp the entire time to monitor your cook (i do this on the maverick)

if it is a phone app, the capabilities are already there.


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## mummel (Jun 30, 2015)

LetTheMeatRest said:


> coder here... i'm surprised this isn't something that is already included in the app as it seems like this would be the main feature people are looking for... unless you like to tweak out and stare at the temp the entire time to monitor your cook (i do this on the maverick)
> 
> if it is a phone app, the capabilities are already there.


Exactly!  MB should really jump on this.  Would be a big selling point and all they have to do is pay a coder once-off to do it (highly scalable).  However, Bear has a great point, and I am a bit of a brain donor for forgetting it.  If the MES readings are way off in the first 1.5 hours of your smoke, then a chart will be meaningless.  You would need to your Mav to log it, which isnt possible.  The only other alternative is the iGrill2, which sucks, because its just another gizmo and more $$$.  For now I guess I will baby the temps in the beginning.  Meh.....


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## Bearcarver (Jun 30, 2015)

mummel said:


> Exactly!  MB should really jump on this.  Would be a big selling point and all they have to do is pay a coder once-off to do it (highly scalable).  However, Bear has a great point, and I am a bit of a brain donor for forgetting it.  If the MES readings are way off in the first 1.5 hours of your smoke, then a chart will be meaningless.  You would need to your Mav to log it, which isnt possible.  The only other alternative is the iGrill2, which sucks, because its just another gizmo and more $$$.  For now I guess I will baby the temps in the beginning.  Meh.....


I think you missed my point:

All I said was I do it without any electronic recorder.

But now that you mentioned it-----It's not the MES readings that are off without doing my method of taming the swings in the beginning. It's the temp in the smoker that swings---Not the MES read-out. The Maverick shows the temperature, so it would be going up & down too, much like the MES readings do.

If you don't do something like my method, the temps will over-run for a good while, and no matter what you measure it with, it will be showing that, unless you get something that anticipates & does something about it, like a PID.

Bear


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## mummel (Jun 30, 2015)

Bearcarver said:


> But now that you mentioned it-----It's not the MES readings that are off without doing my method of taming the swings in the beginning. It's the temp in the smoker that swings---Not the MES read-out. The Maverick shows the temperature, so it would be going up & down too, much like the MES readings do.


Bear, I set my smoker to 225F and hit go.  When my smoker said 195F on the display, my Mav was reading 225F.  The smoker temps were waaaaay off.  No wonder I was getting ridiculously high temps in the beginning.

I will test it next time, but the way I see this going down is set my smoker to 195F, wait for the temps on my Mav to do a full overrun to say 245F, then wait for them to drop to 225F, and set my smoker temp to 210F, and keep nudging my smoker temps up until the Mav temp and smoker temp are the same.  

I dont know why the smoker probe is so far behind the Mav probe on startup.  This is what cause the ridiculous swings.  Makes no sense.  Not good.


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## Bearcarver (Jun 30, 2015)

mummel said:


> Bear, I set my smoker to 225F and hit go.  When my smoker said 195F on the display, my Mav was reading 225F.  The smoker temps were waaaaay off.  No wonder I was getting ridiculously high temps in the beginning.
> 
> I will test it next time, but the way I see this going down is set my smoker to 195F, wait for the temps on my Mav to do a full overrun to say 245F, then wait for them to drop to 225F, and set my smoker temp to 210F, and keep nudging my smoker temps up until the Mav temp and smoker temp are the same.
> 
> I dont know why the smoker probe is so far behind the Mav probe on startup.  This is what cause the ridiculous swings.  Makes no sense.  Not good.


NO----If you're saying that setting it for 195° will make it go to 245°, and you want it at 225°-------Then set it at 175°---Then when it over-runs to 225° move your setting to 220° before it has a chance to drop from that peak of 225°.

If it doesn't get all the way to 225° before starting to fall, just set it 5° below wherever it peaks out at. If it goes to 220°, move your setting to 215°. 

The object is to change the big over-runs into little ones.

If that works for you & you are now at 215°, each time it peaks again like maybe 219°, move it to 217°, and work your way up to 225° with those little changes getting you there.

Don't turn it off & don't make any big changes to start it swinging again.

Bear


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## mummel (Jun 30, 2015)

With this method, how many cycles does it normally take, and how long do you need to sit there watching your Mav?


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## Bearcarver (Jun 30, 2015)

mummel said:


> With this method, how many cycles does it normally take, and how long do you need to sit there watching your Mav?


It's hard to say, because it depends on other things, like ambient temp, wind, humidity, etc.

However once you finally understand what I'm telling you it will take a lot less time than turning it off or way down, and making it worse with each one of those moves.

I wish I could explain it to you over a beer, in person, because it's really hard to explain in writing---Especially typing with one finger!!

It's not all that difficult, really.

It's just like taking 20 minutes to get an AMNPS going right instead of spending half the day relighting it and complaining about it. (Not talking about you---just in general)

Bear


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## eman (Jun 30, 2015)

I would wish that MES would get their cooking temps and probe temps within +- 5 degrees of what the readout says instead of 20 degrees or more,


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## trailfndr (Sep 4, 2017)

Charts would be a great addition,

I also think a setting for the meat probe so that you get an audible alarm, would be a good thing on this app.  I use my Maverick, and set my internal temp for the doneness I desire, and it gives me an audible alarm when it hits the set temp.  No one wants to sit and stare at their phone screen to see where the internal temp is at all day long as you wait for it to reach a set temp. 

I got my Masterbuilt 40" with Bluetooth last week, and the first thing I did was check the temp probe, by putting it in a glass of ice water and seeing what the reading was.  It was 33 degrees, my maverick, read 32, and my hand help meat thermometer read 33, so I am happy with that.  I also checked the temp of the smoker itself by using a oven thermometer.  It was off by 3 degrees at 250 degrees after running for4 over an hour.  I can live with these settings.  My old Masterbuilt 30" was much further off.


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## Bearcarver (Sep 4, 2017)

Note to all:

Many of these things wished for would be great for some people, if Masterbuilt included them in their smokers.

It would be nice if they made a special model with many of these additions, like charts, alarms, bells, and whistles for those who would want to pay $500, $600, $700, or more for their unit.

Personally I would like to see them get rid of the useless Chip burner & the Meat Probe, and keep all the other things, like window in the door, top vent on the back left of the top, and the well insulated box, but I'm not in charge of what they put into their Smokers.

Those of us who don't want the extra bells & whistles shouldn't have to go to another company to avoid paying for extras that are not needed.

Just my 2 Piastres,

Bear


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