Proud papa here, had to show you folks my new PID. I have yet to plug it in. With the weekend upon us, its show time!!!
Here is the smoker shack as inspired by the folks on this forum.
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r133/smokinstu/smokerfrontview.jpg)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r133/smokinstu/smokersideview.jpg)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r133/smokinstu/smokerdoorsopen.jpg)
and here's my new PID, the final touches done just minutes ago.
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r133/smokinstu/127_2792.jpg)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r133/smokinstu/127_2795.jpg)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r133/smokinstu/127_2794.jpg)
Since the box I am using is on the large side and is all metal, with the SSR bolted right up against it, I expect I will not need a heat disapator.
I plug it in tomorrow. Wish me luck. How long does it take to calibrate one of these things?
Hi smokin stu, nicely done, good luck with your PID, it's on my to-do list to build one, not enough hours in a day etc.
Anyway looking good ;)
Hey - nice shack. I think even I could build a box like that to keep my unit out of the rain. Nicely done and thanks for posting these pics. :)
Hi SmokinStu
Looks great!
As far as running the autotune on the PID goes I set the target temp for 200 degrees. Once the tower temp was up to about 180 degrees, I turned on the autotune. I think it took about 1.5 hours to do it's thing. It will over shoot and under shoot about 3 times before the AT cuts out. I've ran mine a couple of times and it always comes out with slightly different numbers for the P, I and D. Mine is working with about a 2 degree temp swing so I would still like to fine tune it a bit. I would be very interested in what your ( or anybody elses) P,I & D numbers are after your autotune. I will post mine later when I get home from work. I just can't remember them right now.
Mike
Looks great SmokinStu! Let us know how the shake down run goes. I still have to get mine built. ::) :)
Nice work!
Watch out for RATS SNEEKING IN THAT NICE BOX.We like a nice warm places to smell smoked food.So dont mind if me and a few friends stop by to chill out a bit.RAT OUT.Lol We were really looking for a new place and since yours looks alittle better will be over to your box.beats were we are at now take a look.
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i138/icerat4/DSCN1319.jpg)
Looks like an upgrade is needed see ya soon
nice setup,, cant wait till my controller gets here. left the states on the 20th. still looking for a box to stick it in though.
chris
Hey nice job on both projects. I am jelous of your green grass too :-\
nepas
Here's my current numbers:
P=400
I=225
D=225
I have ran the AT 3 times now. Each time the settings are a little different but the outcome is almost the same. I am currently doing 2 butts at 210 degrees with a temp swing of 2 degrees each way. Does anybody have any thoughts on which setting I should try tweaking and in what direction? I would be interested in hearing others settings.
Mike
Quote from: Mr Walleye on February 23, 2007, 08:10:43 PM
I would be interested in hearing others settings.
Mike
I'd be setting my beer next to where my hand rests. :D
Arcs_n_Sparks
::) ::) ;D
NePa, the photos of the shack were from the summer. The PID is spankin' new. It's cold out there now and the 3 feet of snow that fell two weeks ago is slowly melting.
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r133/smokinstu/127_2784.jpg)
This is what i saw when I tried to go to work in the morning. Needless to say, I was back in the kitchen with the kettle on almost instantly. Love those snow days.
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r133/smokinstu/StuandBeninsnowFeb1407.jpg)
I'm 6' 5" tall and the snow was not drifting up by the door.
Oh ya, Icerat, your freakin' me out!!!
Decisions, decisions......... I wanted to tune up and try out my new PID today, but I have to wait until tomorrow. Why, you say? What can possible outrank this glorious event?
Well, me and the boys are heading to the Hamilton Gun Club for some skeet shooting. First time the gun will be out this year. Besides, my buddy's dear wife is throwing us a beer and wings party afterwards where we get a fire going in the fireplace and watch hunting videos. Scotch may be a component of the evening.
Life is good.
Quote from: smokin stu on February 24, 2007, 10:21:42 AM
Decisions, decisions......... I wanted to tune up and try out my new PID today, but I have to wait until tomorrow. Why, you say? What can possible outrank this glorious event?
Well, me and the boys are heading to the Hamilton Gun Club for some skeet shooting. First time the gun will be out this year. Besides, my buddy's dear wife is throwing us a beer and wings party afterwards where we get a fire going in the fireplace and watch hunting videos. Scotch may be a component of the evening.
Life is good.
Nothing like a day with the kids followed by adult beverages and wings! ;)
Hi Stu
What kind of box is that? Where did you get it?
Looks pretty sweet.
I am still roughing it with my Procom4 from BBQ Guru, and pretty spoiled by it, but have an extra P.I.D. that I might go ahead and mount into a box to control the other Bradley.
What the heck, I already have it. When you get time post up the details.
Thanks in advance,
Bill
S Stu, Nice looking set up. Good to have the helper there as well :)
STU
Yeah i know all to well about the snow. we got hammered on valentines day with 3" of snow then 8" of ice and 3" of snow atop the ice. But looks like your having fun with your helper ;D
Weatherman says more snow tomorrow. :'(
i got to get the bps out to take pics of it.
nepas
Plugged the PID in and no fuses blew. Windy as heck out there so I played with the PID a bit, but am back inside waiting for friendlier weather. Another storm blowing in.
