Kamado Joe BJ-IKAMANDNA iKamand Smart Temperature Control and Monitoring Tool for Big Joe Grills, Black

I use this on my Kamado Joe (24") when I do large cuts of meat like Brisquit, Pork Shoulder or needing a slow long burn on Ribs. It works very well.

I have had nothing but problems with this device since I received it. I love Kamado Joe products and was so excited to add this to my grill. The first time I used it something went wrong with the temperature settings and about 5 hours into the cook it started registering 32 degrees F. Since then I've had problems with the "power connector" where I have to plug and unplug to get it to come on and the temperature readings are unreliable. Finally after only two months and 4 cooks the unit has completely failed and the fan no longer spins. I am trying to get warranty support but there isn't a clear path for support for this product so I may have just blown $250. Save your money and buy something else.

I bought this as a gift and have enjoyed the fruits of its labors. My buddy has used it 5-6 since receiving it and LOVES this thing. He said he feels like he’s cheating. Lol. He gets his grill close to the desired temp manually then starts the temperature control and lets it do it’s thing while he cuts grass, watches football, or does manly chores around the house. He said it’s a game changer and a must have.

Works well for long smokes , to point out the obvious shouldn’t be used about 250.Expect it to manage pretty well but to vary - the algorithm needs some tweaking as the response to falling temperature is nothing until it crosses your setting - fab then comes on at 20% and pops it as much as 4% (10 degrees at 250) before settles back. Over several hours this does settle a bit but frankly the programming is first grade here so for this cost I take a star off. It struggles a little as any added large wood chunks catch fire. I recommend you add those around the edges so they don’t catch fire and simply smoke.None the less i see it as enabling technology for me and good enough for smoking - tri tip short smokes to longer pork butt etc all great.I recommend you purchase a separate digital thermometer fir anything other than smoking - probing the meat has without doubt made a huge difference to my confidence and quality of the end result!

Do not buy it!First, why do I need to register an account before I can use it? This is nonsense.Second, their app is very badly done with a lot of bugs. When I tried to register, it spins for a few secs and nothing happens, I could not use it. Then I registered on my computer and was able to login.When I went through the setup, it gets to the step where it's setting up the wifi, the blue light becomes solid blue, but the app keeps spinning forever and the setup does not complete!I was never able to even use it. Looking at how many people complained about it even after it worked for them, I decided to return it.I love my Kamado Joe, but this product is really bad and they should be ashamed for putting their name on such a product, and for charging so much for it!!

I purchased the iKamand with the thought that this would be the best temperature regulator for my grill, given that I have a Big Joe II and this was developed by Kamado Joe. My initial setup was complicated by an inability to get the iKamand to connect to my iOS devices. I tried different routers, different devices, etc. until it finally worked when I used a friend's android device, which allowed it to connect to my network. After it connected, I was able to update the firmware, which allowed my personal devices to use it without further issues.However, during my first long cook with it, the internet uplink died and I was unable to monitor the temperature of the grill grate or meat. While most devices have a screen or backup method to determine the temperature, this does not. Even though my internet was working, the device refused to connect to their servers and therefore left me in the dark for about 45 minutes. It also randomly increased the temperature from 225 to 260 in a dramatic spike after it started working again without opening the lid or any change on my part with the vent settings. Nonetheless, beyond these two issues, it worked OK for my first cook, and very well for my second cook.Third cook, the temperature was holding steady until I opened the lid to check the meat. After that, the algorithm had trouble keeping a consistent temperature, jumping between 205 to 260 degrees, again without any vent changes. It finally stabilized after 2 hours, then about 8 hours into a 20 hour smoke at midnight, it spiked to 265 degrees requiring more intervention. When waking up at 3:30am, I realized that the iKamand itself had been shut off for 2 hours and the temperature had dropped to 160 degrees and the meat had dropped 15 degrees. While the iKamand app will send an alert, it cannot be altered in terms of volume or sound, making it easy to sleep through a single notification. At this point, the device was completely dead and would not turn back on or attempt to even connect to the network.Given the issues with reliability of monitoring and temperature control (which is the primary purpose of an automatic temperature controller) and software issues, I returned the device as I couldn't rely on it to work without repeated human monitoring and intervention (even prior to its full failure). I really wanted to like the device, but other reviews online had mentioned similar problems. Hopefully, these can be fixed in further firmware updates or hardware revisions.The main reason I'm giving it two stars instead of one is that I got to see a fox at 3:30am in my backyard that I otherwise would have missed, had the iKamand not failed.

My basis for 3 stars = meets expectations. I expected this thing to be good at holding temperature for a long time on my Big Joe and it does that. It is an expensive indulgence. I was able to cook well on my grill before I had this. It has not improved the quality or flavor of my food, it has just made it easier for me to acquire data about my cooking process. My grill will still work if the power or WIFI goes out, but this device will become another artifact of the techno-indulgence era. You absolutely don't NEED it, but if you have a few hundred spare dollars sitting around, you may decide you WANT it.

great product! KJ products are the best!

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