Smoker Upgrade!
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Hey everyone, it has been just a little since I’ve been here. The last time I was here I received LOTS of good information from everyone with respect to me beginning my Summer Sausage ‘making’. One of the pieces of advice that I received was a piece of equipment… a PID. Now, I knew nothing about a PID and am no electrician but I began doing a bit of internet research and am happy to report… I learned something. So, I jumped into this ‘Smoker Upgrade’ full bore! I now have my Smoker fully equipped with all the bells & whistles. Additionally, I, after reading all the comments about the benefits of using a Sous Vide cooker, I also followed that lead. Here are some pics of what I have been up to and how I actually got to this point… the point where I should simply get to making some Summer Sausage!
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/Users/Ron/Pictures/Ron’s Photos Library.photoslibrary/resources/derivatives/2/2FA45809-9B76-4D4A-A557-C828858044FB_1_105_c.jpegRetired157 Thanks for posting this. I have been looking to build one but was a little intimidated. I have my parts on order. How has it been working for you?
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Very nice. Well done!
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Retired157 Thanks for posting this. I have been looking to build one but was a little intimidated. I have my parts on order. How has it been working for you?
I can’t have been pleased with ‘how’ my smoker upgrade(s) worked! I would strongly encourage anyone thinking about doing something like I did to just… ‘Do It’. I worked through a few issues and learned a lot… I think. I don’t know exactly how this site works but I did include my phone number within my ‘profile’. If you ever want to ‘pick my brain’ for any crumbs that might help you with your upgrade, just call. I promise you this; I too was very ‘intimidated’ with doing this but after diving into it, I found out that ‘with a little help’, it was way easier than I was imagining.
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… I couldn’t have been MORE pleased with how my smoker upgrade(s) worked. That’s what I was trying to ‘write’
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I really appreciate the help. Im a retired jarhead myself lol. I hope that didn’t kick any future help off the table. Did you put a convection fan in the smoker or are the fans theee to hrlp control the heat?
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Are the fans there to help control the heat ?lol. I told you i am a jarhead
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I can’t have been pleased with ‘how’ my smoker upgrade(s) worked! I would strongly encourage anyone thinking about doing something like I did to just… ‘Do It’. I worked through a few issues and learned a lot… I think. I don’t know exactly how this site works but I did include my phone number within my ‘profile’. If you ever want to ‘pick my brain’ for any crumbs that might help you with your upgrade, just call. I promise you this; I too was very ‘intimidated’ with doing this but after diving into it, I found out that ‘with a little help’, it was way easier than I was imagining.
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Something is up with the thumbs up button. I hit the up and it recorded down. I know Ilike crayons but i do know the difference between up and down. "Most of the time "
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Something is up with the thumbs up button. I hit the up and it recorded down. I know Ilike crayons but i do know the difference between up and down. "Most of the time "
scottfletcher Yep!!! I just hit the up arrow on your post and the “up” thumb disappeared and looks like a “down” vote.
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I see an up vote on my end. I guess they do that so someone dosen’t get multiple up or down vote from the same person.
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scottfletcher Yep!!! I just hit the up arrow on your post and the “up” thumb disappeared and looks like a “down” vote.
zbigjeff said in Smoker Upgrade!:
scottfletcher Yep!!! I just hit the up arrow on your post and the “up” thumb disappeared and looks like a “down” vote.
The thumbs up disappears now when hit and the number shows how many has upvoted the post
You never work a day in your life if you love what you do.
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zbigjeff said in Smoker Upgrade!:
scottfletcher Yep!!! I just hit the up arrow on your post and the “up” thumb disappeared and looks like a “down” vote.
The thumbs up disappears now when hit and the number shows how many has upvoted the post
Lance Ooooookkkaaay. Thus, it stops you from creating an error message when you try to hit the up thumb twice. I checked with someone else and they can see the up thumb and that I did it. GOT IT.
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Thanks Lance
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Are the fans there to help control the heat ?lol. I told you i am a jarhead
Yep, I just positioned one of my bedroom fans about two feet from my ‘stack’ there on the door. Then, as the PID brings my smoker up to temp, I ‘tinker’ with the stack’s open/close lid and the fan’s airspeed until they all begin to work together to/and maintains the temp I want. It takes very little (maybe 5minutes) to get it right and I keep an eye on it to ‘catch’ any fluctuations which might occur. I can tell you that I pretty much can keep my temp within a plus or minus 3 degrees of my desired temp. So, if my cooking schedule calls for 1 hour @125F, I do not start my timer until I have my ‘temp’ at 125…
That fan is a ‘Vernado’… has three speeds and it works just perfect for what I do/needed. Very easy… I’m all about easy!
No fan ‘inside’ the smoker…
I was doing the smoking in my garage, so when I added the 2oz’s of wood, as it was ‘smoking’ out the top vent hole on my smoker, I took the Vernado out of the spare bedroom and positioned it on a step-stool (higher) to direct the smoke out of the garage. Kinda figured that out as I was doing it. Once the wood was ‘done’ and there was no more smoke being generated, I stopped using the second fan and could close the garage door again. It was only about 30 degrees outside when I did this so I didn’t want to spend the WHOLE day outside… the garage was a perfect option.
Hope that explanation helps
Bottomline… I did not find maintaining my desired temperature(s) any problem at all. That PID thing (in spite of me) knew just what to do!
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Thats awesome. I’ll take that 3 degree fluxes all day. Way better than the 20 degree swings I fight.
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Thats awesome. I’ll take that 3 degree fluxes all day. Way better than the 20 degree swings I fight.
Yep! I can’t imagine trying to maintain a constant temperature without the help of a PID. Is it something that you can set and walk away from for hours… no; but I was doing dishes, taking the dog out, drinking a beer or two and ‘watching’… not once did I lose control.
I will tell you that I surprised to see that the ‘dial’ temp gauge I installed in the door was pretty much useless… it was not ‘accurate’ at all when comparing to the PID readings. If I had to do it over, I’d not even put one in. The PID with the temp probe I installed is ALL you need.
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Now that air vent stack in the door… totally an ESSENTIAL item!!!
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Thanks for that. I will put that on my list for the build.
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Retired157 I use a mortar mixing tub, they are food grade and come it two sizes. I use the smaller of the two, clean up isn’t too bad as they are smooth and the ends are sloped so not much for corners.
bocephus said in Smoker Upgrade!:
Retired157 I use a mortar mixing tub, they are food grade and come it two sizes. I use the smaller of the two, clean up isn’t too bad as they are smooth and the ends are sloped so not much for corners.
I ordered one of these and it should be in tomorrow for clean ups, hopefully it will make things easier. I will keep it unhooked so I can move it around, so we will see.
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bocephus said in Smoker Upgrade!:
Retired157 I use a mortar mixing tub, they are food grade and come it two sizes. I use the smaller of the two, clean up isn’t too bad as they are smooth and the ends are sloped so not much for corners.
I ordered one of these and it should be in tomorrow for clean ups, hopefully it will make things easier. I will keep it unhooked so I can move it around, so we will see.
I might have to see if I can’t ‘incorporate’ that in my garage. I actually did a lot of my clean up in the bath tub. My wife was not at home… she didn’t ‘ask’ so I’m guessing I did ok.
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