Controlling the BS Temperature

nsxbill · August 29, 2004, 07:25:06 PM

I sent Shotgun Fred a request on the status of my custom BBQ-Guru for the Bradley, and reported that he finished testing it on the Meco Electric Smoker just yesterday. He said it worked very well, and held the temp within the range he selected. He will be shipping it to me tomorrow. After I Try it out, will give a blow-by-blow to you on how it works. Even mounted it in a stainless box to match my SS Bradley!

I will also get back to you on price he plans on charging for this hybrid he build for me. I will ask him to consider a discount for BS listers.

Bill

rgardjr · August 31, 2004, 05:33:08 AM

Looking forward to hearing some more when you get it. Do you know if it will monitor the meat temp ask well as the smoker temp? When I read about the item this was based on from his website I was very impressed-but a little in shock over the sticker price [:0] I'm sure the convenience & consistency will be very nice[:)]!

nsxbill · August 31, 2004, 07:25:51 AM

The //thebbqguru.com BBQ Guru website shows what it does to the pit temp. For us, of course, it is our cabinet temp. It uses the smoker temp and the meat temp to automatically ramp the temp and efficiently keep the max heat of the meat at what ever you set.

I just love stuff like this! I will get you pictures and a report when I get it and use it. I see today that my bank card has been charged and the Guru is probably on the way.

I will get back to you when I get the Guru and chronicle the maiden voyage.

Bill

nsxbill · September 10, 2004, 06:28:37 AM

An update on my new addition to my smoker. I got the BBQ-Guru in the mail Tuesday. The Bradley edition will be called <font color="red">The Guru Power Raptor</font id="red">. You get the Guru and a stainless box with heat sink ready to plug for the heater plug. Looks cool, and I think it will do what I want it to do. The Guru is pretty well known to Pit smokers and those with it adapted to Primo or Webber. It ain't cheap, but it will do what I want.

The Guru itself allows you to plug the Bradley in, and it controls the temperature. Like the Maverick it has two probes, one for the smoker and one for the meat. A cool feature is the smoker probe it is a stainless alligator clip that you just clip to the shelf. Good thinking, Shotgun Fred.

I set the desired cooking temp, set the temp I want the meat, and walk away, returning to dump the water and rotate the meat only. It has an alarm feature that beeps when you reach the optimum meat temp, and LEDs that tell you when you are within a few degrees of the optimum temp.

Optional low and slow ramp mode starts when meat temp is within 25 degrees of meat set point.

The guy shipping forgot to include the 12V power cord, so it is coming by FEDEX Blue. Going to try it out this weekend.

Will keep you up to date on the trial.

For those folks who want to purchase a guru and the controller, I got the Bradley list a discount offer on the package. If you were ever walking the fence on getting a guru, here is your chance during September:

Without the discount?? $149 control $110 Raptor = $259 package
<font color="red">Discounted to $131 control & $98 for the Guru Power Raptor = $229 package</font id="red">

Bill

nsxbill · September 24, 2004, 04:36:05 AM

Hello all,

Finally some time to test the Guru. It works great. Couldn't use it on my ribs because I didn't have the power control (Shipping Department forgot to include it). Did a test run tonight with baked potatoes. You just unplug the power coming from the pit, and plug it into the Guru Raptor controller. Will take some pictures this weekend when I load up the brisket. I am quite pleased and think it will do just what I want. Walk-away and only come back to change the water and rotate the meat.

Bill

MallardWacker · September 24, 2004, 07:01:46 PM

Bill,

Hope the pics come out would love to see this. And where did you get this thing??

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...

BigSmoker · September 24, 2004, 07:31:09 PM

Bill,
I went to the guru site several times recently and don't see anything about the raptor? I would(if you can) like to see a pic of the unit itself and its setup so I can compare to what I have. Shotgun Fred just introduced two new items on his site. First is a very expensive guru that has a cordless receiver(alarm) with a 1000ft range and a portable smoker that breaks down and and will fit into your vehicle trunk.

MW,
//www.thebbqguru.com

Jeff
www.bbqshopping.com
Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.

nsxbill · September 25, 2004, 01:22:23 AM

mski

the Barbeque Guru is located at the website. They now make one for the Bradley //thebbqguru.com. Price are a couple of posts above this one. Won't see it on the website yet. I have the first one, and pictures will be sent to Fred to post there. Pricey, but worth it to me.

Bill

nsxbill · September 25, 2004, 01:24:14 AM

Jeff

I looked at that new controller, and wow! It is pretty cool, but well beyond anything I would ever need.

