Chimney for Bradley Smoker?

[Mayweather]

Hi all,

I have had my smoker for a number of years now but haven't use it for a long long time. I did buy one of those PID temp control things but its still in the box. This weekend i am planning on taking it out again and trying some Brisket for the first time. Id love to keep the unit indoors and create like a flexible chimney that i can put out the window or something. How hard is this to do and what materials would i need? I am pretty much a novice but would love to keep the unit in the kitchen, and then have a tube running from the chimney out the kitchen window.

Any suggestions or ideas is appreciated. Also is it hard to setup the Auberin PID controller? I haven't got around to trying it as it seemed quite complex.

Thanks!

[Gafala]

Not a good idea in my book. There are to many leaks in the Bradley to use in the house most who have done something like that did it in there garage. Its really up to you.

[Johnny]

Mayweather,
I would say whoever else lives in your house will be "savage"
When you get the smoke rolling. As Gafala said (too many leaks)
I'd stick to outside or in a garage or shed. As for your PID.. it should be fairly simple. Should have come with a manual, if not go online. Good luck

[TedEbear]

Mayweather, the following is from the old recipe site on how to setup your PID.

SETTING UP YOUR PID

With the OBS you can hook it up like this.



Power connection of the controller and smoker:
- Green Arrows - The generator is connected to the outlet by the power cord from Bradley.
- Blue Arrows - The input of the controller is connected to the female receptacle on the generator by the power jumper cord provided by the Bradley.
- Red Arrows - It is the cord that used to connect the generator to smoker. The controller output is connected to the smoker by the power cord.
- Yellow-Green Arrow -The temperature sensor (Thermocouple) is connected to the sensor port on the controller.

For a DBS it will be connected this way.



Power connection of the controller and smoker:
-Green Arrows - The generator is connected to the power strip by the power cord from Bradley.
-Blue Arrows - The input of the controller is connected to the power strip by the 16 AWG power cord supplied.
-Red Arrows - The controller output is connected to the smoker by the optional 18 AWG power cord.
-Yellow-Green Arrow - The temperature sensor (Thermocouple) is connected to the sensor port on the controller.
The temperature sensor cord from the smoke generator to the Bradley tower will need to be connected also.

If you connect a DBS with one power cord, it will turn off after 9:40 unless you reset the smoker so using 2 power cords is the best way to go.

The temperature sensor from the PID can either be routed through the top vent or the door, either one works. Auber also has an optional wall mount sensor that they can provide when ordering.

Using the preprogrammed feature:

Let's turn it on and smoke some salmon. It comes preprogrammed for salmon using Kummok's recipe so it's an easy starting point.

The initial program setting for the controller is for smoking the salmon. The temperature profile is programmed to start at 120°F for 1.5 hour of smoking, rise to 132°F for 2.5 hours and finish at 175°F for 1 hour. (I let it preheat to 120°F, then turned the Auber PID off and back on before loading)

What we have done is set the Auber PID to run the smoker for 1.5 hours at 120°F, and then ramp up to 132°F for 2.5 hours and the last step of 175°F for 1 hour. You will still need to rotate the racks and total time can vary depending on the size of the pieces. The batch of fish I just smoked took a total time of 5.5 hours (I added more time at 175°F) and they came out perfect.

The same ramping feature is also used when making sausage. You have a total of six steps that can be programmed into it.

With the dual probe, you have the option of ramping up using temperature versus time only. You can also use it to ramp the temp down once you meat has reached you desired IT. EG, you're doing a brisket and want an IT of 195°F, once it's at that temp, you can have the Auber drop the smoker to 175°F for a time you specify to hold it. Works kind of like FTC'ing the meat.

When doing sausage, you can start at 130°F until the meat is 110°F, then ramp to 150°F until the meat is 130°F and then 170°F until the meat reaches 152°F. Then you can have it hold 155°F for 30 minutes to let the temp of the sausage even out but not over cook it.

