Auber plug & play temp control

[Xtrema312]

 :-[My goof.  I assumed the power cord provided plugged into the control and then the wall.  The cord can plug in either side of the control depending on which end you use so if you change it around you can feed the control from the smoke generator.  Just didn't look at thing right and it has been a week and a half since I looked at the info with the control.  I sent off an e-mail to Auber while I tried to set it up and dig out the instructions again and before I got it hooked up I had a call from Auber.  Great customer service!  Now on with the set-up and first butt.

[bushman]

ya I did not need an extra cord . You basically put it in between the power from the generator and the power going into the cabinet

[Xtrema312]

Well I finally got it done this weekend!  Did about an 8 lb butt.

I had problems right off with the Auber blinking on and off.  The jumper between the generator and cabinet never felt tight at the generator plug.  I had gotten the extra cord already so I used it to direct connect the Auber and not use the plug in the generator.  That was the problem.  I need to talk to Bradley about it, but with the Auber set up now I don't need the jumper or plug in the generator.

My Auber ran about 3 deq less than the Maverick in the cabinet.  The Auber was actually right on with the door thermometer.  I checked the Maverick in boiling water and it was about 5 deg. low when tested, but was about on with the thermometer in the house for room temp.  I adjusted temp target and Auber settings accordingly.  Set Auber at 200 figuring it was close to 208-210.  Started at 6 pm in pre-heated smoker with meat out on counter to warm for about 1.5 hr.  Cabinet temp came up without much wait.  Auber did great with 1 deg. temp swing from target all along.   

My Maverick meat temp probe tested low in boiling water also so I pulled it out when the temp at the lowest temp part of the meat was at 185 deg. with most parts at 190 or a little more.  Pulled it out at 4pm, 22 hr.  It was great, but took too long.

I need to temp check the Auber and my Maverick some more to see what is up.  I think the Auber was closer maybe than the Maverick.  It seemed like the Time was too long, but I also have to check all the temp recommendations as I could have been under set 10 deg. cook temp.  Not sure.  Next time I am for sure going to run the Auber at 205-210 from the start and bump maybe 5 deg. at 12 hours.

The Auber worked great!

[Grayghst]

I just received my PID and it is dead. I tried plugging it in the way the directions said and even just plugging it into the wall. I checked the fuse and it is good. I have e-mailed Auber and now waiting. Hopefully it will be an easy fix. I will let yo uknow how it goes.

[Mr Walleye]

Grayghst

Sorry to hear that. I know when I built my PID I used a number of parts from Auber. I did have problems with the SSR. I sent them an email from work (I live in Canada) and within a few minutes he phoned me. Definitely good customer service. Hopefully everything works out for you.

Keep us posted

Mike

[deb415611]

I just received my PID and it is dead. I tried plugging it in the way the directions said and even just plugging it into the wall. I checked the fuse and it is good. I have e-mailed Auber and now waiting. Hopefully it will be an easy fix. I will let yo uknow how it goes.

Grayghst,

My first one was DOA also.  I emailed Auber and actually received a phone call over Memorial Day weekend.  He sent a new one out right away.  The new one has had no problems.  I bet you will receive an email today requesting your phone number so they can call. 

Deb

[Grayghst]

I actually received a call at 8:00pm pacific time (11pm eastern) last night and he is sending me a new one today. Talk about great customer service. I didn't expect anything until today. 

[Grayghst]

Well I just received the replacement PID from Auber and it works. At least it comes on. I won't be able to test it for a couple of weeks. I am going to Juneau, AK for work (and fishing). Hopefully I will come home with enough Salmon and Halibut to do some smoking. 

[Mr Walleye]

Great to here they came through for you Grayghst! 

Have fun on your fishing trip!... ahhh... I mean business trip! 

