my setup and mods so far

[ggrt21]

Hi all,

i discovered recentely the existence of this forum and i want to share my unusual setup  and where it stand so far.

i basicaly took my little bradley original, remove the potentiometer that adjust the ducty cycle of the heating element and replaced it with an LCD display controled by an arduino and a rotary encoder.

it work more or less like a PID controller except that i use an hysterisis algorythm instead of a PID but it still work as a closed loop system regulated with a thermoucouple in the box. I also added the circuit and connector to plug a thermopro meat probe and display the temp.

for now the functionality a limited but i will expand them in the winter. I also kept the original circuit for the puck advance but i plan to merge it to my arduino and add a dial knob to choose the cycle to to use something else than bradley bisquette like solid wood or pellets.

i also added a 900w element and replaced cablking with silicon high temp 14ga + replaced the thermoswitch with a 138C (original is 125c) and now i can climb in the 300F region with low load.
I would like to have some feedback or photo of a upper element heat shield/deflector and some input of my thermocouple placement within the box because right now it seem to grab fresh air from the draft beween the hole in the SG and the top vent.

here are some photos( unfortunately i had to clean my 5 years worth of seasoning because a grease burning made my box smell like an ashtray)
feel free to ask question and comment.

[Habanero Smoker]

wow! It looks very impressive.

Thanks for posting your updates, so far. This is way beyond my comprehension of electronics, but it's very interesting.

I can't wait to hear about you test runs, and further upgrades.

[ggrt21]

wow! It looks very impressive.

Thanks for posting your updates, so far. This is way beyond my comprehension of electronics, but it's very interesting.

I can't wait to hear about you test runs, and further upgrades.

I ran this setup all summer long minus the 900w element and it run pretty well , however my thermocouple is not positioned properly and it always show 25-50 degree F colder than the real average. I will have to work on that.

[Habanero Smoker]

I've used a lot of different cooking equipment that have temperature controllers, and I've read even more reviews on that type of equipment. It appears that 25 - 50 degrees difference between a built in sensor and a third party sensor is the norm.

You have a nice setup.

[ggrt21]

I've used a lot of different cooking equipment that have temperature controllers, and I've read even more reviews on that type of equipment. It appears that 25 - 50 degrees difference between a built in sensor and a third party sensor is the norm.

You have a nice setup.

Thank you!

But the difference i see is not with the built-in sensor, it is with an independant sensor that i move around and it show a quite consistent temp except when i shove it right next to my thermocouple. I really doubt that i pick the fresh air draft that go between the SG hole and the top vent. When i trien my thermocouple with a calibrated sensor in boiling and iced water i had a consistent curve all the wall with less that a degree of difference.

I'll keep updating once i move it around