heat control

[gordbartel]

I am building my first smoker with Bradley smoke generator.  Where do I get a cheap control to maintain steady temps. I don't want to start with a fancy/expensive programable one.

[beefmann]

you  may want to  try a  local appliance parts store, amazon, auber instatements just to  name a  few 

[tskeeter]

Allied Kenco carries quite a bit of controller type stuff.  Humidistats and the like.  I expect that they'd have temperature controllers, too.

[dave01]

I'd go to Amazon

[Habanero Smoker]

It would be best if you provide a greater detail about what functions you need in a controller, and the price range you are comfortable with. If you are the DIY type of person, you can build your own PID Controller.

A very inexpensive controller is Prewired Ranco ETC 111000-000 - 120V or the Ranco ETC 111000-000 - 120V; which you would have to wire in the power cords. The Ranco's are good controllers, but are very limited in what they do. They only have a temperature range of -30°F to 220°F; but can work in ambient conditions as cold as -20°F. The Ranco has the ability to either control a heating device, or a cooling device.

[gordbartel]

Thanks, I have been using fridge sized smoker with an exterior wood stove to make primarily deer jerky. I was having to smoke for 3 to 4 hours at 130 to dehydrate properly, by wjwhich time the jerky was too smoky. With gusty winds the temperature also was very hard to control. The new plan is a 4' X 4' X 8' wooden enclosure with 1 1/2" insulated walls and a dividing wall to create a 3x4 smoke chamber and a 1' wide utility room for smoke generator and heater controls. The ranco sounds perfect, as all i want is to set the temp and have it stay regular. A second probe with a readout to insert in meat would be nice but does not need ccontrols. How much entry and exit ventilation do i need and what is best placement? I was going to use floor registers.

[gordbartel]

Also, I am looking at using either a hot plate or oven element for heat. Any advantahes to 1 over the other?

[tskeeter]

Thanks, I have been using fridge sized smoker with an exterior wood stove to make primarily deer jerky. I was having to smoke for 3 to 4 hours at 130 to dehydrate properly, by wjwhich time the jerky was too smoky. With gusty winds the temperature also was very hard to control. The new plan is a 4' X 4' X 8' wooden enclosure with 1 1/2" insulated walls and a dividing wall to create a 3x4 smoke chamber and a 1' wide utility room for smoke generator and heater controls. The ranco sounds perfect, as all i want is to set the temp and have it stay regular. A second probe with a readout to insert in meat would be nice but does not need ccontrols. How much entry and exit ventilation do i need and what is best placement? I was going to use floor registers.

Gord, the old Bradley site used to have some instructions for building your own smoker.  If I remember correctly, you accessed the instructions by going to the products/smoke generator option.  That should have some information on venting your smoker.

I'm working out venting issues with the plastic shed that I keep my six rack in.  Who would have thought that a snap together plastic shed would be so air tight?  So far, I've got four about 6 X 14 inch screened vents on the shed, and it's not quite enough.  I'm thinking that another vent, maybe two should do the trick.

If you can't find info on the Bradley site, post back here.  I've got a how to build a smokehouse book at home and will try to dig up some guidelines, if you can give me a few days to do the research.

[dave01]

The Bradley has a 4" hole for the Smoke generator and a 4" vent. Do you have a smoke generator yet? I have a generator and cold smoke adapter with 3 pucks for sale

[gordbartel]

I have the smoke generator and am looking for the ranco control.  So far I have found it locally for $170 or online but "will not ship to canada" or with ridiculous  shipping fees on top of $45 price. Does anybody know a Canadian supplier?

[Habanero Smoker]

I have the smoke generator and am looking for the ranco control.  So far I have found it locally for $170 or online but "will not ship to canada" or with ridiculous  shipping fees on top of $45 price. Does anybody know a Canadian supplier?

That is a huge price for a Ranco, they generally sell for $75 pre-wired (U.S). Even with the shipping fee of $45, it still will be cheaper than buying it locally.

Amazon.ca has it online for $102, plus another $22 for S&H
http://www.amazon.ca/RANCO-ETC-111000-Digital-Temperature-Control/dp/B0015NV5BE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422479433&sr=8-1&keywords=Ranco+Temperature+Controller

[cathouse willy]

If you can find your way around a simple electronics project there are pids and ssr's on ebay for $20 or so.I replaced a dead Auberin for under $40 cdn this way although I saved money by reusing the hardware from the defunct auberin controller.It's a simple device,no timers and 1 temp setting at a time.Playing with the adj pid values I have the temp swing down to 2 deg celsius. Here's an example http://www.ebay.ca/itm/100-240V-Digital-PID-Temperature-Controller-SSR-Thermocouple-Heat-Sink-N98B-/321652880763?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item4ae401757b

[gordbartel]

Well, I finally completed my smoker and got it working after a few problems. Smoke chamber is 2' X3' X 7'height for about 40 cu.ft.. I could not get temperature over 130 F on first try using 1250 watt portable grill. I then changed to 3000 watt 220volt oven element. I now have no problem getting it up to the 220 max allowed by my controller. The next problem was improper advancing of briquettes. After reading some posts I found that by shimming up the generator the pucks in effect go downhill into the smoke chamber and I am getting proper feed and no back smoke into controller box. I did a test run on boneless skinless chicken breasts, which turned out very well, except that the thinner edges were tough. My next project is 20 lb of Arctic
Char fillets or jerky. My one question is how do I know whether I am opening top and bottom vents correctly, especially when dehydrating jerky?