newbe

[smokin fireman]

I'm looking at buying the 4 rack digital smoker and I've been reading all the posts and I feel stupid asking this question.  What is a PID?  This will be my first smoker that I've purchased and I want the top of the line but at an affordable price.  I'm a firefighter and am going to smoke alot of meat for the guys and I from doing research, I've found Bradley to be the best.  I understand that the digital is the one you can set it and leave it alone which makes it good for fireman in the case of calls.  Is there are any other abbreviations that people use, please pass them on that way I can understand the smoker language  ;)  Thanks in advance.

[Arcs_n_Sparks]

smokin fireman,

Welcome to the forum. Keep puttin' the wet stuff on the red stuff for us......

PID stands for Proportional, Integral, Derivative. It is a type of control scheme that does a bunch of math based upon the difference between what the temperature is, and where it should be. PID control schemes reach the setpoint fastest, with the least overshoot, and least error.

Having said all that, other control schemes work quite well. Your house thermostat is an on/off control that is very accurate (it helps that, to change the house temperature, it takes some time; there is a lot of thermal inertia).

There is some question if the control scheme in the new digital BS is a PID or on/off approach. I personally do not know enough to know. If you seach this board for digital BS, you will see some feedback on performance.

Another common abbreviation on this board is FTC. Stands for Foil, Towel, Cooler. After smoking, people wrap the meat in foil, then a towel, and let it heat soak in a cooler for awhile.

Arcs_n_Sparks