Gonna Turbo The OBS

[JZ]

I am pretty happy with my DBS - now that I have a working element and a replacement door and the Snuggie on it. But I am quite sure that it still won't do a double batch of salmon without struggling to keep the temps up; unless I put it back into my shop, which is a little inconvenient. Easier to watch the progress through my living room window.

So I finally decided to mod my older OBS. Gonna add a second element, fan(s), Auber PID and a Snuggie. She will be a sweet smoker after that I and I am sure it will handle a double batch of fish and hopefully I won't have to rotate racks, which would be a big bonus.

I have a question about the TC though. I see that Auber is temporarily out of the 6' long TC with the 4" probe and I was thinking that I would get the 6' with the alligator clip or the one that mounts in the wall of the cab. I kind of like the idea of a wall mount so that I do not have to fiddle with probe when I rotate racks (if I still have to). I was also thinking that the alligator clip might not give true air temp readings if it is clipped to one of the racks. I would think that it would read the rack temp and if the rack is loaded with a bunch of cold fish the TC would read too low and keep the elements cracked on until the rack temp reaches the desired air temp.

Suggestions welcomed and much appreciated as always. 

[Habanero Smoker]

Heat conduction through the metal should only be a problem where the metal of the racks are very close to the heat source. So if you clip the probe on the bottom rack towards the front part of the rack, conduction heat should not be a problem, and the rack and air temperature should be the same.

If you are concerned about conduction heat through metal, permanently mounting the probe to the back metal wall, would be a greater concern. The back wall is know to register hotter then other areas of the smoker.

[JZ]

Thanks Hab's

My concern was that if I had the rack loaded with cold fish the rack temp and the fish temp would be similar.  It doesn't matter though. I just talked to Auber and they told me that their TC with the alligator clip would not measure the rack temp since the measuring device was located at the rear of the clip not at the tip, like some other manufacturers.

After posting I did a lot more looking through the threads and found a similar question that was previously posted and the consensus was that the dangler was the way to go because it could be located any where that you desire and those people that had the wall mount wished they had the dangler.  Looks like I will go with the alligator clip.

[Habanero Smoker]

That was what I started to respond to, but after writing about conduction, I forgot you were worried about cold, and not hot.  ;D But conduction is conduction, whether hot of cold. The Guru models have the sensor at the tip of the probe and the clip keeps the tip far enough away to prevent a false air temperature reading. Even with those types of probes I have not received temperature readings that were different then the air; unless you get the probe too close to the meat.

[GusRobin]

When I first bought my PID I bought the wall mount probe and after about a day I regretted it. You should put your probe below the lowest rack with meat. The wall mount prevents you from doing that. It also got in the way when  I "stuffed"  the bradley with a bunch of butts. I promptly un-mounted it, plugged the whole and bought a free hanging probe.

So  I would avoid the wall mounted probe.

[Shasta bob]

What is a snuggie?

[rigstar]

this is what JZ is talking about

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=26342.0

actullay got the idea from him, i am sure there are other
versions out there,

[JZ]

Thanks GusRobin.

This is one of the things I love about this forum. I can rely on the experience of others to avoid making the wrong choice. I will go with a dangler.

[TedEbear]

I have the Auber sensor with the alligator clip.  I attach it to the bottom of a rack so that any moisture would run down the wire, away from the probe.  It reads within a few degrees of what my Maverick displays.

[Shasta bob]

this is what JZ is talking about

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=26342.0

actullay got the idea from him, i am sure there are other
versions out there,

Thanks for the link on the  snuggie!

[rigstar]

no problem Shasta,

here's the link to JZ's orginal post where i got the idea from

forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=25568.0

[smokeshed]

Hey JZ,
what issue did you have with the door? I recently received my OBS and the first use was disappointing. The door did not seal and heat and smoke were escaping to the point the temp would not exceed 125F. Just curious if you had the same issue? New door and heating element should be here anyday.

[JZ]

The door issue was with my DBS not the OBS. The door was warped and therefore would not seal properly, plus the top and bottom end panels on the door were cracked. The leak in my door was not as bad as what you are describing. Mine still got up to temps. However the time it takes to get there just depends how cold it is outside, how windy it is and how much food you put into the smoker.

I don't think the door leak would prevent the smoker from getting above 125*. More than likely there are other factors at play. Did you preheat, was it windy, was it cold outside, did you add a huge load of cold food? All things that will affect the heat recovery.

Anyways hopefully the new door and element will fix you problem. If not there are lots of people on this forum that are willing to help get you going.

[smokeshed]

Thanks. It was zero celcius when I was smoking and I did preheat for 45 mins or so. It was not windy and I had 3 racks of jerky. Still waiting on the door and element. I have 50lbs of salmon to smoke so I am counting on getting the OSB up and running soon.