auber pid

highlandsmoker · February 21, 2010, 08:39:27 AM

I'm about to order the auber pid. my temp. swings are + - 25 deg. with the added cost of the pid it makes me wonder why i went with the digital style. it also makes me wonder why bradley didn't go with a better controller. they should be offering a recall on this piece of crap!

MPTubbs · February 21, 2010, 09:12:48 AM

Quote from: highlandsmoker on February 21, 2010, 08:39:27 AM
I'm about to order the auber pid. my temp. swings are + - 25 deg. with the added cost of the pid it makes me wonder why i went with the digital style. it also makes me wonder why bradley didn't go with a better controller. they should be offering a recall on this piece of crap!

Woooo there big boy!

Everything has temp. swings. Even your oven!

Mine on my 6 rack are only - + 15* and I put a PID on it. Now + - 2*.

If Bradley were to go with a new controller the cost would go up! They probably think + - 20* swing for smoking is with in parameters of LOW and SLOW!

KevinG · February 21, 2010, 10:11:25 AM

Temperature swings are nothing to be worried about. It is normal in all heating devices, think about your home heater, is it turning on and off every degree? Absolutely not. It won't hurt most foods to cook with the temperature range given by the Bradley, if you are doing a lot of sausage, then maybe consider it. But I've made plenty of sausage in mine without any issues and I don't own the PID.

classicrockgriller · February 21, 2010, 10:31:47 AM

Have you ever wonder why they call ovens Range Ovens.

You set it to your desired temp and you are cooking somewhere in the range of that temp.

The bradley has a fixed thermo and if you are using an auxillary probe to monitor your meat then you will see different temps thru out the cabinet.

But as the product comes up to cooking range the difference in the aux probe and the bradley temp get closer.

The Bradley will make you GREAT BBQ.

highlandsmoker · February 22, 2010, 03:58:41 AM

i guess you guys don't get it. i could have bought the regular bradley smoker and bought a pid and would of had the same money into it and had better control. like i sad piece of crap. i am also thinking of putting in a hot plate so i can burn sawdust.(at about $19.00 fo a 40 lb. bag) doing away with the expensive pucks. so now i have a $500.00 cabinet. had i knew a year ago what i know now i would have built a smoker and had something that worked and had some room.

Caneyscud · February 22, 2010, 07:12:42 AM

Yes, we actually do get it. You are mad and want to prove a point rather than listening to reason, logic, and experience. Guess what, we all have our "as you say - $500 boxes". There are almost 7,000 members on board here, and I'd guess almost all have some sort of Bradley, many more than one. Do you really think we are all lying or just under mass hypnosis? I for one, have a hell of a lot more than a measley $500 invested in smokers and other barbecue toys. Guess what I had to do? I had to learn to use them - each and every one of them. The process is called low-n-slow. It is not an exact science, temp swings are acceptable, and very, very, normal!!!! Now, if you want to learn how to make great Q, stick around, there are 7,000 members, many who will stumble over one another to help you make some great barbecue including myself.

smokeNcanuck · February 22, 2010, 07:31:08 AM

Quote from: Caneyscud on February 22, 2010, 07:12:42 AM
Yes, we actually do get it. You are mad and want to prove a point rather than listening to reason, logic, and experience. Guess what, we all have our "as you say - $500 boxes". There are almost 7,000 members on board here, and I'd guess almost all have some sort of Bradley, many more than one. Do you really think we are all lying or just under mass hypnosis? I for one, have a hell of a lot more than a measley $500 invested in smokers and other barbecue toys. Guess what I had to do? I had to learn to use them - each and every one of them. The process is called low-n-slow. It is not an exact science, temp swings are acceptable, and very, very, normal!!!! Now, if you want to learn how to make great Q, stick around, there are 7,000 members, many who will stumble over one another to help you make some great barbecue including myself.

Well said, and I'll second that!!
What's done is done. Deal with it and move forward. You may feel ripped off or something but once
you start turning out some great BBQ it may change your opinion.(That's not to say that I do not see your
point, as far as the OBS and the PID. That's the set-up I have)

highlandsmoker · February 22, 2010, 07:47:52 AM

sorry caneyscud i know it sounds like i'm attacking but thats not my point. all i'm trying to say is i bought the digital to do what it said it could do, and guess what it can't. if i don't want my heat to go above 165 deg. i can't set mine at 165 because it will go to 185 and and higher then drop to 135 and lower. to me and what i smoke thats not good. a 10 to 15 deg swing i could deal with not a 50. believe me i may be new to posting on this fourm but i have used it a lot and your right the people sound great. i guess what i'm trying to do is save some one some money by buying the regular bradley and a pid and they would be much happier.

Tenpoint5 · February 22, 2010, 08:11:54 AM

What is it that your trying smoke that needs constant 165* temps with no fluctuation? I have the DBS4 have had it for quite awhile. I do ribs, butts, briskets, sausage of all types and styles, cheese and salmon. I do not have a PID. I am getting one but that is just because I was offered a great deal on it. I don't have to have it. I just want to try it. What I am trying to say unless your have something that has never been heard of that you are smoking. Your DBS is going to do just fine.

