Auber vs. BBQ guru

[STLstyle]

Anyone out there have both?  Opinions?  I realize most forum members have the Auber.  I have the Guru.  Just curious if any of the tech wizards have opinions on which is better and why...
Thoughts are appreciated.

[beefmann]

i have the auber .. the guru  have not even looked at, just my opinion is  we need to look at both and see which one would be better for what we want to  do,  The auber i have is the one that has a built in timer that i use to turn off my  smoke generator after the smoking process. Others want to ramp up the heat  and hold for a  set time to do sausages.  while others want a tighter temperature control to handle the additional heater or higher wattage heater..

in my  opinion is make a decision on everything you  want to  smoke  them look at all the options of the guru and the various auber PID's then buy the best one for you 

[devo]

 ;D  It don't matter which one you get, they both work. I have the Auber, I also have a I-grill to watch over my cooks, and 50 feet of USB cable with a camera on the end so when I am on this computer I can see if the neighbour from hell is coming over to steal my food  ;D
We always want more toys for the smokers so get them all  :)

[STLstyle]

Yep.  Love my guru, but I might get a OBS for camping and thought "what the hey" might as well ask.  Thought someone here would have both.  Anyways, thanks for the opinions.

[hal4uk]

Love my guru(s).   ;)

[rexster]

I remember the Guru's and Raptors were the only thing available for Bradleys when I first got mine in 2005. I almost got one but didn't. I got back into Bradleying last year and it was apparent I  needed a controller when I decided to upgrade to a second element. I did research and decided on an Auber. I was lucky to find a barely used on on here last fall for an excellent price. I'm sure I would have been just as happy with a Guru, but not sure if it would have handled a second element. For those that are Guru'd up, does it allow you to add a second element?

[KyNola]

I had an Auber Dual Probe PID brand new in the box for 3 years, never used it because I was too stupid to figure out how to program it.  Hell, I can barely program a DVD player.  Finally decided to sell the Auber and bought the BBQ Guru DigiQ X2 with the Raptor and could not be more pleased.  The Guru is seriously much easier to use in my "dumb old KY boy" opinion.  Being as I am retired, I have the time to go out and push the button to ramp up the temp when needed, such as in sausage making.

I'm confident that the Auber is a great PID if you can figure out the programming.  Me, I simply wasn't smart enough and got tired of trying to figure it out.  Life's too short.

[STLstyle]

I remember the Guru's and Raptors were the only thing available for Bradleys when I first got mine in 2005. I almost got one but didn't. I got back into Bradleying last year and it was apparent I  needed a controller when I decided to upgrade to a second element. I did research and decided on an Auber. I was lucky to find a barely used on on here last fall for an excellent price. I'm sure I would have been just as happy with a Guru, but not sure if it would have handled a second element. For those that are Guru'd up, does it allow you to add a second element?

I run mine with two elements.  Works great.

[Joseph Haddad]

hey here is a new diy bbq pid control device that is controlled by an android device. check out www.pidgo.com. its an open hardware bbq controller for fan control. i simply modified one line of code to change from 30Hz to 1Hz output and connected a ssr. now it switches the ac power line of the smoker. with this i can control it from anywhere in the world, set pit temp and monitor pit temp, monitor 3 different meats, and set a warming temp when cooked temp is reached. this is a new device still under development, some features don't work yet but i love it so far. i just noticed he got the bluetooth working, so the controlling phone can be inside the house now. cooked chickens and a pork but so far, and it couldn't have been easier. cooked the chickens for a work party, they where cooking at home while i was at work. watched their data with my phone and went home to pick them up when they where done. $40 for ioio otg board (sparkfun), pidgo shield board assembled $40 (pidgo.com), 40A ssr $20 (ebay), 4 maverick et-73 probes ($40), modified computer power supply to always run (FREE-old junk computer).
$140 total and a few hours of work that's better than anything else at that price. i fit everything in the computer power supply. the built in fan blows directly across the ssr, so it never gets hot even without a heat-sink on it. if you add a connector between the shield and the ssr, it can be a multi purpose pid 110/220AC ssr for electric element or 12VDC for fan with wood or charcoal. only change is the one android line of code for the frequency output. technically it can be used for  toaster ovens, crock pots, and many other devices with a little work on the android code side

[carnie1]

Sounds interesting , do you have any pictures of the build ?

[rexster]

Pictures on the pidgo website. Although I'm a little geeky, it's too far advanced for me to fiddle with. Idea is great.

[Joseph Haddad]

i do have pics but i cant figure out how to post them on here. this was my first post. it sounds a little advanced but its not really. if you can build the diy pid you should be able to figure this out. the hardest thing for me was learning how to fix that one line of code. id be glad to help with that if anyone needs. the only difference is i remove the auber pid controller and replace it with the pidgo system and use my android phone. + extra probes  :D  ....
ill upload to my gdrive some pics and a video of it running a desk lamp as a demonstration.

[Joseph Haddad]

here is the pic and video link
the the parts in the lid are the parts i added to the power supply. green board is my hand made pidgo shield with the white ioio board mounted to it. the ssr is next to it. the 4 temp probe jacks are mounted to the side of the lid next to the shield. i rewired the monitor power out plug of the power supply to the ssr.  it will be allot simpler when i build my next one since pre-made shields are available now. the computer power supply is probably overkill but i had it lying around and it served as a good case with both power connectors already there

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BzYc6eic3WwJTmxJRV9iWmJobzQ&usp=sharing

[rexster]

The chickens look a little overdone?

[Joseph Haddad]

Chickens where perfict crispy skin jucy inside. I inject some creol butter with garlic in them then cook on a seasoned beer. Its hard to over cook then when done like that