Mike

[Xtrema312]

I am working on my second butt tonight and have been having problems with the Auber.  It worked great for the fist one and a batch of fish other than running lower temp than the Maverick.  Earlier I had all kinds of problems.  It was running cab temps 20 deg. higher than it said on the read out.  It was also running heat constant on at times when it was reading above the set point.  Then at one point the reading on temp dropped another 20 deg on the read out.  I turned it on and off a few times to try to reset and kept getting odd stuff.  I pulled the probe and let it cool to ambient temp with it off.  I restarted and put the probe back in.  Finally it was back to running right and 5 deg. under the Maverick and looked to be functioning correctly.  About a half hour ago I pulled the Maverick and the Auber in the house and put the Bradley on slide control.  I tested both in crushed ice water and the Auber alarmed when it dropped below 32.  The Maverick sat right at 32.  Next was boiling water.  The maverick topped out at 203.  The Auber was running 195.  I reset it a few times and got the same odd stuff with it once running to 208 and other times in the 190-180-170 ranges after restarts.  I had a 220 set temp on it so it would run up the power, but it was jumping all over.  Maybe because it was not hooked to anything it was doing it, but it was doing a lot of the same when connected to the Bradley.  I finally reset a few more times and then changed the temp SC setting.  I go it to hit boiling water temp +- and act right on three tries.  I set everything back up so we will see.  The last check the cabinet was up to temp the Maverick was about where it should be with the error it has and the Auber was working fine again.  I have no idea what is up.  I am going to watch it until midnight and then let it ride.  I will have to give Auber a call tomorrow.  I think I am going to go ahead and run an auto programming on it after the butt comes off and see if that helps.

[Xtrema312]

The last check the cabinet was up to temp the Maverick was about where it should be with the error it has and the Auber was working fine again.  I have no idea what is up.  I am going to watch it until midnight and then let it ride.  I will have to give Auber a call tomorrow.  I think I am going to go ahead and run an auto programming on it after the butt comes off and see if that helps. A couple more checks up to midnight and it was running fine holding temp and within a couple degrees of what it should be with a set point of 205 deg.  Went to bed and got up at 6 to check it.  The Auber was running 205 deg. and holding with pulses of power.  I thought great!  Then I checked the cabinet temp on the door and the Maverick and it was 235 and 238 so over 240 actual.    The meat was 195 so I took it out and FTC for 3 hr.  I just pulled it and it pulled okay, but it is very very greasy.  Still has a lot of fat in the meat and it is nothing like the last one I did.  I lost most of the bark because it was too loaded with grease to save for my taste.  It was done 8-hours ahead of my last one.  I know the fat in a butt and the way it cooks will vary, but I have to think the thing cooked way to fast and didn't have time to really break down the fat and drain it through the meat.

[FLBentRider]

I did my first butts with the auber pid last night as well. The auber held at an auber-indicated 200F, maverick was about 12 deg higher. I pulled the butts, put in a cast iron roasting pan, covered with foil and into the 200F convection oven, set to turn off at an IT of 185 (the highest the meat sensor will go  ) I'll then switch to my pyrex themometer for the last 5 degrees.

[bushman]

I have now used my Auber for about 10 smokes and it has work flawless.

[Wheezer]

Hi all,

I am an inexperienced smoker and have just brought a DBS.  I am looking at the Auber PID due to the temperature fluctuations I am experiencing, but does anyone see a problem with the temperature control range i.e. 120f-284f. It is particularly the lower range I am concerned about.

Any advice from the voices of experience would be gratefully received

Just as a quick intro I have been dry curing for years and have only just moved into the world of smoking so hopefully I shall be able to offer some knowledge to the forum in return for the information I receive.

Many thanks

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Wheeze;
Welcome to the forum.

I have the OBS and use a temperature control device (Raptor Power Package; aka Raptor/Guru), but I think this will apply for the DBS. For controlling temperatures below 150°F, you should use the cold smoke setup.
Cold Smoke Setup

Some have made a more permanent setup by using wood or sheet metal to build their off set box.

I will be interested in your future post on dry curing. I've have tried it with minimal success. I don't have a basement, so I'm planning on building a cabinet that will be able to control the humidity and temperature.