A few things we'll point out about using the Lava Lock controller:

1. A frequently asked question about temperature controllers is whether or not you should leave the adapter installed all the time and if so, how do you control air flow when you aren't using the unit. You probably don't want to leave the blower installed all the time. Installing it on your cooker is relatively simple, as is removing it.

2. Placement of the pit probe can be important. There are two schools of thought. One is that you want it located near the meat so that the controller is controlling the temperature at the location of the meat, not somewhere else. However, the probe must not touch the meat and should be at least an inch or two from the meat. If the meat influences the temperature of the probe (especially when the meat is first placed in the cooker and is cold), obviously the controller will be sensing a false low pit temperature and will therefore compensate by overstoking the fire. The other school of thought is that if you are used to cooking by dome temperature (meaning as measured by the thermometer sticking through your dome), then you may wish to place the pit probe on the stem of your thermometer to control the temperature measured at that location.

3. We found little difference in temperature control quality when we either let the Lava Lock unit bring the cooker up to temperature, or brought it up to temperature manually before turning on the controller.

Lava Lock Control Results

How well does the Lava Lock controller actually control the temperature of your cooker? Here are the results that we obtained when allowing the controller to control a large Big Green Egg at low and medium temperatures. (Note that normally we also test controllers at a high temperature in addition to low and medium, but the Lava Lock controller won't control temperatures that high.)

Target  Accuracy   Swing  Low +7.4° F ±28.2° F Medium +1.2° F ±13.4° F Lava Lock Control Results

As you can see in the table above, the Lava Lock controller leaves a lot to be desired when compared to other temperature controllers that we have tested. The low temperature control numbers are the worst we have ever seen, while the medium temperature numbers are close to the worst. We are not surprised considering the primitive control algorithm used. Still, this degree of temperature control is comparable to most electric ovens, so it may be good enough for many cooking tasks.

Summary

Here is a list of Pro's and Con's we observed during our testing:

Pros: Low cost. Includes four accurate temperature probes. High-capacity blower will work on larger cookers as well as smaller cookers. Has basic alarms.

Cons: Probe cables are very thick and may actually hold the lid of your cooker open. Blower is big and bulky and a bit awkward to use. No adapters are provided for the most popular sizes of kamado-style cookers. No ramp mode. No open lid detect. No control feedback/learning your cooker. Algorithm is fixed and simple. No connectivity or App for monitoring. Poor temperature control.

In summary, what we have here is a controller of a different sort. It doesn't fit into either the low cost/low function category, but it also doesn't fit into the high cost/high function category either. This is the only low cost controller we have ever reviewed that has four temperature probes. This is also the only low cost controller that we have tested with a monster of a blower. However, with that low cost also comes a lower level of temperature control, the worst of any controller we have tested. But, although the temperature control is the worst we have ever tested, it is still adequate for cooking. So we feel that you will need to evaluate the pros versus the cons versus the price, and decide for yourself if this controller fits your needs.

Availability

Lava Lock Products are available from the Island Outdoor LLC web site, eBay and Amazon. You can click on the following link to make a purchase through our website, in which case, we get a small fee.

Contact Information

Island Outdoor, LLC
47 Mall Drive, Unit 4
Commack, NY 11725

833-528-2562

Web: www.islandoutdoorllc.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LavaLockProducts