Caneyscud · February 22, 2010, 08:33:01 AM

Highlandsmoker. Welcome aboard! Yeh, Bradley's algorithms and sampling rates are not what I would like them to be either - but there are things that can be done. I have a BDS (or DBS4) also, but did not expect exact temp control. Having barbecued for almost 4 decades with various stickburners, and being in the construction business, I knew that exact temp control was expensive, so I guess I did not expect it. And I have learned the limitations and have tried to work with them. I've even done fish and sausage in mine. As all things get heated up, the temp swings aren't as big, even becoming almost non-existant. Preheating - the unit before a smoke is a must. The Bradley doesn't have much heat mass, so the more mass (heated) you can get in it the more stable it will be. i.e. hot water in the water pan, possibly using a bigger water pan, heating foil covered bricks and putting on the bottom rack or floor, etc..... Sometimes if I have something that I don't want a swing, I'll put it on towards the end of a brisket or butt smoke, when there isn't as great of a swing (I've done this with fish, sausage, chicken breasts, salmon burgers, lamb chops, and chicken wings). Even though I would like one, I haven't pulled the trigger on a PID yet. I think back to my Texas rancher ancestors and their pits. They could do all they could to keep the fire stable, but guess what happens to the face of the meat NOT towards the fire - it cools down. The vast majority of my smokes don't need more temp control - and the few that I do, I make do. I have controllers on a couple of my stickburners including a Guru. Although it does control the temp a little better, big iron is pretty stable anyways, it does seem to burn wood/charcoal up faster - so I don't use it all that much either. I will say, that I bought the BDS, mainly for the cold-smoking, but have found I use it for more. I've got 5 other smokers I can use - but none is easy or inexpensive for cold-smoking. And no I did not need digital for cold-smoking, but couldn't pass up the closeout deal. And I will say, most of my smokes are briskets, ribs, chucks and chicken thighs and swings are a mute point with those cuts. As far as the cost of the pucks, it does seem high, but you don't have to use them for the entire smoke - most use smoke for 3 to 5 hours max and then use the Bradley as an oven. I have found that doing it that way, it is cheaper or at worst very comparable in price to a Traeger or buying charcoal and wood for a stickburner, or gas for a gasser for that matters. I hope you can get over your disappointment over the DBS. I can make some darn good eats for you - very easily!

Quotei guess what i'm trying to do is save some one some money by buying the regular bradley and a pid and they would be much happier.

Yep, that is a recommendation we make lots of times to people considering what to buy. Some go ahead and buy the BDS anyways, because there is some differences between the 2 models that they like. i.e. SS interior rather than aluminum, door and door faceplate a different (better) configuration, no electronics under the cabinet, the timers, etc......

highlandsmoker · February 22, 2010, 10:34:11 AM

thanks for the info caueyscud. sounds like i need to get some recipes off of you. alot of my smoking is kielbasa,bologna, and snack sticks. this is where i believe i need better heat control unless you don't. i'm going by what i read about not going over 165 deg so you don't melt the fat. plus with my big heat swings it takes for ever to make these.

Tenpoint5 · February 22, 2010, 10:49:50 AM

Since the dust seems to have settled and everyone is willing to listen to each other. Let's get you to enjoying your smoking adventure a little bit better. I also make kielbasa and bologna even without the PID. With the short periods that the DBS is over temp on the swing. There is no heat being applied and the unit is cooling off. I see your worried about fatting out the sausages do to the temp swing. What you might want to do is swap out your water bowl with a 9x13 tin foil cake pan. Fill the new water pan with boiling water. This will help the cabinet temp stabilize quicker. If your worried about the moisture in the cabinet take a couple of foil wrapped bricks heat them in your oven and place them in there. I see that Caney has already made these observations and suggestions. You should be fine with the temp swings but make sure that your internal temp doesn't get up to that 165* mark or you will have sawdust for sausage.

highlandsmoker · February 22, 2010, 11:08:21 AM

thanks for the ideas tenpiont5. i'll try the larger water pan w/boiled water. but one thing i want to point out is in my readings everyone seems to have temp. swings and they seem small 5 to 10 maybe 15 deg. and you talk about your temp. leveling out after awhile. myaybe i need to contact bradley because my swings are 50 deg. and it does not level out i still have big swings clear to the end so trying not to melt the fat means lower temps and my cook time is for ever. thats why i think a pid would be the answer. now, sorry for sounding like i just hate my bradley because i really don't. as a matter of fact i have a lot of fun with it. where else can you go out to the garage for 10 hours and drink beer and tell the wife you can't leave it might burn the house down. gota love it.

Tenpoint5 · February 22, 2010, 11:19:50 AM

How big of a load are you trying to smoke when you are having these big swings? The more mass in the cabinet the more the swings will be until things even out. I usually have the big swings in mine until the meat gets to the 130-136* mark then it seems to really settle down.

Caneyscud · February 22, 2010, 11:57:51 AM

With you 10.5, my biggest "swing" is when I put in a chunk of cold meat - could easily drop 50 deg. or more (combination of door dump and thermodynamics - heat rushing to the cold object), then it stays down until it rises 10 to 20 deg. over set temp, then it goes down to maybe 10-15 deg below set point, then it starts to leveling out. Will also happen as I open the door early in the smoke - not so much at the latter half. Since there is little heat storage mass to a Bradley, it relies a lot on the heated air to cook, and opening the door dumps all that heated air out on the deck. Later in the smoke, you have this mass of hot meat whose temperature is not easily changed with a short change in air temp. 10.5 has far more experience with sausages and bologna than I do and I was hoping he'd chime in.

With big swings until late in the smoke, two things come into mind. A defective unit, or possibly a small load with frequent door openings. What I would like to see is for you to smoke a butt or a brisket. Put it into a pre-heated Bradly (hopefully 260 or thereabouts). Put the meat in and reset temp to 220 or 230. Then lets see what the temps do. You would have a big drop at first until it recovers (could take a few hours) then as the meat gets to 130 or 140 or so (before the plateau), it should stabilize pretty much. If it is still fluctuating 25 to 50 deg., with no opening of the doors, something else is likely wrong. The downside of this experiment is you have a delicious butt or brisket that you and family will have to eat!