GMG Alternative

[wedwards]

Im having all sorts of issues with my GMG controller. The first one had a wifi issue, the second one didnt have wifi issue but was possessed (even on latest firmware - doesnt control fan properly, doesnt allow temp to be lowered (instead goes into fan mode), cooks food but covers it in soot - put old controller back in and it cooks properly but no wifi). Im potentially going to be on my third controller in the space of a week.

If the problems continue to take more of my time to sort out than I spend cooking, Im likely to spit the dummy and send it back sometime soon (short attention span).

Is there are pellet grill made by another manufacturer with similar capabilities to the GMG wifi models? What should I be looking at as alternatives? This one seemed like a good idea at the price point, but like every other time I try and save money, I get bitten by something cheap and nasty and end up going with top of the range in the end anyway.

Any advice on potential options would be welcome.

[urbangriller]

There is no alternative to the GMG WiFi. What phone are you using?

Cheers
Chris

[beachbums]

Hi, we've been playing with one of these with the wifi unit hooked up to my android phone. I had a bit of a hiccup at first when I thought I was working in Celsius but found after a bit of head scratching that the wifi controller was working in Fahrenheit.

Had me quite confused at the time as I was looking at the Celsius thermometer on the lid and couldn't get it. I found trying to turn the temp down on the panel using the down arrow was taking me into fan mode at the 150 degree mark. Thinking it was reading 150 Celsius it had me scratching my head until the penny dropped. Don't know if they can be swapped from C to F I just work in F.

Cheers, Wayne

[urbangriller]

Yes, the Latest firmware gives you the choice to download a C or F version customised for hot or cold climate.

Cheers
Chris

[wedwards]

Hi Chris, at this point I think Ive demonstrated pretty clearly that my phone is not the issue - Hark sent me a replacement controller and the new controller's wifi works perfectly with my network and phone, however the controller itself seems to be possessed.

I plugged the first controller back in and the fans and everything seem to work fine, so I am thinking its the other controller. At least I can cook on the grill in manual mode while I try and sort it out. The newer controller does some truly bizarre things - for instance when I set a temperature and then want to reduce it, I cant. A single press of the down arrow shows currently set temp, but then if I press the down arrow again it doesnt reduce temp, it says fan but fan doesnt come on. If I press any other button at that stage, the controller starts going through its usual startup sequence. As I said, put the first controller back in and those issues are gone, but I dont have wifi, and that was the primary functionality I bought the grill for in the first place.

The new controller was running latest firmware v5.8 I believe. Attempted to cook a few sausages and set grill to 170 last night. Sausages were cooked after about half hour but covered in black soot. Put old controller back in and no soot on food.

Thought there might have been other manufacturers out there implementing similar functionality in their grills.

[urbangriller]

I've spoken with Hark, they are responding to the email you sent them at 8:30 last night.

First check the firmware version.

To check the Firmware version:
Toggle the Grill switch to OFF.
Hold the “UP” button down, then toggle the grill on, while continuing to hold “UP” button for about 15 seconds
The LCD Panel will display the version number.

It sounds like updating the firmware is in order, the firmware is most likely corrupt.

Cheers
Chris

[wedwards]

OK Cool will do that at lunch time when I go home - it was upgraded to v5.8 when I first got it but I will do it again just to be sure.

Also, thanks for following up - I didnt expect you to do that, considering I bought the grill locally, and not from you. Thanks again. Will report results back here.

[urbangriller]

OK Cool will do that at lunch time when I go home - it was upgraded to v5.8 when I first got it but I will do it again just to be sure.

PM me your email and I'll send you the instructions for downloading and running the firmware. only takes a minute to do and Im sure it will make the controller behave.

Cheers
Chris

[wedwards]

Thanks for the up to date instructions Chris - I think I was actually following those same instructions after a bit of searching. Might be an idea to rename this thread to something like GMG Controller Issue or something like that to help others in future.

Have re-applied the firmware as suggested, and this time before it downloaded the firmware it asked me to pick degrees or celcius, and also to specify whether I live in a cold or hot environment. I did not get that prompt last time but used the same ipad on both occasions.

After firmware installed successfully, the controller is now behaving and doing what is expected when pressing down arrow etc etc, however the grill's fans are never turned on at all (should come on during step 2 of startup sequence). It generates a lot of nasty thick smoke during startup, and no real temp increase once the startup sequence completes.

I swapped the original controller back in and fans are working and the grill starts up properly as expected, however the original controller still has the wifi issue.

Hark arranged my local dealer to give me the controller out of their demo model, so I am going to have a play with that tonight and will provide feedback later on the outcome. Am quietly hopeful that maybe I was just unlucky to get 2 faulty controllers. Would really like this unit to work as expected, as its got so much potential to be awesome.

It is important for others to note, that if you do a firmware update and the controller starts doing some weird things that it never used to (or behaving differently to what is documented in the manual), its a good idea to run the firmware update again, because it can report success incorrectly it seems (my controller was even reporting that it was running v5.8 and the post-install verification worked as well).

Thanks for the suggestion and help Chris, we are making progress.

[Grill Pro Australia]

Hi Wedwards,
There is absolutely an alternative!

As you probably know, in life you get what you pay for.

Feel free to PM me.

Cheers, Dave

[urbangriller]

Hi Wedwards,
There is absolutely an alternative!

Cheers, Dave

The OP asked:

Is there are pellet grill made by another manufacturer with similar capabilities to the GMG WiFi models?

....and the answer is, there are no other brands with WiFi models in Australia!

We are all aware of Yoder....but they are way more expensive and don't cook any different to a standard non-WiFi GMG or Traeger.

Chris

[Grill Pro Australia]

Chris is correct,

and we are all aware of the problems with pellet grills and wifi, you are no pioneer in this respect.

Yoder at this stage don't have wifi as an option as they are committed to only bring the best quality to the market.

My comment still stands, you get what you pay for & do some research.

As one of our customers in Sydney told me last week "Yoders just simply work", end of story!

Cheers, Dave

[urbangriller]

So you've never had a problem with a Yoder Dave??? Every customer is completely happy?

More sales BS Dave!

[Grill Pro Australia]

Every customer is completely happy

As far as I know

[urbangriller]

And the first question?