Author Topic: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI  (Read 2636 times)

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Offline MikeC01

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Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« Reply #-1 on: June 10, 2017, 09:32:57 AM »
Hi all,

I'm thinking of buying a GMB DB w/ WIFI since they're having the $100 off Father's Day sale this month.  I currently have a Weber Genesis and a Pit Barrel Cooker in my collection.  I love my PBC and will keep it, but sometimes when I load it up with 25+ lbs of meat it seems to run out of fuel before the cook is over.  The coals seem to love to snuff themselves out in my PBC for some reason as well and the clean up process is onerous.  I love the "set it and forget it" nature of the PBC but it's just not quite as easy as I'd like.  I'm a real estate agent when I'm not smoking.  So, I rarely have time to babysit a long cook.  It would be nice to have something that would babysit itself.

So, I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the GMG DB (especially if yours has WIFI) and what you think of it.  Also, what accessories would you recommend?  I would definitely want the upper rack to increase capacity and of course a cover to keep it out of the elements but what about the thermal blanket?  Worth it?  Also, where do you get your pellets and is there any brand you recommend?

Thanks for you help!!

Offline sparky

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Re: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« on: June 10, 2017, 10:59:48 AM »
I sold green mountain grills for over 3 years.  A good start up grill.  I use the green mountain fruit pellets (got 35 bags in my garage).  It's a good blend of pellets.  Thermal blanket, no.  I use the upper rack (buy two of them so you have a full upper rack), folding front table (i use mine a lot) and a cover.  The Wi-Fi is sick ( i'm front California, sick is a good thing).  It lets you cook on stages (2 hours on smoke then it raises temp to you cooking zones).  I had a pork butt setting, brisket, fish, chicken and tri tip settings on my Wi-Fi.  I liked mine that I use at the shop. 
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Offline smokeasaurus

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Re: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2017, 11:21:02 AM »
Rec Tec also has a smaller offering that everybody seems to like. No wi-fi however.  Green Mountain Grills are solid entry level offerings.
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Offline sparky

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Re: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2017, 11:38:58 AM »
Smoke has a good point.  I like the rec tec grills a lot.  If it was between the two I would go with rec tec.  Their controller I the rec tec is great.  You have to keep up loading revisions on the green mountain grills when they come out to keep them current.  Wi-Fi is cool but I never use mine on my mak grill. 
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Offline MikeC01

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Re: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« Reply #3 on: June 11, 2017, 11:10:16 PM »
I sold green mountain grills for over 3 years.  A good start up grill.  I use the green mountain fruit pellets (got 35 bags in my garage).  It's a good blend of pellets.  Thermal blanket, no.  I use the upper rack (buy two of them so you have a full upper rack), folding front table (i use mine a lot) and a cover.  The Wi-Fi is sick ( i'm front California, sick is a good thing).  It lets you cook on stages (2 hours on smoke then it raises temp to you cooking zones).  I had a pork butt setting, brisket, fish, chicken and tri tip settings on my Wi-Fi.  I liked mine that I use at the shop.

Thanks for the info!  I hadn't really even considered buying the folding front table.  What do you use it for?

Offline MikeC01

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Re: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« Reply #4 on: June 11, 2017, 11:16:13 PM »
Rec Tec also has a smaller offering that everybody seems to like. No wi-fi however.  Green Mountain Grills are solid entry level offerings.

The GM model I'm looking at seems to have a good bit larger cooking surface compared to the small Rec Tec.  If I step up to the next size model of Rec Tec, it's hundreds more than the GM.

Plus, the WIFI is a big selling point for me.  As I said, I'm looking for a cooker that I don't have to babysit and partly that means I don't need to be anywhere near it.  The thought of me being off showing a house or taking my kids to the park and still being able to turn up/down the temperature in my cooker and to check the temp of what I'm cooking is exactly what I'm looking for.  I'd hate to have to leave for a last minute appointment and then overcook a brisket or a rack of ribs.  Plus, I like the peace of mind you get with a pellet smoker that you can set the temperature and the smoker keeps an eye on itself.

