iKamand vs Inkbird Temperature Controller - Help

[craizer]

Hi all,

 

I'm currently looking at getting something to make fire management more hands free for longer cooks that i'm planning with my new KJ. I can't seem to find any reviews on the iKamand V2 that are recent - i've seen plenty of older reviews with people talking about bad firmware glitches. But I wonder what the current state of the V2 is?

 

And in comparison, i'd love to hear if anyone has the Inkbird temp controller and could compare it in terms of reliability. Also, which of the two performs more reliably?

 

Thanks in advance for any insight!

[Henry B 3]

Can’t tell you about the two you mentioned, but I have been using a BBQ Guru DXQ2 for many years with different outdoor conditions and it has always performed flawlessly. It appears the consensus here is the Firebird 2 drive.  Good luck in your efforts.

[The Chairmaker]

I have the Inkbird controller. Hopefully I'll be setting up on my new Big Joe this weekend for an overnight cook.

[byee]

Here’s a review of the KJ iKamand 2.

 

 

I considered the iKamand but decided on the FireBoard 2 Drive because of the reported issues.  Unlike the iKamand, the FireBoard 2 will fit most smokers.

I hope you find the information helpful.

 

Good luck.

[The Chairmaker]

On 5/13/2021 at 2:14 PM, The Chairmaker said:

I have the Inkbird controller. Hopefully I'll be setting up on my new Big Joe this weekend for an overnight cook.

 

This is the third time that I've used the Inkbird controller and the first on my new Big Joe. I had to make a backing plate for the air vent connection as the standard plate was too short for the large opening on the Big Joe. Over a 10 hour smoke it controlled the temperature perfectly....maybe a 4 C variance at worst.

 

Cons:

• The standard pate was tooo small for the Big Joe air vent.
• Getting the app to connect to the device was a pig. I had to disable the multi-channel WiFi on my router and only use the 2.4Ghz band. once connected though it reconnects with no problems.
• The leads are a tad short. The airpipe just about connects with the controller sitting on the side-shelf. Ideally if the probe leads were another 12 inches longer then they'd be perfect.

Pros:

• It does exactly what it says on the tin. The temp didn't vary that much at all despite my Big Joe being in the open. The weather varied a lot during the overnight cook- the ambient air temp dropped by about 8C, we had some blustery wind and it rained heavily for about an hour.
• Its probably one of the cheapest temp controllers. The supplier regularly posts discounts on a forum I go on and I got it for £169 delivered.