Smoker Upgrade!

[keend0]

Way over my head as I am using wood and fire and adjusting vents to control temp.
I look forward to seeing some meat off that thing.

[kyle]

Retired157 wow, I have no idea what you just said, but wow. good job. I think I will stick with a wood fired smoke house, I know how that works

[glen]

Retired157 Great work!
I am curious about the reason for an amp meter

[processhead]

Looking good Retired157 .
Like glen, I am wondering about the ammeter?

[Retired157]

processhead

Well, the reality is that it not really a necessary item. Like I was saying earlier, I researched this PID project on the internet and ended up honing in on ‘George’, who uses this technology in Moonshining…

George does a really good job in his videos at explaining the ‘how to’ of making everything work. Now George likes to include some of what he refers to as the ‘cool factors’… i.e. like a fan and yes, the amp meter. I kinda liked the idea of the amp meter because it gives me a ‘visual’ confirmation that the PID working… providing the electrical current to my smoker’s heating element. Is it an absolute necessity; No. That said, for about $8, it does add some ‘cool factor’. Everything I did when putting together that PID ‘box’, came in right at about $100. Yep, I followed George’s ‘cool factor’ suggestions… kinda just a fun project.

[Retired157]

But in all honesty, Kyle probably has it ‘just as right’… wood & fire in a smoke house works the same!

[mrobisr]

Retired157 Outstanding job and glad you found George’s vids, he really brings the info done to the simple level. While there may not be a reason for a meter or your rig may be too much for some it is YOUR creation and I bet you had fun building it. I know that you learned a lot, so I’m happy to see your progress, now test it and give us some beautiful pics of meat.

[glen]

Fair enough, I agree it’s kind of cool to know your heat element is drawing current showing that it is working
This spring I plan on converting my Masterbuilt electric to PID

[Retired157]

mrobisr

Thank You; Won’t be long and I’ll be joining everyone and ‘creating’ some of my own Summer Sausage… pics will be coming!

[mrobisr]

Retired157 can’t wait!

[Retired157]

glen

Do yourself a favor and find ‘George’ on You Tube… I think I searched ‘wiring a PID’. He has numerous videos from the basic design to those including a bit of ‘cool factor’. George is great at taking you all the way through… step by step.

[mrobisr]

Retired157 said in Smoker Upgrade!:

glen

Do yourself a favor and find ‘George’ on You Tube… I think I searched ‘wiring a PID’. He has numerous videos from the basic design to those including a bit of ‘cool factor’. George is great at taking you all the way through… step by step.

I agree 110% he does a fantastic job with PID’s and other cool stuff.

[glen]

Retired157 , mrobisr, thanks I will do that. The wiring is pretty simple but I can always learn something and no use in re-inventing the wheel!

[YooperDog]

Retired157 You have been busy, congrats on your builds.

[processhead]

Having an ammeter in the power circuit to the heating element does tell you something usefull that a simple indicator light does not. An ammeter measures the current going through the heating element.
IF your heating element were to fail, there would be no current flow through it and the meter would show this.
A simple indicator light only tells you that the controls are switching voltage on and off to the element, and the light would show this whether the element were working or not.
So an ammeter is kind of a built in diagnostic device for when the the smoker doesn’t heat properly. I probably would not add one to my smoker build, but I also have electrical test equipment that allows me to do the diagnostics without a built in meter.

[Retired157]

processhead

10-4 on that! My smoker has a 700w heating element so even at full draw/current flow, that’s only 5.8amps… (700/120 = 5.8). My ‘analog’ amp meter is a ‘0’ to ‘20’… so I am noticing that its ‘needle’ just barely moves at the lower temp settings. The digital meter on the other hand gives me a readout ‘visually’ (with decimal point) at these lower temps… and their ‘draws’ i.e. amount of current flow. I have to admit, it’s kinda fun seeing & knowing what all is going on inside… and the ‘cost’ of a meter is dirt cheap.

