Wifi Operation

The Flame Boss 200 Wifi model added wireless function to the Flame Boss product line and the new Flame Boss 300 pretty much repeats this wifi functionality. And like the Flame Boss 200, we have to say that the Flame Boss 300 is also the easiest, simplest implementation of wireless operation that any temperature controller has ever provided. Yes, we've heard some folks say things like having the wifi function in the cloud makes you dependant on the Flame Boss servers. We're sure there are other drawbacks to this implementation, but if you don't want to hear about port forwarding and routers and lord only knows what other network terms you have to grapple with when you use another brand of controller, if you only want to get going wireless on your smart phone with no fuss or muss, the Flame Boss is the answer for you. We were literally monitoring our Flame Boss 200 Wifi controller minutes after we sat down at our computer and it was the same when we got our Flame Boss 300 Wifi model. It is so simple, you probably don't need us to even show you how to do it, but we'll do it anyway:

Here are the Wifi setup instructions that come with the unit:

Notice that not once were you instructed to hack into your router and alter some setting that you don't understand. All you have to do is tell the Flame Boss unit the name of your router and the password (just like any other wifi device you might have in your home) and the Flame Boss does all the rest. Now you can visit their website and monitor your cooks and remotely control your unit. Note that you should probably refer to the documentation that comes with your unit in case updates have been made since we wrote this review.

When you first visit myflameboss.com, you will see the following screen:

Enter the device ID of your controller:

You will then go to a screen like the following. You'll see the current pit target temperature, the temperature being read by the pit and food probes, and the current blower output:

So, how hard was that? To be able to do things like control your Flame Boss from the network and get email alerts, you'll need to register which is just as easy. Now you are good to go! So what does it look like on your phone? Just direct the browser on your phone to myflameboss.com and you'll get screens like this (shown here with the phone in landscape mode, but we scrolled the screen up and down and merged the images):

Here is what a graph looks like of a cook showing the target temperature being changed, the cooker responding, and the how often the blower is running. The blue line is the target pit temperature, the red line is the actual pit temperature, and the green line shows the blower operation:

Now for a few notes about using the Flame Boss 300's wifi function:

• The makers say they have seen the unit recognize routers several hundred feet away, but of course, we all know that wireless communications like this can be quite fickle. So your mileage may vary....

• We found that occasionally the web page showing the current status would stop updating. Simply reloading the page got it going again.

• You will notice that at the bottom of the graph on the web page it says "Cook nnn on Device 64" in our examples. Obviously Device 64 is our unit, but the cook number will change every time you use your unit. If you wish to end a cook and start a new cook, there is a link at the bottom of the page to end the current cook.

• If you register, then you can sign in and control your Flame Boss from the web. You can do the following things:

  • Turn email alerts on or off.
  • Set the pit target temperature.
  • Set the food temperature alarms on and off and set the food temperature alarms target temperatures.
  • Turn the Keep Warm feature on and off and set the Keep Warm temperature setting.
  • Set the temperature units to either °C or °F.