We thought we'd tell you how it went the very first time we tried to use the TipTopTemp™. But before we do, let's remind you of the procedure for getting your cooker to the desired temperature:

1. Start your fire and rotate the knob to open the damper. As the temperature of the air exiting the cooker increases, the damper will close.
2. Use the knob to open the damper and keep doing so as the cooker gets hotter and hotter.
3. When your cooker's thermometer indicates that the temperature is about 50°F below your target, close the damper to about ¼ opening. The TipTopTemp™ will now start regulating the temperature of your cooker.
4. Make minor adjustments as your cooker reaches your target.

As the temperature rose, we rotated the damper back to the open position 2 times, at 126°F and 203°F. When the temperature rose to 250°F (50 degrees below our target of 300°F) we closed the damper a little so that it was now ¼ open. We left things alone and the cooker settled in at 310°F about 28 minutes after we started.

We then proceeded to make tiny adjustments to the damper, closing it ever so slightly and then waiting to see the effect. We also decided to make several adjustments of the bottom vent, evntually closing it to about ¼ inches. It took about 30 additional minutes to then lower the cooker's temperature to 300°F and get it relatively stable. There were three reasons why it took us so long. First, we wanted to see if we could dial it in to exactly 300°F. Second, as it was our first time with the TipTopTemp™, we were making extremely small adjustments to the damper so as not to close it too much. We now know that you can make larger adjustments and reduce the time it takes to get stable. And third, as the temperature had risen above our target temperature, we were also fighting against the hot ceramic in trying to lower the temperature.

So all in all, we felt that we didn't do too badly for a first effort with the TipTopTemp™.

TipTopTemp™ Open Lid Detect Results

You are probably wondering how there can be Open Lid Detect results when the TipTopTemp™ doesn't have an Open Lid Detect feature. Well, we thought you might like to see how a cooker recovers from opening the lid when using a TipTopTemp™ controller. So what we did was let the cooker get stabilized at a nice medium temperature (in this case, the cooker had settled in on 305°F). Then we opened the lid for 60 seconds and finally, we closed the lid.

What then happened was that as the lid was opened, the TipTopTemp™ coil cooled and opened the damper. Of course, with the lid open, this had no effect. However, when the lid was closed and hot air began flowing over the coil again, the coil slowly started closing back up. It wasn't long before the damper was back in its original position. As for the cooker temperature, here's what happened:

TipTopTemp™ OLD Results

When the lid was opened, the temperature dropped 75°F. When the lid was closed, the temperature rose and spiked at 33°F above where it started. It took just about 10 minutes for the temperature to return to its starting point. This is comparable to most other electronic temperature controllers.

TipTopTemp™ Control Results

How well does the TipTopTemp™ actually control the temperature of your cooker? When we test a temperature controller we focus on two things. First, how close to the requested target temperature does the controller keep the cooker. Second, how much variation is there above and below the target temperature. In the case of the TipTopTemp™ controller, you don't request a target temperature. Rather, you fiddle with the wooden knob until you get the temperature where you want it. As a result, we won't be reporting on accuracy. Rather, we will report the average temperature that the cooker settled down to. And once you have gotten your cooker where you want it, we do want to know how well the TipTopTemp™ keeps it there. Having said all that, here are the results that we obtained when allowing the TipTopTemp™ to control a large Big Green Egg at low, medium and high temperatures:

Target  Average   Swing  Low 227.8° F ±1.5° F Medium 305.3° F ±1.0° F High 376.7° F ±1.5° F TipTopTemp™ Control Results

As you can see in the table above, compared to all the other controllers we have tested, the Tip Top Temp can produce results as good as the very best electronic controllers.

Cooking Pork Steaks With The TipTopTemp™

We thought you might like to have a look at how a typical 3-hour cook might go using the TipTopTemp™ at smoking temperatures. We smoked some pork steaks at about 225°F and this is what it looked like:

Certainly as good as, if not better than most electronic temperature controllers.

TipTopTemp™ In The Rain

You may have heard that you can't use the TipTopTemp™ in the rain because the rain will cool the bi-metal coil and cause the damper to open up. We simulated a light rain shower that lasted a few minutes by giving the TipTopTemp™ a light spray of water using a spray bottle while it had been holding a steady temperature. Here's what happened:

Yep, the damper opened up and the temperature spiked about 40°F above where it had been. Of course, the size of the spike depends on how long the rain lasts and how open your bottom vent is. But clearly, rain is the enemy of the TipTopTemp™. You will need to fashion some sort of rain shield if you think it's going to rain.

Notes On Operating The TipTopTemp™

A few things we'll point out about using the TipTopTemp™ 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 TipTopTemp™ installed all the time, exposing it to the weather. Installing it on your cooker is relatively simple, as is removing it.

2. The TipTopTemp™ can't be used in rain as the rain will cool the coil and cause the damper to open more than it should.
3. There is no specification available on the maximum temperature you can have, but the silicone pieces are good to 500°F. And remember that chart that we referenced in the section on cold smoking? It indicates that some folks have used it up to 614°F.
4. Adjustments, when you get close to your target, have to be relatively small. And these adjustments take time to show up in the cooker's temperature. So, it may seem that the TipTopTemp™ is letting your cooker's temperature creep up over time, when actually, it just needs a tweek to keep things level. That said, the amount of creep we found would have no effect on your cooking. If you were doing a long cook, you might want to tweak the knob once an hour. You might want to tweak the knob one last time before you go to bed. But if you have things reasonably stable, the TipTopTemp™ should keep things under pretty good control.
5. Another question that gets asked a lot when discussing automatic temperature controllers is where to put the temperature probe. Well, it should be obvious that the probe is built in to the TipTopTemp™ and it is located on top of your cooker. However, you do need to use another device to tell what the cooker's actual temperature is and that should be placed wherever you would normally place it to read the cooker's temperature. If you normally use the dome thermometer, use your dome thermometer when using the TipTopTemp™. If you use a temperature probe that you clip to the grid or the dome thermometer, then continue to do so.

Summary

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

Pros: Inexpensive. Simple to operate. It's fun to use.

Cons: Can't be used in the rain. Shaft can slip on the damper and throw off your marks if you have made any.

We suspect that some folks look at the TipTopTemp™ and think it's a toy or a gimmick. Nope. It's a useful tool for barbecue cooking and it's a low cost tool at that. In fact, the TipTopTemp™ is about the most inexpensive BBQ temperature controller out there. Yes, it isn't an electronic device that you can monitor from your smart device, but in some ways that is a good thing. The Tip Top Temp does exactly what you would do to control your cooker, i.e., control the airflow with a damper. The only difference between this and using your finger to adjust a vent is that the TipTopTemp™ will continue to monitor and adjust as necessary to keep your cooker at a target temperature, whereas most people would be loathe to keep their finger on their vents for hours and hours. This should be attractive to the purists in the crowd who don't want wires, electrons or object-oriented constructs polluting their food or their experience.

But seriously, our impression of the TipTopTemp™ is that it is a fun useful tool for anyone who wants something to keep an eye on their cooker. It's inexpensive, it's quite adept at controlling temperatures and like we just said, it's fun! We wish we had done this review sooner!

Availability

TipTopTemp™ products are available from their web site, eBay and Amazon. You can click on the following links to make a purchase from Amazon, in which case, we get a small fee.

Contact Information

TipTopTemp™

Web: www.tiptoptemp.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TIPTOPTEMP/
Email: info@tiptoptemp.com