Flame Boss Smart BBQ Smoker Temperature Controller with Patented Variable Speed Fan, 400 Universal WiFi with 2 Probes for Weber, Char-Griller, Drum Smokers, Offset Smokers

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!

This is a unsolicited review of the flameboss 400 and i rarely write reviews. This device is on the expensive side but it works very well. In fact, it almost feels like cheating when using it on my Weber Smokey Mountain. The WSM does hold temps fairly well once you learn vent control but the flameboss 400 takes it to another level. Setup was a breeze. Download the app, connect to the flameboss, set your temps for pit and meat and off you go. It took about 3 min. to attach the metal kit adapter to my wsm.I mainly wanted this device to aid in long low and slow cooks thru the night and the flameboss was rock solid. It maintained 225 for 8 hours within a plus and minus 3 degree of target temp. (just as good as my pellet grill). I wanted to bump temps up to 250 and within 10 min. it was there. Had to run a to store and reset temp to 225 and it took 20 min. to reduce temp and then maintain at 250. The app has been flawless and I have monitored cooks while bowling and when running around doing chores.I use BB briquets for long cooks in the wsm and believe the flameboss helped with the overall efficiency of fuel usage. Time will tell how durable the product will be but for now I'm very happy with it. There are several good youtube videos on this product that are worth looking at for more in-depth information.

I've had this product for four years now and has been great when it works. However don't plan on cooking on any holiday. The servers go down every holiday- Thanksgiving, Veterans Day, July fourth, Christmas, Memorial Day, Labor Day. Always the same thing for four years now. Keep thinking this can't possibly happen again but low and behold it does. Without the servers your can't control your cook and makes the flame boss useless. Save yourself some frustration and go with a different product.

Best investment for WSM. It works the fire better then me, for sure. Wide open bottom vent for the unit, other two bottom vents closed, and 1/4 open on the top for a good flow on mine.

I’m very impressed with this Flame Boss controller. The app, not so much. I’ve always struggled trying to maintain low smokes on my Kamado Joe Classic. I’ve tried to do 185°F smokes before, but the lowest I was able to get and keep it going (with a lot of adjustments) was 215°. With this FB400-K, I’m able to get 185° with a -2°/+7° range. At a 225° smoke the temp variance is +/-1°.I had a bit of trouble trying to connect the device the first time. It took three tries for it to find my home wifi network. Once found, it was simple to set up on the network.You can adjust the temperature for the Set Temp feature either by scrolling or by keypad in the phone app. To use the keypad, just touch the current setting in the Set Temp page. When the keypad pops up, enter your desired temperature.A few dislikes I had are:1) The connections (power, pit probe, and meat probe) are on the bottom of the device. While it’s easy to remove the controller from the adapter plate to plug these in, it would be nice if they were at the end of the controller that faces the user.2) A few times my new cook started on the end of an old cook. I had to click the Start New Cook button for it to begin a new cook. This, even after it had been disconnected for 16 hours.3) Another annoying item was that I was unable to delete a cook in the phone app History page. You have to go the myflameboss web page to delete cook histories. If your phone app is still open when you do this, the cook histories you deleted on the web page still show up in the phone app. You must exit the phone app and restart it for those cooks to disappear – there is no refresh button/feature.Overall, a great tool for a steady, consistent cook. I definitely recommend this one.Pros:- Very consistent temperatures and no fiddling with the vents- Small size but, works wellCons:- Exiting the app loses your place from the view cook page- App needs some work