Overview
The Combustion Giant Grill Gauge (GGG) is more than a replacement for the “thermometers” that are typically installed on a grill or smoker to read the cooker’s internal temperature. I use quotes because these dial gauges are usually wildly inaccurate and poorly placed in the lid. What you get is the approximate air temperature at the very top of the cooking space, not the temperature where the food is. In addition to its temperature measurement function, the GGG communicates with any wireless Combustion Predictive Thermometer (CPT) inside the cooker, amplifies that thermometer’s signals, and relays them to the Combustion app and/or the internet via Wi-Fi. Click here for our review and rating of the Combustion Predictive Thermometer.
Startup
Setting up the GGG is part mechanical exercise, part electronic exercise. The GGG has two parts: the giant yellow disk with the electronics, and the black disk that serves as the mounting platform for the former. This black base provides the mechanical connection to the cooker and houses the temperature probe that measures the cooker temp. A spring and a collar connect the base unit to the cooker lid. The base acts as a thermal barrier to prevent the electronics unit from overheating. Magnets hold the two disks together and affect the electrical connection between the probe in the black base and the electronics in the yellow disk. This design enables the user to install multiple base units on multiple cookers with only one electronics module mounted on the cooker in use, which saves money.
I did not measure the accuracy of the GGG’s temperature probe. Past experience shows that it’s rare for even a cheap thermometer to be off by more than a few degrees, so given my previous temperature tests on the Combustion Predictive Thermometer, which received our highest Platinum rating, we can take the accuracy on this unit for granted.
Cooking
After mounting the base and disk on the cooker lid, you use the app to pair your wireless probe CPTs with the GGG, and to configure the Wi-Fi transceiver to communicate with your router. The GGG can also display the core, surface, and ambient temp of each CPT in use, up to four at a time. The same information is communicated via Bluetooth. The phone app can receive the BT signal when nearby or collect the data via the internet when out of BT range. Thus, the GGG replicates the functionality of the CPT’s Gen 2 Display.
Once everything is communicating, you can set the target temperature for each CPT using either the app, the Display if you have one, or the GGG. The whole system self-configures as a Wi-Fi mesh network, providing flexibility and additional range.
Limitations
My only issue with the GGG system stems from a limitation mentioned earlier: the temperature probe on the Combustion Giant Grill Gauge isn’t really in the right place. It mounts to the lid of your cooker and measures ambient temps there, rather than temps closer to the food. Realistically, it probably doesn’t matter because the temperature in a cooker is highly localized. Thermometers placed an inch apart can differ by tens of degrees. What really matters is the food temp, and the CPTs take care of that. Even the ambient sensors on the CPTs are going to differ substantially from probe to probe. The main benefit of using the GGG in this system is its proximity to the CPTs, which allows better communication between the wireless probes and the first relay station, the GGG.
The ability to monitor the cooker temp qualitatively is nice. I have a propane grill that sometimes blows out, and seeing the temp drop lets me know that it needs my attention.
Conclusion
For owners of Combustion’s Predictive Thermometers, the Giant Grill Gauge is a handy gadget.
Good signal strength is a problem when using protocols like Bluetooth that operate in the 2.4GHz band. This is due to the signal attenuation caused by the cooker’s enclosed walls (Google “Faraday Cage” if you’d like a more thorough discourse on the subject.) Suffice it to say that you really want to have a receiver close to the cooker to intercept the weak signals that make their way through the cooker’s enclosure. The GGG fills that need, so it’s worth it just for resolving that problem.
We’ve been fans of Combustion’s products from the get-go. Go for it!
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