[stephenmterry]

Great post. Can you give more info on the sous vide? Cooler, couplings, etc.? Thanks.

[Grimpuppy]

Retired157 are you happy overall with the smoker itself? There is a Smoking Tex 1400 on the local buy sell trade site here with little use for a good price. Thinking about pulling the trigger on it.

[Retired157]

stephenmterry

Hey no problem. First, I went with the Anova - 1000w - Sous Vide… so all my ‘measurements’ are specific for it. I bought cooker/cooler from Home Depot… 48quart Coleman. I also bought my Schedule 40 PVC from HD which I used to make/modify my cooler’s lid to hold the Anova. So, here goes…

First, I used 3" PVC for this modification. I bought one (2ft) section of 3"… they sell 2ft sections so you don’t have to buy a full length. Then, the only other thing I needed was a 3" cap… easy enough.

Next, thing I needed to do was ‘mark’ dead center (bottom) of my 3" cap. Then, using a 2-3/8" hole saw, I drilled out the cap… this hole now allows my Anova to slide in… nice & secure. After drilling this hole, I cleaned it up nicely with a rattail file.

With the hole done, I glued my 2ft length of 3" pipe in… all the way - bottom it out. You will note in the pic that in addition to gluing these parts together, I also used two sheet metal screws (small @1/2" - 180degrees out from each other) to ensure my two ‘pieces’ never come apart.

Then, I had to decide where I wanted to locate my Anova (its home) on the cooler/cooker lid… I went for that upper left location. This allows me to open & close the lid even with the Anova ‘in place’. A word of caution here… NEVER allow your Anova to be ‘ON’ and ‘removed’ (out) of the water. Apparently this is a sure fire way to burn up a Sous Vide cooker… so don’t open your lid with your Anova ‘On’.

Using a 3-5/8" hole saw (which I did have to buy @HD), I slowly & carefully cut the hole in the lid… it actually went/cut without any issues. Now, you are able to ‘feed’ the 3" pipe in from the side of the lid… be sure to bottom out the cap to the underside of the lid… NO Gap. From here, I had to decide just how much of the 3" pipe I actually was going to need ‘above’ the top side of the lid. I marked the pipe ‘flush’ to the lid and decided on I think… 1" higher. Now I marked & cut the pipe to length.

From here, I did not want my ‘creation’ to fall back into the cooler, so, with it fitted tight to the underside, I marked three spots on the pipe… @ ‘12’, ‘4’, and ‘8’. Then again using some small metal screws, 1/2" again, I screwed them in deep enough to hold but out enough to rest on top of the lid… now, the PVC ‘holder’ can’t be pulled up or pushed down… it’s secure!

Almost forgot… Pilot Holes are required to screw into the PVC

Now, you can see in the pic, I have a ‘slot’ cut in the back of the PVC pipe sticking out above the lid. This allows the Anova power cord to slide down to allow the Anova to be as low (down) as possible in the cooler/cooker. I wanted to make SURE that the Anova was always IN water and that it hung plenty ‘deep’… and it does!

From here, I used epoxy to seal/secure everything… top & bottom. Then I used silicon to ‘pretty’ things up.

You know that ‘black’ pipe insulation they sell for going around copper pipe (water heaters)… I had a piece of that laying around… 2". I cut a 1" piece off and it is a perfect fit/way to secure the Anova when in place… NO shake, rattle, or roll!

Done. Hope all that makes sense. I hope you have the pics you need. I tried ‘foaming’ the inside of the lid (spray can) for added insulation value as per a You Tube video. I found this to be a total waste of effort and NOT worth it… don’t do it. So yes, I had some additional holes to ‘seal’… wish I could do that over (or NOT OVER!)

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[Retired157]

Grimpuppy

Actually, yes! I really like my little 1400. I am VERY impressed with how well it is built. Right now these guys for $649… I dang near sold mine last year at the wife’s Garage Sale… glad I sometimes don’t listen!