r/combustion_inc

My small mind can’t bridge the cognitive dissonance between the yellow product branding and the red icon. Could we get a Combustion Yellow icon as an option someday :)

I finally put my GGG and predictive thermometer to use in my smoker yesterday with a pork butt. Since I am so accustomed to using an ambient temperature thermometer on my grate, I still used one this time around as well. Generally the GGG was reading ~10 degrees or so hotter than the grate temperature. The GGG reading hotter than the grate was to be expected, but I was semi-surprised it was only generally a ~10 degree difference (sometimes the difference was greater, but ~10 degrees felt like the average). It made me wonder if I should just do away with my ambient temperature probe and just rock on with the GGG and the predictive thermometer in the meat (especially with something as forgiving as a pork butt), understanding that the GGG reads a bit hotter than the grate temperature. Since I understand that the Combustion Engine will be keyed off of the GGG and/or the thermometer, having a separate ambient probe makes even less sense.

But, I am curious to hear how folks have been using their GGG and thermometers in their smoker and how they may change things once the Combustion Engine gets released. Are y'all still using an ambient probe, or have you done away with it?

Kudos to the Combustion Team for what looks like an awesome job implementing cook history for Combustion devices!

I’ve only done some preliminary testing, but so far the history looks fantastic. What really blew me away is that the app retrieved my cook history going back to December 15, 2025! Unexpected and amazing.

The time/date-stamped notes feature looks great, too. I can even go back and add/edit/delete notes from previous sessions.

I’ve waited a long time for this feature. Thank you Devs!

How does the combustion engine and thermometer compare to the new Weber kettle smart ring? Very similar as it has a fan and option for wired and wireless thermometer and app. Would like to hear how they compare to one another!

I was going to hit the buy button this morning but I had a question and stumbled here. I've done R&D for 30 years and looking at all of the problem posts it seems like this product isn't ready for primetime. Is there something Im missing?

My first generation device hasn’t been holding a charge. I’ve had it since Christmas of 2023 and with the exception of one issue for which it had to be replaced under warranty it’s worked incredibly well. I love opinions of folks who are currently using the 2nd gen to decide if it’s worth investing in a new one.

Looking to buy a gen 2 thermometer, but noticed on the description of the pot clip accessory:
"WARNING: The Combustion Predictive Thermometer should not be used to measure fluids above 220ºF (105ºC). No candy or deep-frying oil, please"

Wondering why the limit is so much lower for liquids versus the advertised 900F maximum in a grill / oven? I was thinking deep frying would be exactly a use case where this thermometer would excel, since i was under the impression you could just throw it in with the oil to measure the temperature.

Is this a limitation of the thermometer itself, or just the material the pot clip is made of?

I put in an order in July of last year and I still haven't received the combustion engine. Support keeps telling me it will ship, but just wondering if anyone else has the same experience.

I had a gen 1 probe that all of a sudden wouldn't link to my phone. Had it replaced under warranty and the new gen 1 probe had some linking issues, so I bought a wifi display to try to solve that. It worked great for a while but then, the probe stopped linking again. Now out of warranty, customer service will only offer me a discounted rate of $70 for a 2nd gen. I've gone through the posts and seen multiple others with the exact same experience.

I think the product is great, when it's working. But it's way too expensive to keep replacing. CS is nice, but not helpful at all. I'm kicking myself for going further into the hole buying a display when I probably should've moved on, because now I'm faced with wasting the display or having to buy another probe that will probably also fail.

Is this just a very glitchy product? For the price, I'd expect it to work for years and years. Is that expecting too much?

Finally installed my GGG today and firing up the smoker now. My smoker is an Engelbrecht that has a half-inch NPT thermometer mount, and I find the leakage inelegant, though I know that Combustion says it shouldn't be significant. Has anyone experimented with a gasket to close off the excess air gap around the installation?

Steaming fish on the stovetop:

I’ve used the combustion thermometer for several years for steaks, roasts, chicken parts, whole chickens and fish in the oven or on a grill. I love it, and have used it very successfully.

BUT:

I recently started steaming fish on the stovetop, and haven’t had accurate readings at all. For example, if I have a piece of halibut with the thermometer put in as if it’s a steak, set to 107° (carryover to get to 120°), the thermometer shows 77°, but it’s already cooked to 120°. What am i doing wrong?

Steaming = 1/2" of stock on the bottom of the pan, the fish sitting above it on either a rack or a stack of vegetables.

Fortunately i haven’t overcooked anything, because after the first time when I pulled it way before the therm said done, I’ve been pulling it according to my own sense of when it’s done, and checking with a thermopen instant probe that it’s approx 105°, carryover getting it to 120 - 135 for a thick piece of fish.

I’ve had this same result, ie wrong temp, with probably 5 pieces of fish being steamed. Never a problem if I have the fish in an oven with a pan of boiling water (ie to steam it, a la Paula Wolfert).

Thoughts?

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to drop a quick appreciation post for the team at Combustion Inc. I’ll admit it upfront: I am an absolute, unabashed Chris Young fanboy. At this point, if his name is attached to a culinary project, my wallet is basically open. I’ve followed his work for over a decade and have accumulated pretty much every major project and book he’s been a part of:

Modernist Cuisine

The Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen

ChefSteps & The Joule Sous Vide ( and now the hydropro which I don't think he worked on but used a lot of the hard work form joule)

Control freak

But as incredible as the engineering is, a hardware company is only as good as its customer support—and Combustion is easily operating at an above 5-star level.

I’ve been working with Michael from their support team, and the experience has been phenomenal. The guy has been ridiculously responsive, even going out of his way to reply and help me out over a holiday weekend. That level of dedication is practically unheard of these days.

The team went completely above and beyond by making a custom attachment for my Keveri H1 grill so I could seamlessly mount the Combustion engine. Right now, Michael is even actively helping me troubleshoot a quick issue with my GGG (Giant Grill Gauge) setup.

It is incredibly rare to find a company that pairs cutting-edge, modernist food science with genuinely human, lightning-fast customer care. If you are on the fence about investing in their ecosystem, just do it. The tools are brilliant, and the people standing behind them are even better.

Massive thanks to Michael and the rest of the crew!

My 2.0 probe died unceremoniously a while back and I tried to get a replacement. I was initially discouraged because the rep told me it was out of warranty. "Hmm I don't think it's THAT old," I thought, but I couldn't find a sales email / receipt. So I offered my wifi booster for sale on here, thinking I would give up on Combustion. In fact I ordered a competitive product on Amazon.

Chris Young saw my post, looked up my order history personally, found that my 2.0 probe was still under warranty (the other rep had confused my account history, because I ordered under two different emails) and gave me a new 2.0 probe as a replacement.

I will be trying the new 2.0 out this weekend on a Jorge from Flannery (IYKYK as the kids say). And, sending back the competitor to Amazon. Thanks Chris! (NO AI OR GRAMMAR TOOLS USED.)

On father's day I had to chickens on the kamado and half way through the cook my Gen 1 probe lost the first four sensors. The probe was inserted all the way into the breast to the ceramic. Is there anyway to reset it and get it running again?

Any promo codes available for the Big Gauge? Was hoping to find something with all of the sales going on right now.....appreciate it