BBQ Guru CyberQ Cloud Review

The CyberQ Cloud is BBQ Guru’s latest entry into the remote thermostatic controller market intended for use on charcoal grills or smokers. It adds a cloud connection that allows monitoring and setting most control functions from anywhere an Internet connection is available. The user interface is a web browser instead of a dedicated app that might run on a smart phone or tablet, allowing use of a home computer, as well as a smart phone, to control one’s cooking session. The kit includes the control box, AC power supply, a 10 cfm fan, fan-mounting hardware, a pit probe, and a food probe. Only a phillips screwdriver is needed to assemble the fan adapter to your cooker. (My cooker is an 18.5″ Weber Smokey Mountain.) A quick-start guide will get most users through the setup and basic operations, but I urge you to download the manual and read it carefully. There are features that you may not find without reading the manual.

Setup is easy. The controller comes configured as a hotspot, so you can connect to it directly to perform the Wi-Fi setup or manage the unit without Internet access. This might be helpful if you’re competing and there is no router available. However, you would lose the ability to use the Internet in this configuration. Normally, you would connect through the hotspot, and using the self-contained web server, tell the unit the SSID and password of your home router. This allows the unit to talk to the cloud server. You then go through a straightforward online product registration and your CyberQ Cloud will communicate with the server, giving you access from any Internet-connected computer or phone/tablet.

Once set up, the unit remembers the configuration, and you won’t have to do it again unless you change routers. Now you can set a number of parameters, like pit temperature and desired food temps, either on the controller directly or via the web app. (The controller can monitor three food probes, but the kit comes with only one.) The controller will regulate airflow through your cooker to maintain the set temperature. You can also set a count-down timer. You can select from one of several actions when the timer reaches zero: no action (cooking continues at the previously set temperature), the pit temperature can shift to another settable temperature (like a keep-warm temp), it can sound an alarm (on the unit, not in the browser), or shut everything down completely. You can enable a temperature ramp-down feature that will lower the pit temperature as the food reaches its target temperature. An audible alarm (on the unit, not in the browser) can alert you when your food is done, too. You can configure the cloud app to send you a text message and/or an e-mail when food is done, as well as periodic updates on food and pit temperatures at a frequency of your choice. You can set a temperature band, say +/- 25º, around your pit temperature, and an alarm will sound on the controller if the temperature deviates from the set temp by more than the band tolerance. One irritation is the inability to silence the controller’s audible alarms from the web app – you have to go outside and press a button. You can enable or disable open-lid detection, a feature that prevents temperature overshoot after peeking under the lid or jostling fuel.

To use the web app, you log into the account you created previously. Communication is automatically established when you power up your controller. You create a “cook” with the parameters you desire, and start the data recording when you’re ready. The app will display a temp gauge for the pit temp and up to three food temps. The gauges self-scale so that your target temperatures are at 12 o’clock on the dial, making them easy to read. A graph of temperatures vs. time will automatically update as the cook progresses, although it sometimes seemed to stick, but a brower refresh updated the information. You can affix notes to events on the graph. The app will list the events as you create them, but it doesn’t list them in order, making them a little tough to interpret. If you mouse-over the graph, additional data appears, but, alas, the time is not indicated along with the temperatures.

The graph and its associated data can be downloaded in several file formats. Here is the graph from my brisket cook. (The glitches in the graph were due to my jostling the charcoal with a poker and changing the pit temps, not faults with the equipment.) The notes are displayed, but it’s up to you to keep track of what the events meant. One thing missing is a display of the pit temperature set point on the graph, and it would be nice to see the fan’s output duty cycle there, as well. You do get a numerical display of the fan’s percentage of output, but it’s not recorded, unfortunately.

The app displays information about your cooking session, like the food type and weight, for future reference You can input environmental data like ambient temps, and they display in the app as well. You can save cooking sessions and recipes, as well as uploading photos of your food, and share them with other BBQ Guru users. The app allows you to set up or change your cook parameters, as well as manage other settings for the alarms, multiple controllers, and multiple cookers. You can upload your mug shot if you’re so inclined. Unless you explicitly delete cooking sessions, everything is maintained in the cloud for future reference. Unfortunately, there is no audible alarm in the app – you’ll have to rely on a text message or e-mail notifications. If you have an Amazon Alexa unit, you can set it up to monitor or control your cooking parameters.

There is a well-written instruction manual available for download. READ IT! You’ll miss a lot of functionality if you don’t. Trust me on this.

Overall, this is a full-featured unit that is easy to setup and use. The cloud app has a few rough edges that hopefully will be ironed out over time. The firmware can be updated automatically when connected to the Internet. I would like to see a longer tip on the food probe – 4″ (10cm) is a little short. The cables are a generous 6’+ (1.8m). The product build is above average, although the wire to the fan is flimsy and would likely not survive if you tripped over it. You can run it on its AC-DC adapter (included) or from a 12VDC source. The unit does an excellent job of controlling the pit temperature. (Read the section in the manual about good fire-building practices.) Other than the few shortcomings mentioned above, there is little to complain about. It’s not cheap, but nice stuff rarely is. I’ll give it a Platinum Medal for its feature set, performance, and build quality.