Kamado Controller
>> Monday, November 24, 2025
***This is a previously unpublished draft that I wrote up back in 2018. I gave the Kamado away when I moved, but kept the controller to use on a future Kamado.
In addition to homebrewing, and sometimes related to homebrewing, I really enjoy BBQ and smoked foods. Smoked beers, like-minded cheese, brisket, I dig all of it.
I picked up a Vision Grills Kamado a while back (clearance at Sam's Club) and I love it. Kamados are versatile because you can cook low and slow over indirect heat, or you can open the vents and crank up the heat for some high temp grilling. There's quite a bit of mass, so temps tend to stay fairly constant. That said, The temperature can fluctuate over extended cooks. To remedy this, I decided to build a digital temp controller that controls a small 12 volt fan to regulate the airflow into the firebox. This it's basically the same concept that a lot of people (including myself) use for fermentation temp control. Instead of controlling a refrigerator, I'm controlling a small fan. Essentially what happens is if the temp drops below the setpoint, the fan turns on, stoking the fire and increasing the temp. It is a PID controller, so it will cycle the fan on and off as it approaches the setpoint. This helps keep you from overshooting your target temperature. With this approach, I should be able to maintain constant temps until the fuel runs out. PIC
Here are the components I used for my build:
I picked up a Vision Grills Kamado a while back (clearance at Sam's Club) and I love it. Kamados are versatile because you can cook low and slow over indirect heat, or you can open the vents and crank up the heat for some high temp grilling. There's quite a bit of mass, so temps tend to stay fairly constant. That said, The temperature can fluctuate over extended cooks. To remedy this, I decided to build a digital temp controller that controls a small 12 volt fan to regulate the airflow into the firebox. This it's basically the same concept that a lot of people (including myself) use for fermentation temp control. Instead of controlling a refrigerator, I'm controlling a small fan. Essentially what happens is if the temp drops below the setpoint, the fan turns on, stoking the fire and increasing the temp. It is a PID controller, so it will cycle the fan on and off as it approaches the setpoint. This helps keep you from overshooting your target temperature. With this approach, I should be able to maintain constant temps until the fuel runs out. PIC
Here are the components I used for my build:
- (1) Ceramic adapter from BBQ Guru
- (1) Pit Viper Fan from BBQ Guru
- (1) Inkbird ITC-106VL PID Controller
- (1) 12VDC Power Adapter
- (1) Project box
- (1) Panel-mount K-type socket set
- (2) 12VDC female power connectors
- Misc supplies and wire
This particular model of Inkbird controller runs on 12VDC and the output rating is also 12VDC, so the wiring couldn't be more simple.
The fan from BBQ Guru is nice because it incorporates a very functional housing that provides protection from the heat and incorporates a damper for fine tuning the airflow. It took a little bit of adjusting to get the fan damper and upper lid damper set correctly on the first use, but once dialed in, it worked awesome.
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