CloudSmoker ver2f

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cloudSmoker2

:construction: Under Development

⚠️ Version 2 Notice:

This is the active development branch for cloudSmoker V2. The original design is now deprecated but remains available on the v1-legacy branch.

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Project Summary

The cloudSmoker is a WiFi-enabled barbeque temperature monitor designed to take the guesswork out of low-and-slow cooks.

Building on the reliable foundation of the original cloudSmoker1 2022 release, Version 2 modernises the platform with a focus on precision, expanded capabilities, and a more comprehensive hardware design.

What’s New in cloudSmoker2

• Expanded Monitoring: Now supports up to four temperature probes for lager cooks.
• Enhanced Precision: Improved measurement accuracy and response via higher-resolution ADC, optimised bias resistor selection plus improved filtering and ADC management.
• Modern Hardware: Upgraded to a contemporary microcontroller, a refreshed display, and a custom 3D-printed enclosure.
• Professional Build: Transitioning to a custom-manufactured PCB using contemporary SMD (Surface Mount) components for increased reliability and a more compact footprint.
• Refined Software: Features seamless OTA (Over-The-Air) firmware updates, streamlined configuration menus, and robust exception monitoring.

How it Works

The device tracks critical data points, such as pit and internal meat temperatures, and syncs them to an IoT dashboard. This allows for remote monitoring of real-time graphs and gauges from any browser or smartphone.

To ensure the cook stays on track, the system sends push notifications if temperatures drift or once the meat reaches its target. The project is designed to be cooker-agnostic, making it a reliable companion for a variety of smokers and BBQ setups.

🌟 Update: cloudSmoker2 development is progressing!

1. Boards now built and firmware port / enhancement is underway.

2. 3D printed enclosure design well advanced

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cloudSmoker (v1-legacy)

📜 Legacy Support (Version 1.0)

The original version of this project was based on an ESP8266 and was built on Veroboard. While it is no longer the main focus of development, you can still access all the original files:

• Version 1.0 Release Page
  • Hardware_v1.0.zip: Includes Fritzing layouts, PDF schematics, and build photos.
  • Firmware_v1.0.zip: The stable code and compiled .bin for the original build.

WiFi BBQ Temperature Monitor Project

Updates (ver1)

1. Removed pitTemp probe plug-in checks - no longer displays LCD error or transmits pitTemp values to ThingSpeak if pit temperature probe is unplugged; necessary to allow pitTemp probe to be unplugged after meat is taken off grill so that resting meat temps can continue to be monitored (common to rest briskett in faux cambo for ~1 hour after removing meat from grill).
   

Project Summary

The cloudSmoker Barbecue Monitor project is a WiFi-enable temperature monitor. cloudSmoker is designed to read two temperatures (pit and internal meat temperatures) within my Weber BBQ smoker and upload these to an IOT dashboard, allowing remote cloud monitoring of the cook progress showing temperature vs time graphs, gauges, etc, user-definable cooking notification setpoints and exception push notifications to my smartphone, say if the pit temperatures go outside of acceptable ranges and when the meat is done and ready to be removed.

The overall process flow is conceptualised as follows:

Hardware is based around the NodeMCU (V1.0) ESP8266-12E microcontroller module (for both for WiFi access and microcontroller), two Maverick ET-732/733 thermistor probes, an external ADS1015 "12-bit" ADC, plus a 1602 LCD and rotary encoder for user set-up configuration and display. Minor thermistor and power filtering was also employed for stability.

Coding was done using VS Code / PlatformIO IDE platform with data uploaded to ThingSpeak for display and further processing. Push exception notifications are done through Twitter using Thingspeak's React / ThingTweet functionality. (:warning: Todo: export cook logs to Google Sheets).

Project Overview

An extensive project overview and design process description can be found in the project Wiki covering design goals, hardware, software, etc.

Hardware

The Hardware folder contains KiCad schematic, PCB board layouts (:warning: TODO) and selected datasheets (including the datasheet for the Semitec 105GT-2 Thermistor, that Maverick customer support kindly provided me. 👏 👍

Note that I have not found this datasheet available anywhere on the web and many other projects incorrectly characterised the Maverick ET-732/733 probes as being based on a 10k ohm thermistor (when it's actually 1M ohm!). This incorrect assumption frequently led to poor bias resistor selection, resulting in poor measurement accuracy. As a result, these Maverick thermistors were often not highly regarded. For example, one project concluded they were acceptable, but not recommended thermistor choice.

cloudSmoker

This folder contains the full cloudSmoker software (sketch and libraries); developed under VSCode / Platformio IDE rather than Arduino IDE so folder structure reflect Platformio structure. Note that the project code base is over 1600 lines total and makes extensive use of user and public libraries.

Images

Self-explanatory

Project Dashboard

A public ThingSpeak cloudSmoker dashboard is available

Licence

cloudSmoker (ver1): MIT Licence. Note that licence terms have changed for cloudSmoker2 (Ver2)

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