The knock down smoker just isn't a Bradley[;)]

Bill

Habanero Smoker · October 12, 2004, 11:24:10 PM

After doing a brisket yesterday, and my Maverick going "nuts" on me (not a battery related problem), I needed an easier way to do this, so today I order my Guru Raptor. As soon as I get it, I'm going to do some pulled pork.

nsxbill · October 13, 2004, 12:21:40 AM

On the Ta-Ta scale, it is two big ones....absolutely TITS! You won't regret it. It simplifies the process of smoking so much. Again, pricey, but universal to other smokers, and once you use it, will wonder why Bradley doesn't already have this built into their smoker in some form or another.

I am about to install a P.I.D. (p = Proportional gain, I = Integral gain d = Derivative gain) on my espresso boiler to digitally control the temperature. It allows you to set what you want, and learns your system to control the heat source to maintain that temperature through the use of a thermocouple measuring the actual temperature. It essentially digitalizes the output. If you want your boiler to go to 212 degrees, you punch that it in, and the thermocouple measures the temp, and a solid state relay pulses on and off to keep the heat source at whatever temp you set, learning all the while the time it takes to get it there. Pretty much automates the contol of the temp. I could see them doing that with a Bradley Smoker. You punch in the temp you want, and then just watch your meat temp. No electronics person, I will be working off plans that someone already has done on the same type of espresso machine I have.

Imagine walking up to the Bradley, punching in the temp you want the BS to attain, then punch in the temp you want your meat to be, and wait for the alarm to go off to tell you it is there. Essentially that is what the Guru does with dials, and lights letting you know approximately what the temp is. The PID gives a digital readout of both the temps at once. Bradley would have to charge more for that type of feature, but it sure would be cool to have an automatic smoker without having to go "Outside" the Bradley world to purchase something that could be built in.

At 60 I find it hard to keep up with new stuff, but sure like the benefit from those who know how to make these types of controllers to make life easier.

Good luck

Bill

Habanero Smoker · October 14, 2004, 10:51:15 PM

I just received my Power Guru, and can't wait to use it. The bad news is, it is raining and expected to continue until Saturday afternoon. I won't be able to check it out until Sunday.

Habanero Smoker · October 19, 2004, 12:19:11 PM

I had a chance to use the Power Raptor yesterday. Theres a lot of wires, but it is easy to hook up and operate. Most of the following information I sent to The BBQ Guru to give them some feed back.

I did a 9lb. butt, which took 12 hours to smoke. It would have taken less, but I wanted to check out the Ramp Mode feature. I wanted to get started right away, and the only cut I could get locally was the cut they call the Picnic Cut; more commonly called Ham. It has a lot more bone, and fat. After smoking, I pulled 4.5 lbs of meat, but at $.99/lb. I can't complain. I was surprised at how much diferrent that cut tastes, compared to the Boston cut.

During that smoke, the widest temperature range (before going into Ramp mode) was 15 degrees 202 - 217; as recorded by my Maverick thermometer. I should add all temperature changes were gradual. This is way better then I could have done manually, and I did not have to make any temperature adjustments. I just had to turn it up full blast, and let the Raptor do it's thing. I believe the weather contributed to the rise and fall of the temperature. That day was mostly cloudy, and there were intervals, during the day when the smoker would be in direct sunlight.

I just want two make to comments. One, I did not recieve any documentation other then the "Quick Start Card" for the Guru and the "Guru Competitor Condense User Guide". If I was not a member of the Bradley Forum, and had not read Bill's posts, I would not have know how to hook it up to my Bradley. Two; most of us like to run our temperature probes through the top vent, therefore the 6 foot Thermocouple would have been a better feature for the Power Raptor, rather than the 4 foot that comes with it.

It's pricey, but for me it is well worth the price. As it was pointed out earlier in this post, if you have the Guru you only have to purchase the Power Raptor for $110.00.

Bill, I'm glad you got this company to address the needs of us BS owners.

BigSmoker · October 19, 2004, 12:55:05 PM

I spoke with Shotfun Fred at a Atlanta Q festival and he told me he had already sold all the initial Raptors they made during the first go round. More are in production but the Raptor is already a very popular item for folks with electric smokers.

Jeff
www.bbqshopping.com
Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.

nsxbill · October 19, 2004, 12:55:49 PM

Habanero

On my way out the door now, but when I get home, I will try to find the instructions (Wasn't much), scan it, and send it to you via a .pdf file for your information. It might be available from the bbq guru website too.

Glad it worked well for you. I sure like it. Doing 3 briskets tomorrow, and leaving them alone while I drive wife down to in-laws in Napa. Hope to come back, remove the brisket to enjoy when I get home. Kinda like crock-pot smoking - don't have to do anything to it all day...just wait til its done, wrap it, cool it off, and enjoy.

Bill