Offline sparky

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Re: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« Reply #5 on: June 12, 2017, 12:29:40 AM »
The grills Wi-Fi connects to your phone or iPad thingy to change the temp and access the programs.   If you take your kids to the park you will not be able to change the temp because your phone will lose connection to the grill.
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Offline bspitt

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Re: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« Reply #6 on: June 12, 2017, 06:35:48 AM »
I have a GMG Jim Bowie. I like it and the wifi. You can actually leave the house and control it via the "server mode". With the grill you have three wifi options. Point to point with your grill broadcasting a signal to your phone or tablet. Wi-Fi mode with your grill connected to your home wifi and all devices that have access to your wifi will have access to your grill. Lastly is "server mode" where your wifi will route your grill info to gmg server which you can access via internet from anywhere internet is. As an FYI your grill will need to be within 20' of your home wifi router or you will need to purchase a wifi extender as I did.
« Last Edit: June 12, 2017, 09:25:34 AM by bspitt »

Offline sparky

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Re: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« Reply #7 on: June 12, 2017, 08:53:46 AM »
The must have changed the program since I sold them.  Thanks for the update.
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Offline bspitt

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Re: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« Reply #8 on: June 12, 2017, 09:27:33 AM »
The must have changed the program since I sold them.  Thanks for the update.

No problem - The only thing you cannot do while away from the house (in server mode) is turn it on. For safety reasons, you can only turn the grill on while you are at home either manually or via wifi


Offline bspitt

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Re: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« Reply #9 on: June 12, 2017, 10:16:47 AM »
MikeCO1 like I said - I like the GMG wifi option, But be aware that its not fool proof. Occasionally the GMG server has been down making server mode impossible. I loose connection even while at home in wifi mode, but usually its just clicking "connect" on the app the regain connection.
One thing I do not like is the display on the app shows two temps:
 - The "set" temp of the pit
- The "food" probe temp

In my opinion it should have an "actual" pit temp as the "set" temp and the "actual pit temp" may differ. To make up for this I usually use my food probe an "actual pit temp" probe. I know its not as accurate as its designed as a contact probe and not an air probe, but it keeps me in the ball park. and allows me to make necessary temp adjustments when away from my pit.  When I'm away from my pit, its usually at the start or early on in a cook, I know the meat is not ready. When it gets close to being done, Im at home watching it via a Thermoworks ThermoQ & Thermapen.

BP

Offline MikeC01

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Re: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« Reply #10 on: June 12, 2017, 08:59:41 PM »
MikeCO1 like I said - I like the GMG wifi option, But be aware that its not fool proof. Occasionally the GMG server has been down making server mode impossible. I loose connection even while at home in wifi mode, but usually its just clicking "connect" on the app the regain connection.
One thing I do not like is the display on the app shows two temps:
 - The "set" temp of the pit
- The "food" probe temp

In my opinion it should have an "actual" pit temp as the "set" temp and the "actual pit temp" may differ. To make up for this I usually use my food probe an "actual pit temp" probe. I know its not as accurate as its designed as a contact probe and not an air probe, but it keeps me in the ball park. and allows me to make necessary temp adjustments when away from my pit.  When I'm away from my pit, its usually at the start or early on in a cook, I know the meat is not ready. When it gets close to being done, Im at home watching it via a Thermoworks ThermoQ & Thermapen.

BP

Thanks!  Really appreciate your insights into the grill and how it works.  I'll likely be in the house for the majority of the cook but I like to know that I can leave if I want.  So, glad to hear it's at least pretty reliable when you're hooked into the same network.

Offline MikeC01

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Re: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« Reply #11 on: June 16, 2017, 11:46:19 AM »
Just wanted to update everyone . . .

