MAK WiFi & Pellet Boss logic issue

mcschlotz

Member
I experienced a WiFi failure for the 1st time in 3 years last night but what transpired was not expected. Started a long brisket smoke (17#er) at midnight using the mobileapp to control temp i.e. 250°. Apparently around 2am the connection was lost and when that happened the PB reverted to the SMOKE setting of 175°, which is where I found it when I awoke at 6:30am. ARGH, 4 plus hours at the lower temp. Ignoring all the concerns with how this brisket is going to turn out, not to mention the timing constraint it introduced, the concern here is WHY the PB reverted to SMOKE vs what it was previously set for?

If this is a "design feature" I've got to question it's validity, and certainly after a WiFi failure I'm not inclined to trust it for future overnight smokes.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Matt
 

MAK DADDY

Moderator
The Wi-Fi will time out after 15 minutes of failure to reconnect to the router. The Pellet Boss will Beep and display Wi-Fi Time out & the grill will default to smoke mode for safety reasons. If you have the notifications set up on your mobile app then you should get a text or email notifying you the connection was lost.
 

mcschlotz

Member
Yup, that's what happened but the notification wasn't enough (nor was the PB beep) to wake a person up at 2am. Not understanding the 'safety' comment though. With this 'wifi feature', overnight smoking basically eliminates the use of wifi for controlling temp due to possible connection loss and it forces one to set the PB to the desired temp and leave it. Under that condition the temp is maintained regardless, which is what I believe the default should be if wifi connection is lost, i.e. maintain last set temp. If one way isn't safe then the other can't be either. No offense meant, but the logic used seems to be flawed.

BTW: wifi signal at the MAK is five bars (full).
 

MAK DADDY

Moderator
If a person had the grill on high and lost connection that could be an unsafe situation before getting back to the grill...
 

mcschlotz

Member
Agreed that might not be a good thing although it's hard to see why that example is any different than setting the MAK on high manually and not coming back to it. Defaulting to SMOKE logic doesn't enter into equation when wifi isn't being used. Totally understand from a manufacturer's position wanting to err on the side of caution which is the prudent approach. Unfortunately this approach comes with a down side for customers, as any connectivity timeout can then easily ruin an overnight smoke. A better approach might be to engage simple 'if-then-else' logic. Correctly applied it could resolve the timeout dilemma i.e. as long as the setting is less than say 300, then default to previous temp setting ELSE default to SMOKE. MAK makes a great product, we just need to smooth out the rough edge this scenario has created for customers.
 

MAK DADDY

Moderator
We recommend that you are always in control and accessible to your grill at all times either way.
If you want text alerts to notify you then you can set those up in the Wi-Fi app, or the remote boss also beeps when the controller does if you have that system.

Smoke mode is a good safe "hold" temp before getting back to the grill to select a different temp.

If you have a power outage (or surge) the grill will shut off completely for safety as well.

We are always open to suggestions for future programming but Safety is always first.
 

mcschlotz

Member
Bob, I believe that most of us are pretty into using our MAK's, features, etc... As far as programming suggestions, the above is a valid one that does not approach an unsafe condition. Worse case, my 250º smoke would have continued until I got up or ran out of pellets and obviously quit. I was however, somewhat taken back by the safety analogy used. Good logic should apply regardless if in manual or wifi control, yet, defaulting to SMOKE is only applied via wifi operation. Still scratching my head with that one.... oh well!

The reality, at least for me, is that if I'm going for another all night smoke I will no longer attempt to control my MAK via wifi because of the default to SMOKE logic it applies when a timeout occurs. Regardless, I still believe MAK's are the best pellet smokers on the market. Just wishing for some improvement that makes it easier for customers to use their units reliably overnight.

Matt
 

MAK DADDY

Moderator
Hey we are with you! and have implemented many improvements from customer feedback along the way :)
We will add this one on the research list and let you know if we decide to implement a change.
 

rwalters

New member
I am 100% in agreement with Matt. That is the biggest reason that I returned my wifi module for a full refund. After losing signal on more then 1 occasion, and seeing the temp revert to smoke...that was enough for me to lose interest in wifi.
 

makintosh

New member
Bob, I believe that most of us are pretty into using our MAK's, features, etc... As far as programming suggestions, the above is a valid one that does not approach an unsafe condition. Worse case, my 250º smoke would have continued until I got up or ran out of pellets and obviously quit. I was however, somewhat taken back by the safety analogy used. Good logic should apply regardless if in manual or wifi control, yet, defaulting to SMOKE is only applied via wifi operation. Still scratching my head with that one.... oh well!