As to how I built the PID, I have empowering neighbours. I had ordered the PID and bits from Auber, and was explaining what I was doing with a neighbour who is an airplane mechanic. I was telling him that The Source (Radio Shack in the USA) no longer sold the box theat I needed to house everything in. He came by the next day with the box that you see in the photos, and the doohickies that the wires go through the box wall in, and the thingy that you screw the wires into. I was thrilled. He said he would help me build the thing as well.
But I wanted to build it myself. I was talking with another friend who owns a business that makes things that make things (ever see the show "How Its Made"?). He told me to drop by his shop one evening and I did. He set me up at a station with a high speed carbide drill and a controlled X and Y axis to three decimal places. I had all the holes cut out of that box in no time. If I had done it myself in the garage with my drill and jigsaw, I am sure it would not have looked that good.
I then went over to the electrical area of the shop, used the wire and screws, and presto, it was done.
I am a biologist and have very little experience/knowledge on building electrical components, so this was a huge step for me. The plans, so well laid out in this forum, gave me the guts to try it, and my two friends gave me equipment/work areas so I could do it myself.
In fact, as soon as I said it was for my smoker, the two of them bent over backwards to help me ??? .........
Wait a minute ...... They have both been over for some smoked goodness before .... I think they were empowering me!!!
In the summer, I plan on feeding them and their families as a thank you.
Stu looks like you may have to move to a new neighborhood as it sounds like your neighbors are enablers. The first step in curing your addiction is admitting you have a problem, than getting away from those who enable you! ;D
Quote from: smokin stu on February 25, 2007, 08:36:49 AM
I am a biologist and have very little experience/knowledge on building electrical components, so this was a huge step for me.
Smokin Stu,
I thought biology was just a notch over from electrochemistry? :o
Glad to hear it "fired up" with no real flames. 8)
Arcs_n_Sparks
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r133/smokinstu/128_2849.jpg)
(http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r133/smokinstu/128_2846.jpg)
My friend who knows what he is doing suggested I ground the box because its metal so here is how I spliced in the ground to the box.
The blue wire is the addition, with the green wire going to the ground screw on the metal box. Everything else is the same.
My neighbour who suggested the ground line seems to know what he is doing. Should the authors of the diagram at www.susanminor.org/Rayeimages/pid/diagram.jpg add the option of a ground coming off the green wire if they are using a metal box?
Grounding a metal enclosure is always a good idea. That way, when your hot wire comes loose and wants to arc weld, your breaker will trip.
Arcin' & Sparkin' :D :D :D
Yeppers, what arcs said. Ann already shocks the heck out of me on a daily time frame, no need to add to it. :o ;D :D Abba, I'm a BAD boy!!! :D :D :D
Hi,
I'm a new Original Bradley owner, and I'm in the middle of building a similar shack for my unit.
I'm wondering if I could get some help with a couple of issues I've run into.
Smokin Stu, did you use a plastic roof vent or an aluminum vent?
When you use your smoker, do you close the shack and let the Bradley do it's business, or do you keep one/both doors open?
Does your shack have a fresh air inlet?
Thanks!
Welcome to the forum splitslim!
I used the aluminum roof vent and I keep the doors closed when I am smoking. The shack gets a pile of smoke in it and then the smoke goes out by the vent.
I like the shack becaus ethe weather is no longer an issue. I have had to shovel a path in the snow this winter to get to my smoker.
I don't have a fresh air inlet simply because my woodworking skills are such that I have plenty of air hols already. I did cut a two inch or slightly more in diameter hole in the back to run the extension cord.
I bought a cheap flourescent light as well for the shack, you know the one for under counter tops.
If I did it over again, I would have more than a 1 inch drop in the roof, bring it to 3-4 inch drop, and I would have around an 8 inch overhang on the roof at the front rather than the 5-6 inches now so as to prevent that driving rain from coming in the gap at the top of the doors.
I plan on putting in wood blocks so I can slide in and out BS smoker racks beside the BS when I am prepping or moving around racks.
I am also planning on painting the shack flamin raed with a porky pig mural on the side.... nothing too tacky though ;D
If you build a BS shack, post some photos. That's how I got to doing my own, from photos from this forum.
Thanks for the reply!
I finished the shack, it's almost identical to yours. I used a plastic roof vent, as I found the heat of the smoke wasn't that bad to warrant the aluminum. I guess I'll find out soon enough.
I left a 2 inch roof over hang for along all sides. I can understand how more slope and overhang would help, but I didn't think of it during construction.
Right now I'm in hour 2 of my first smoke. I have a 6 3/4lbs boston butt in there, and I can barely wait for the morning.
I'll post some pics soon.
Thanks again!
This forum really is great for sharing ideas.
Looking forward to seeing the pics.
Smokin Stu;
I've been in the process of designing mine for the last 18 months, and just started building the frame. If I understand you correctly, you are planning to set up the BS so you can slide it forward for easier loading and unloading. Part of my design was to put the BS on a sliding shelf. As you may have discovered; if you can't slide it beyond the cabinet it will be difficult to get the door open wide enough to comfortable load and unload the BS. I figure I would only need to slide it out approximately 6 inches; but trying to slide a fully loaded BS on wood blocks may be difficult to do.
