Get Ready for Summer Cookouts with an ESP8266-Based BBQ Controller!

With summer fast approaching (in the northern hemisphere), many of us are getting ready to make use of our grills and smokers. With restaurant operation restricted at various levels, such food prep could be even more predominant than in years past, and to help with this cooking task, Chris Heineman has created his own BBQ temperature controller using a Wemos D1 mini ESP8266 board.

The device uses a pair of MAX31855 thermocouple/probes to monitor both the barbecue temperature as well as the meat's core. The unit also features a small double fan assembly, which pumps air into the cooker, stoking the flames to raise the temperature as needed.

The electronics are stuffed into an enclosure, with a local interface provided by a four-line LCD screen and a potentiometer. The ESP8266 is flashed with ESPeasy, enabling it to connect up to Domoticz for a real-time read out of temperatures and for logging.

While I’d have to assume whatever comes out of the smoker will be delicious, having this kind of temperature/time tracking could potentially allow Heineman to tweak cooking settings even closer to perfection!

Short demos of the device can be seen in the videos below, first showing it in action with the cooker, then a bit more detail on the interface. If you’re wondering, “ingesteld” is Dutch for set or programmed, while “huidig” is current, as in the current temperature.