Auto-Tune:

One very powerful feature of the Auber PID is the auto tune. It comes tuned for the thermal dynamics of the Bradley smoker, but if your not satisfied with the temperature control, (or in my case, I've added a second heating element that changed things) you have the option of running Auto Tune.

Before using the auto-tune function, you must set the cooking equipment up in the exact configuration it will be used. For example, to tune the Bradley smoker, place the sensor in the room temperature chamber filled with meat to be smoked and plug the Bradley into the controller. Set the controller to the appropriate power level. Turn the smoker on, and then enter the desired set point temperature close to your normal cooking temperature.

To activate auto-tuning, just enter code 166 to get into the PID setting menu. Set AG to 1 then exit the menu (see Fig 5). The display will start to flash alternately between AG and the current smoker temperature, which indicates auto-tuning is in progress. When the display stops flashing, the auto-tuning is finished. Now, the newly calculated PID parameters are set and are used for the system. The new parameters will store in the memory even when the power is off.


The duration of auto-tuning depends on how fast the system is responding to the heating and cooling cycle. If the temperature of the smoker takes a long time to drop -when heater is off- the auto-tuning could be a very long tuning process. This is especially true with a well insulated smoker. The auto-tuning should be able to tune most of your chosen temperatures with fairly good results.



Manual-Tune: You also have the option of manually tuning the PID. To do this you have 3 setting, P, I and D.

P =
Proportional band. It is in 0.1 degree units. This parameter control the output of the controller based on the difference between the measured and set temperature. Larger the P number means the weaker the action (lower gain). e. g. If P=100, the proportional band is 10 degree (100 x 0.1=10). When the sensor temperature is 10 degrees below the proportional band (10 degrees below the setting), the controller will have 100% output. When the temperature is 5 degree below the set point, the output is 50%. When the temperature is equal to the setting, the controller will have 0% output (assuming integral and derivative functions are turned off). This constant also affects both integral and derivative action. Smaller P values will make the both integral and derivative action stronger. Please note the value of the P is temperature unit sensitive. If you found an optimized P value when operating the controller in Celsius, you need to multiply the P by 1.8 when changing the temperature unit to Fahrenheit.

I=
Integral time. The unit is in seconds. This parameter controls the output of controller based on the difference between the measured and set temperature integrated with time. Integral action is used to eliminate temperature offset. Larger number means slower action. e. g. assuming the difference between the measured and set temperature is 2 degree and remain unchanged, the output will increase continuously with time until it reaches 100%. When temperature fluctuate regularly (system oscillating), increase the integral time. Decrease it if the controller is taking too long to eliminate the temperature offset. When I=0, the system becomes a PD controller.

D=
Derivative time. The unit is in seconds. Derivative action contributes the output power based on the rate of temperature change. Derivative action can be used to minimize the temperature overshoot by responding its rate of change. The larger the number is, the faster the action will be. e.g. when the door of incubator is opened, the temperature will drop at very high rate. The derivative action change the controller output based on the rate of change rather than the net amount of change. This will allow the controller to act sooner. It will turn the heater to full power before the temperature drops too much

A couple of other features of the Auber PID are, offset that lets you adjust the temperature of the probe +/- 20 deg and temperature display of either Celsius or Fahrenheit.

I hope this has helped answer some of the questions on the Auber PID.

A big thank you to Suyi Liu of Auber Instruments for his help.

[Mayweather]

Hi Ted,

I am missing the Blue Arrow cord in my current setup. The instructions from Auber do not state you need this cable, and being in Australia i need to somehow source this American Cable. Does anyone know where i can purchase this type of cable?

[TedEbear]

Hi Ted,

I am missing the Blue Arrow cord in my current setup. The instructions from Auber do not state you need this cable, and being in Australia i need to somehow source this American Cable. Does anyone know where i can purchase this type of cable?

Hmm... I do not have this model Auber PID or a digital Bradley but isn't that cord the same short cord that came with the Bradley, which originally connected the smoke generator to the tower?

[Mayweather]

Hi Ted,

All good mate, i figured out i had the wiring incorrect and it's now holding temp fine :). Thanks for your assistance!