New BDS!

[falcar]

Hey all:

I just got a BDS 4 rack as a gift and did my first smoke today.  I did some ribs and they turned out GREAT.  I was originally wondering (and asked some questions) about whether a PID with an OBS would be better then a BDS, but since I got it as a gift, a BDS it is!  What are the advantages to adding a PID to a BDS?  How does it interact with the smoke generator?

Thanks in advance!

[beefmann]

the advantage of having a pid is it  keeps a  tighter temp in the  box typically 1 to 4 degrees,  or if you will be  doing sausages and  need to  step  cook the sausage nothing...

[tskeeter]

As beefman said, a PID gives you much tighter temperature control than the stock Bradley temperature control system.  And many PID's will allow you to program a series of temperature increases over a period of time.  A handy feature for smoking sausage or fish.  In addition, many forum members use a PID to control heating systems that they have modified and which consume enough power that they might exceed the design limits of the stock Bradley temperature control system.

A PID on a digital means that the heating elements can be run separate from the smoke generator.  I use my PID only to control the heat.  The smoke generator is plugged into the wall outlet, not the PID.