Six questions to ask any fire controller (and how Blow answers them)

A fire controller does three jobs: read the pit temperature, decide how much air the fire needs, and push that air into the coals.

Where each job happens, and what links them, is what sets controllers apart on a long cook. Here are six questions worth asking of any of them, and how we built Blow to answer them. For every spec, cell by cell, see the full side-by-side →

Question 1Does the fire depend on a radio link?

Blow gets its instructions over a cable. The Wired Ambient Probe plugs into Blow, Blow connects to the V Forge WiFi Hub with the hub-link cable, and the hub runs the control itself, right at your cooker. Blow itself has no radio.

WiFi and Bluetooth are how you watch the cook and change the target from your phone. If either drops, you lose the view, not control of the fire, and the cook keeps running. The Stick in the meat is wireless, as it should be. Fire control is the part we kept on a cable.

Not every fan works this way. Combustion Engine is a wireless blower that receives the pit reading from a Giant Grill Gauge or Predictive Thermometer over the air. ChefsTemp's Breezo connects wirelessly to the ProTemp S1, or by USB-C cable to the ProTemp 2 Plus. A radio link between the sensor and the fan can work well. It is also one more thing between the reading and the fan.

Question 2Is there a fan battery to run down?

Blow has no battery. It plugs into a USB charger or power bank (5V/2A or higher recommended) with the included USB-C to USB-A cable. A lower-rated source still works, but the fan may not reach full speed. For overnight cooks, a wall charger is the safest choice: some power banks switch off when the fan runs gently.

The hub that runs the control has its own battery and keeps running while it charges, so on a long cook, plug it in too.

A rechargeable fan needs no power cable, but you have to keep an eye on its charge. Combustion lists the Engine at up to 24 hours per charge. Breezo, like Blow, has no internal battery and needs continuous power.

Question 3Where does it read the pit?

Your food sits on the grate, so that is where Blow reads the pit. The Wired Ambient Probe clips to the grate with its grate clip, beside the food over indirect heat. The thermometer in your lid reads up in the dome, well above the food, so expect the two numbers to differ. That's the point, not a fault.

Others read in different places. ChefsTemp says its ProTemp S1 replaces your cooker's gauge thermometer. Flame Boss puts its own pit probe in the box. FireBoard includes an ambient probe but its page does not say where it sits. Whatever you buy, read the pit at the grate.

Question 4One app for the fire and the meat?

Blow lives in the MeatStick app, on the same screen as your Sticks, so the pit and the meat sit side by side. Any V Series Stick works with the V Forge WiFi Hub, including ones you already own, and a cook can use more than one.

Most fans in this category are sold without a controller to decide how much air to give: Billows pairs with a ThermoWorks controller sold separately, and BBQ Guru's Pit Viper with a BBQ Guru controller. Blow Forge ships the fan, the hub, the Wired Ambient Probe and 1, 2 or 4 Sticks together.

Question 5Will it fit the cooker you own?

Blow is one variable-speed fan for every supported cooker, so there is no fan size to choose. On a kamado there is no drilling: two stainless plates come in the box. Kettle, bullet smoker (WSM) and drum need one 1¼" hole with a flat surface behind it, for the spring clip to lock against. Charcoal only: Blow is not for gas or pellet grills.

Elsewhere, BBQ Guru sells a 10 CFM fan and a 25 CFM fan for larger cookers, Combustion sells adapter kits separately by cooker, and FireBoard notes some installs may need holes drilled. Not sure about yours? Will Blow fit my cooker? →

Question 6What does it do when something fails?

The dangerous failure is a fan that keeps blowing air into the fire after something breaks, so Blow is built to stop. If Blow loses power or its link to the hub, the fan stops. If Blow's controller stops responding, a built-in hardware safety check (a watchdog) cuts the motor. Blow also detects when its power drops too low (a brown-out) from a failing power source, instead of carrying on at half power.

It's a fair question for any controller, and not every maker answers it. FireBoard's page, for one, does not say what its fan does if WiFi drops.

What normal looks like. In our test cooks on a charcoal kettle, the fan runs flat out from a cold start, eases off near the target, then cycles to hold it. Charcoal is not an oven: the temperature drifts above and below your target and comes back. See a real test cook →

Where the others are strong

Some rivals do things Blow does not.

• A screen on the controller. FireBoard 2 Drive has one, with six probe channels. Blow has no screen; you see everything in the app.
• A long track record. BBQ Guru has sold automatic draft (airflow) control since the early 2000s, and Flame Boss added WiFi and an app in 2013. Blow is new.
• One box on the cooker. Flame Boss 400-WiFi builds the controller and blower into one unit, with its own pit and meat probe.
• No cables at the cooker. Combustion Engine is wireless and rechargeable, with a dial on the fan for setting the temperature.

If those matter most to you, they are good reasons to look. If you want fire control that runs over cables, the pit read at the grate, and the fire and the meat in one app, that's what Blow is built for.