Over the last year and a half I've been reviewing some hardware options. For a sliding shelf I was thinking of using either a drawer slide (first choice);
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=17600
or the under mount style. They are zinc coated so should withstand the outdoor elements:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=17281
or building a track, and setting the shelf on small nylon wheels; similiar to this, but I want something a little sturdier;
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=202
or using Nylo-Tape 20 mil Thick; but the load sliding over it may be too heavy. This is my last choice; but my use that for a sliding utelity shelf;
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=214
Hope this helps.
The racks I plan on building would be 2X2 wood on either side at the right distance so I can slide a BS shelf onto it as you would inside the BS.
I know what you mean about opening the door in the BS shack. I have the BS as close to the inside of the BS shack door as possible and with that you need about 4 inches from the side wall so the BS door will open without any interference with sliding trays in and out. With that space opened up, that's where I store my BS shelves.
I never thought of a slider for the whole BS but that would solve the issue, but good. It would be easier cleaning the shack out of wood chips that come off the BS pucks too.
Many years ago I built a side by side stereo cabinet. I regretted the drawer slides I put in as I wanted a different type but with 5 drawers, I couldn't justify the extra money for full extension plus 1 inch. I wanted the plus 1 inch so the drawer would come completly out of the cabinet and the cassettes in the back would come out easily. I made drawer inserts so each tape had it own compartment and would maintain its place.
I would suggest if you are looking for drawslides for the box that you would get the plus 1 inch type. That might give you the extra space for the BS door to open fully when loading and unloading. I did a quick search and found these. 1st is for a 16 inch slide, second is for a 20 inch slide. They claim to have them in sizes 10",12", 14", 16", 18", 20", 22", 24", 26" and 28". They are good for 100 lbs.
http://www.woodworkershdwe.net/servlet/the-414/Accuride-3832-Ball-Bearing/Detail (http://www.woodworkershdwe.net/servlet/the-414/Accuride-3832-Ball-Bearing/Detail)
http://www.woodworkershdwe.net/servlet/the-408/Accuride-3832-Ball-Bearing/Detail (http://www.woodworkershdwe.net/servlet/the-408/Accuride-3832-Ball-Bearing/Detail)
Thanks for the links. They may come in handy in the future. Lee Valley is another good place to order hardware from.
http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&cat=3,43614&p=43616
I haven't made up my mind yet as to what type of system to use. I will probably be going with Rockler. I've dealt with them in the past, and have to order other hardware from them when I go to place my order. Also I leaning more towards the undermount slides; without the self closing features.
For what I am building I would not need the plus 1", or to fully extend the shelf out of the cabinet. I just need the tray to slide out so the door of the BS is at least 6" beyond the cabinet wall. I'm hoping to get it completed by July. My only concern is that it may be top heavy. The dimensions are 3.5'x2'x5.5'; and it will be mounted on 4" casters. I can splurge on the hardware, because all the other materials are left overs for a recent renovation project.
As promised, here are some pics of my first smoke.
Here is the setup, the shack on my deck.
(http://www.rafanelli.ca/images/ShackFront.jpg)
From the side
(http://www.rafanelli.ca/images/ShackSide.jpg)
Opened up
(http://www.rafanelli.ca/images/ShackOpen.jpg)
The victim...6 3/4lbs boston butt
(http://www.rafanelli.ca/images/bbBefore.jpg)
After 17 hours in the smoker (4 hours of hickory), it's FTC time
(http://www.rafanelli.ca/images/FTC.jpg)
And the finished product, nevermind the store bought sauce, I made the first bottle of mustard vinegar sauce, and it was great
(http://www.rafanelli.ca/images/bbAfter.jpg)
All in all, a fantastic experience! I really enjoy this thing, and look forward to my brisket point this weekend!
Very nice job all the way around! (http://www.smileypad.com/v224/Happy/Big-Thumbs-Up.gif)
Great set up SS. I didn't see the beverage cooler close by though? :o :D ;D
Thanks guys...the beverages were in the fridge on the other side of the deck!
Nice setup.
SWEET :o
That looks great Splitsim, even a bit familiar. I like the hardware! I stuck my smoker shack on a wooden table I picked up at a yard sale. I found not having to kneel down an added bonus and you don't spill your beer as much.
The locking bolt looks good too. I'm a thinkin' I will do that as well.
The other thing I was thinking of is laying down some heavy grade platic or linoleum flooring along the bottom for easy cleaning of spills.
Looks great SS
SS, I notice you have a bottle of Bullseye BBQ sauce in one of your pics. I enjoy making my own sauce, but when I want a quick fix, that's all I use. Bullseye really is good sauce.
Stu: did you find a prob to fit on the end of your thermocouple or just use it like it came in from your source??? I got one just like it but can't find the screw on probe Thanks Cajun....
Ya it does look like its missing something, but it works just fine. I put the end with the screw fitting in through the vent hole and presto it works great.
Love my PID