The reality, at least for me, is that if I'm going for another all night smoke I will no longer attempt to control my MAK via wifi because of the default to SMOKE logic it applies when a timeout occurs. Regardless, I still believe MAK's are the best pellet smokers on the market. Just wishing for some improvement that makes it easier for customers to use their units reliably overnight.

Matt


Matt, I was planning on ordering a MAK 2 soon with the wifi and your post has me second guessing purchasing the wifi module. If you would have set the temp on the PB and then just "viewed" the temps via wifi and then lost connection to wifi would the PB still have reverted to smoke? Does the safety feature only kick in if the temp was set for the cook via wifi?

Thanks!
 

mcschlotz

Member
Matt, I was planning on ordering a MAK 2 soon with the wifi and your post has me second guessing purchasing the wifi module. If you would have set the temp on the PB and then just "viewed" the temps via wifi and then lost connection to wifi would the PB still have reverted to smoke? Does the safety feature only kick in if the temp was set for the cook via wifi?

Thanks!

The wifi control and viewing unfortunately doesn't work that way. You have to set to pellet boss to wifi control then the control is done through the web-app and if the connection fails the temp reverts to smoke.

Matt
 

Monken

New member
I have had this problem of WiFi reverting to smoke on multiple occasions on both a 2 Star and 3 Star. I rarely use the WiFi anymore which is unfortunate.

You can’t program the 3 Star without WiFi so I have no choice but to use WiFi on it. This is very unfortunate as it can fit
enough meat for a very large crowd.

The notification feature doesn’t seem to ever give notice on a WiFi problem which is most unfortunate. I love the Mak’s and their service but I think they have dropped the ball on this one.

I hope Matt, Bruce and the rest of the Mak team get enough complaints to correct.


I have requested that at minimum a notification is text. I have this turned on but only get emails. I also think it should stay at the temperature it was at not go down to 170.
 

mcschlotz

Member
... and the saga continues. IMHO MAK has mistakenly over thought the issue to the point that defies logic (see the beginning conversation on page one of this thread). The result is the customer cannot rely on their unit to maintain desired temp until either the fuel or power quits. There is no safety issue related to that. Sigh......:(
 

Big Poppa

Administrator
hey its time to stop....you have made you point. The company owner disagrees......its been discussed....agree to disagree and lets move on
 

MAK DADDY

Moderator
I don't have an issue with the idea just have to work through all the scenarios. It is on the list of new additions to the firmware to test out when we release the next version.
 

GoodRevrnd

New member
I would have imagined the wifi would just push the selected cook program to the PB and it would stick with the last loaded program until receiving a new command. At that point the wifi view is just monitoring and not relying on an active connection to progress through the cook, so it wouldn't matter if wifi drops or even if it never comes back on.

Are you investigating holding the set program into memory or just holding the last set temp until wifi resumes? I decided to forego wifi for now given my grill's location relative to the router, so any progress on improving the wifi module would definitely help motivate a purchase. Thanks!
 

MAK DADDY

Moderator
We are currently working on maintaining the last set point if at or below 275. Cooking programs that automatically change temps is where we have to be careful, you don't want the grill on high when you thought the cooking program changed it to 250 before the Wi-Fi disconnected.

All this being said the Wi-Fi connection loss should be investigated as much as possible. The majority of customers never loose connection, I haven't lost Wi-Fi connection in years of running the grill at home and while testing at the shop for days on end.

If you don't have Wi-Fi (or like/trust it) you can buy the remote boss which is Bluetooth and will act exactly as the Pellet Boss controller on your grill. So there are no connection changes to deal with.
 

GoodRevrnd

New member
That sounds reasonable. Also, since I didn't see this info on your site or anywhere else, what wifi standard does it support (B/G/N/AC), what frequency band, and what security protocols are supported (WEP/WPA/WPA2)?
 
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