My new GMG DB w/ WIFI was delivered Tuesday and I immediately did a burn in and setup the app/WIFI.  The burn in went great and was producing some wonderful aromas.  Setting up the app/WIFI was another story.  Things went smoothly at first with the PtoP WIFI, but then I wanted to try out the network and server modes.  Shortly after putting the grill into network mode, the grill lost it's connection to the WIFI.  What I learned is that the grill needs a 2.4 network.  It won't function on a 5.0.  However, I updated the firmware and the latest version prevents the grill from connecting to a 5.0 WIFI signal.  The app/WIFI has functioned flawlessly ever since.

So, I did my first cook on it yesterday.  I loaded up the hopper with the Texas blend and threw on a chuck roast which I had coated with some EVO and some Pit Barrel Cooker Beef & Game Rub.  Next I made the mistake of setting the grill to the "brisket" profile.  Eventually, I used the app to move it over to a flat temp of 225* because the profile was just not getting it done in time.  I took the chuck when it hit 190* and sliced it into cubes, coated the cubes with more rub, smoked a while longer, and then coated everything with sauce to create a "faux" burnt end.  They were delicious.  I also threw on a rack of baby backs coated with my own homemade rub.  The ribs were impressively moist and everything was met with rave reviews by my family and friends who happen to be available to taste test.  I would say 95% of the cook time I was not home and managed it entirely from the app.

My first experience is that this is an awesome cooker that's incredibly easy to use and will allow you to smoke even if you're not able to babysit it during the entire cook.

One thing I do not like is the display on the app shows two temps:
 - The "set" temp of the pit
- The "food" probe temp

In my opinion it should have an "actual" pit temp as the "set" temp and the "actual pit temp" may differ. To make up for this I usually use my food probe an "actual pit temp" probe. I know its not as accurate as its designed as a contact probe and not an air probe, but it keeps me in the ball park. and allows me to make necessary temp adjustments when away from my pit.

I'm not sure what you mean.  When I used the app yesterday, there was a set temperature for the pit plus the actual temperature of the pit on the app.  Same thing for the probe.  There was a set and an actual.  Maybe you should check to make sure you're using the latest version of the app.

Offline bspitt

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Re: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« Reply #12 on: June 16, 2017, 12:24:51 PM »


One thing I do not like is the display on the app shows two temps:
 - The "set" temp of the pit
- The "food" probe temp

In my opinion it should have an "actual" pit temp as the "set" temp and the "actual pit temp" may differ. To make up for this I usually use my food probe an "actual pit temp" probe. I know its not as accurate as its designed as a contact probe and not an air probe, but it keeps me in the ball park. and allows me to make necessary temp adjustments when away from my pit.

I'm not sure what you mean.  When I used the app yesterday, there was a set temperature for the pit plus the actual temperature of the pit on the app.  Same thing for the probe.  There was a set and an actual.  Maybe you should check to make sure you're using the latest version of the app.


Thanks .. I'll check into it. My app version is v2.3.6. What is yours? go to settings tab in your app and click on "about GMG" The version you are using will be in bottom right hand corner.


Thanks - Glad your 1st cooks went well!

BP

Offline MikeC01

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Re: Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone w/ WIFI
« Reply #13 on: June 16, 2017, 04:22:03 PM »


One thing I do not like is the display on the app shows two temps:
 - The "set" temp of the pit
- The "food" probe temp

In my opinion it should have an "actual" pit temp as the "set" temp and the "actual pit temp" may differ. To make up for this I usually use my food probe an "actual pit temp" probe. I know its not as accurate as its designed as a contact probe and not an air probe, but it keeps me in the ball park. and allows me to make necessary temp adjustments when away from my pit.

I'm not sure what you mean.  When I used the app yesterday, there was a set temperature for the pit plus the actual temperature of the pit on the app.  Same thing for the probe.  There was a set and an actual.  Maybe you should check to make sure you're using the latest version of the app.


Thanks .. I'll check into it. My app version is v2.3.6. What is yours? go to settings tab in your app and click on "about GMG" The version you are using will be in bottom right hand corner.


Thanks - Glad your 1st cooks went well!

BP

My app is the same version. Are you on iOS or Android?  I'm using Android.