Temp control for a gas fired smoker

[Bangkok Smoke]

Hi All
My name is Garvin and I am originally from Mobile, Alabama.
I am building a new smoker from 'Super Blocks' or 'Smart Blocks' these are light weight solid blocks with Great insulation properties "Thermal conductivity of  0.09 ~ 0.13  heat transfer 4 to 8 times lower than clay blocks " per the brochure.

I looked at the site for 'After burner' units and have requested some info but no response yet (since Friday)

Ok, I noticed in other posts that many here have set up temp and time controls on electric burner smokers, Is there some way to digitally control one of these 'After burner' heating units or is another unit more suitable?

Electricity here is very expensive here and LPG is very reasonable so if I can get some measure of control and 'automation' using gas that is what I prefer.

Any help and ideas most welcome. this will be my first DIY smoker!
gb//

[Bangkok Smoke]

Reading a bit more ... would the Propane Bradly do the trick? just using the smoke generation and heating side? How much control is there over temp?? Ambient Temp here is High most times, like over 80* and nearer 90* F.

Sorry if that should have been posted in another topic, but it does follow what I am trying to achieve.

gb

[Mr Walleye]

Welcome to the forum Bangkok Smoke.

I haven't played with propane or natural gas smokers that much but I did come across this really good write up on how to build your own burners. Very simple, here's the link...

http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/showthread.php?t=28224

Mike

[classicrockgriller]

This is a little bit pricey, but it might help with some ideas.

http://www.alliedkenco.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/753

Welcome to the Forum Bangkok Smoke.

[pensrock]

In my large gas fired smoker I control it manually by adjusting a regulator. I simply use a gas burner bought at Cabelas connected to a tank of propane and use the regulator for adjustment. Pretty cheap and easy to set up. But you do have to keep and eye on the temp and adjust as needed. Really not that much work because you still need to add wood chips to the pan every so often.

We build industrial furnaces at work and sometimes do gas fired furnaces. There is only 3 ways I can think of to control a gas unit using a temperature controller. (1) You need to be able to control the amount of gas & air going to the burner. We do this using a proportional control which consists of regulators and a variable position valve. Very pricey. (2) Control either the air or the gas, the other remains at a preset fixed position. Still need a variable position valve, still pricey. (3) Plumb it so you have a small pilot burner which would be always on, and a main burner which will turn on/off as needed using a solenoid valve that would be controlled by the temperature controller. #3 is cheaper than the other two but will not give you as good control as the others. It would also be too costly. IMHO

There may be gas control systems for small sized burners that are less expensive, I have only worked with very large sized burners for industrial use. 250,000 BTU's and up. Maybe you can salvage the controls out of an old gas stove and try that but I do not think it would give good enough control for a smokehouse.

[ArnieM]

How does a residential gas oven work?  More like #3?

[pensrock]

Arnie, yes but the burner turns completely on/off cause it has an ignitor. It may work but I'm afraid it will not be tight enough control. If he could find one cheap enough it would be worth a try. I would not expect any better control than your oven.

[OU812]

This would work.

http://www.sausagemaker.com/49900gassmokerheatingassembly.aspx

[Mr Walleye]

This would work.

http://www.sausagemaker.com/49900gassmokerheatingassembly.aspx

In addition to this you would also require the thermostat for it....
http://www.sausagemaker.com/49300smokehousecontrolandsensor.aspx

Mike

[OU812]

Whoops I forgot the control.

Good catch Mike

[pensrock]

That may work pretty well but it quite expensive. Over $400.00 and you still do not have an actual PID controller connected.

[squirtthecat]

What about the controls for a gas water heater?   Many are electric start and you can dial in the temperature range.

[pensrock]

What about the controls for a gas water heater?   Many are electric start and you can dial in the temperature range.

Would probably work much like the controls from an old stove. Even the kind with a pilot would be fine, really do not need auto ignition, but I'm not sure how tight the control is in either case. Either one would be good to try out, I'm not sure what the lowest control temp is on either setup. I do big batches of sausage in mine, the one NEPAS built was based off of my big smoker, I like to keep the temp around 160F. I do not know how low the water heater or the oven controls will go.

[Bangkok Smoke]

Thanks Mr W for the link, that DIY burner does not look complicated at all..

[Bangkok Smoke]

What about the controls for a gas water heater?   Many are electric start and you can dial in the temperature range.

Would probably work much like the controls from an old stove. Even the kind with a pilot would be fine, really do not need auto ignition, but I'm not sure how tight the control is in either case. Either one would be good to try out, I'm not sure what the lowest control temp is on either setup. I do big batches of sausage in mine, the one NEPAS built was based off of my big smoker, I like to keep the temp around 160F. I do not know how low the water heater or the oven controls will go.

Thanks for the information.. Looks like $$ is going to be prohibitive to do what I really want,.. best may be to find an old oven burner set up..
Scrap yards are not easy to find here  :(  

I saw this unit 
http://www.sausagemaker.com/49309smokercontrolboxforgassmoker.aspx

There is not enough info in the description to tell how it would work..