PID help

love the smoke · December 22, 2009, 11:59:43 AM

I need a little help here, i am in the process of a marathon smoke (12 bayback ribs ) and I started lastr night after work set the OBS up and turned on the PID ( NOT plug and play) set to 225 and let warm up while i fixed the first set of ribs, noticed it only got up to 180-190 degrees before I loaded with ribs , didn't think to much of it because it is cold out. Oh almost forgot I also did the 900 watt heater upgrade so warm up and recovery is short. any way went on smopking checking every hour, noticed the power light on the bottom face plate by the slider control was off a few times when I checked, again did not think to much of it until about 3 hours into smoke checked aghain and the PID was set at 225 and the smoker temp was only 185 and the light was off and the element was NOT glowing hot.

Never did get above 185 for the 5 hours I had it on

Started it up again today at noon and let it warm up a good hour. Same thing PID on 225 cabinet only 185-190 light off element not glowing.

Is my thermocouple bad ?

Oh I also ran the Auto tune last night with it loaded up

HELP need to get these ribs done for Christmas dinner

Randy

classicrockgriller · December 22, 2009, 12:15:11 PM

have you moved your smoker to a different spot?

are you connect to a extension cord?

if you moved your smoker check all the plugs for proper connections.

If you moved your smoker and not using an extention cord, do you
know what else is being used by that plug? You may have a heavy
draw on the plug.

Just a cple ideas. I'm sure others will be able to help more.

Mr Walleye · December 22, 2009, 02:24:50 PM

LTS

I know back in April you had a similar problem... Here's the link...
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=10011.msg107549#msg107549

I know back then I suggested the finned strip heater requires air flow to prevent premature failure. Did you provide any air flow for the element?

The first thing I would do is remove the wires off the heating element and check it for continuity using an ohm meter. This will tell you if the element has failed.

Mike

love the smoke · December 22, 2009, 04:17:28 PM

Went back and read previous post and this problem is similar but different When the light is on on the front of the face[plate the heater is red hot, when the light is off it is not hot, so I think the element is working, it will only get up to 180 then the light goes off and the element goes off, wait a few minuets and the light turns on and the element starts to glow, seems like the thermocouple thinks its hot enough so it turns it off

Yes I have a fan shroud to circulate air, maybe not enough but there is air moving

LTS

FLBentRider · December 22, 2009, 04:25:10 PM

what temp does the PID think it is ?

sounds like it may be a calibration issue ??

Mr Walleye · December 22, 2009, 04:26:36 PM

I wonder if you plug the tower directly in to a power outlet (bypass the PID) and see if the tower heats up properly. This might narrow it down to see if the PID is having a problem.

Is your temp slider still in the circuit?

Mike

HawkeyeSmokes · December 22, 2009, 05:12:44 PM

Just a thought, have you tried to reset your PID to the settings before you ran the auto tune? Or could the hi temp limit switch on the Bradley be cycling on and off?

love the smoke · December 22, 2009, 05:14:12 PM

The element turns off at 180-185 degrees (according to the thermocouple wired into the PID) PID set at 225 to start and then i even bumped that up to 250 thinking that might help NOT\

I will try to plug in the heater element directly and see what happens

Yes the temp slider is still in the circut :-[

LTS

pensrock · December 22, 2009, 05:24:00 PM

I'm not familiar with the Auber but is it possible something is causing the PID thermocouple to think its hotter in the box? Have you placed another temperature reading device near the PID thermocouple to compare readings? Have you used this setup before with good results?

Mr Walleye · December 22, 2009, 06:50:15 PM

Quote from: HawkeyeSmokes on December 22, 2009, 05:12:44 PM
Just a thought, have you tried to reset your PID to the settings before you ran the auto tune? Or could the hi temp limit switch on the Bradley be cycling on and off?

Actually Hawkeye could also be onto something regarding the high limit switch/sensor. When they get weak they will trip at a lower temp and this could be the case. To test it you could remove the back off the tower and temporarily bypass it to test it.

Mike

love the smoke · December 22, 2009, 06:53:50 PM

All rite just got done doing some troubleshooting ?

PID set on 260

Dropped the Maverick in the top vent, plugged the box directly into the wall outlet, heater red hot

Light on front went out on direct plug in
Maverick read 235
PID read 199

Cooled of by fanning door a little, plugged back in directly
Light on
Maverick read 205
PID read 188

Plugged back in normal running through PID
Light off
Maverick 222
PID 189
Imidietly plugged in directly to tower (bypassing PID)
Light still off
Maverick 225

cooled off
Light turned on at
Maverick 210
Left plugged in light turned back off at 220

Just looking at this it looks to me like the temp cutout on the back of the tower is NOT working properly and shutting it off to quick ?
And also the temps are way off on the PID, Thermocouple, (temp probe) bad

LTS

HawkeyeSmokes · December 22, 2009, 07:01:26 PM

Quote from: love the smoke on December 22, 2009, 06:53:50 PM
All rite just got done doing some troubleshooting ?

PID set on 260

Dropped the Maverick in the top vent, plugged the box directly into the wall outlet, heater red hot

Light on front went out on direct plug in
Maverick read 235
PID read 199

Cooled of by fanning door a little, plugged back in directly
Light on
Maverick read 205
PID read 188

Plugged back in normal running through PID
Light off
Maverick 222
PID 189
Imidietly plugged in directly to tower (bypassing PID)
Light still off
Maverick 225

cooled off
Light turned on at
Maverick 210
Left plugged in light turned back off at 220

Just looking at this it looks to me like the temp cutout on the back of the tower is NOT working properly and shutting it off to quick ?
And also the temps are way off on the PID, Thermocouple, (temp probe) bad

LTS

I'm thinking your hi temp switch on the Bradley has gone bad. How close is the PID sensor to the Maverick?

Mr Walleye · December 22, 2009, 07:03:22 PM

Just thinking out loud here...

Are your TC for the PID and the temp probe for the Maverick in the same location?

There is an adjustment for temp offset in the PID. It could be possible that it is out of wack or may need to adjusted. If I remember correctly it is the pb setting.

It does sound like the high temp cutoff and I would try temporarily bypassing it to test it.

Mike

love the smoke · December 22, 2009, 07:23:47 PM

The TC is on the back wall fairly close to the temp cutout, the Maverick was just hanging through the vent. I would think the TC would be getting hotter being it is on the back wall and there is no food load to disperse the heat, heat will go directly up the back wall.

I will try to bypass the temp cutout (but not until tomarrow) to see if it will get hotter

Thanks

I will let you know the results

I may shoot my troubleshooting to Auber inst to see what they say

LTS

classicrockgriller · December 22, 2009, 07:32:13 PM

Mike, HES, Pens .... I have been watching this and am just amazed. You guys ROCK!