Smoker shack and my new PID

[nsxbill]

Hi Stu

What kind of box is that?  Where did you get it?

Looks pretty sweet. 

I am still roughing it with my Procom4 from BBQ Guru, and pretty spoiled by it, but have an extra P.I.D. that I might go ahead and mount into a box to control the other Bradley. 

What the heck, I already have it.  When you get time post up the details.

Thanks in advance,

Bill

[West Coast Kansan]

S Stu, Nice looking set up. Good to have the helper there as well :)

[NePaSmoKer]

STU

Yeah i know all to well about the snow. we got hammered on valentines day with 3" of snow then 8" of ice and 3" of snow atop the ice. But looks like your having fun with your helper  ;D

Weatherman says more snow tomorrow.  :'(

i got to get the bps out to take pics of it.

nepas

[smokin stu]

Plugged the PID in and no fuses blew.  Windy as heck out there so I played with the PID a bit, but am back inside waiting for friendlier weather. Another storm blowing in.

As to how I built the PID, I have empowering neighbours.  I had ordered the PID and bits from Auber, and was explaining what I was doing with a neighbour who is an airplane mechanic.  I was telling him that The Source (Radio Shack in the USA) no longer sold the box theat I needed to house everything in.  He came by the next day with the box that you see in the photos, and the doohickies that the wires go through the box wall in, and the thingy that you screw the wires into.  I was thrilled.  He said he would help me build the thing as well.

But I wanted to build it myself.  I was talking with another friend who owns a business that makes things that make things (ever see the show "How Its Made"?).  He told me to drop by his shop one evening and I did.  He set me up at a station with a high speed carbide drill and a controlled X and Y axis to three decimal places.  I had all the holes cut out of that box in no time.  If I had done it myself in the garage with my drill and jigsaw, I am sure it would not have looked that good.

I then went over to the electrical area of the shop, used the wire and screws, and presto, it was done.

I am a biologist and have very little experience/knowledge on building electrical components, so this was a huge step for me.  The plans, so well laid out in this forum, gave me the guts to try it, and my two friends gave me equipment/work areas so I could do it myself.

In fact, as soon as I said it was for my smoker, the two of them bent over backwards to help me ??? .........

Wait a minute ......   They have both been over for some smoked goodness before ....  I think they were empowering me!!!

In the summer, I plan on feeding them and their families as a thank you.

[nodak]

Stu looks like you may have to move to a new neighborhood as it sounds like your neighbors are enablers. The first step in curing your addiction is admitting you have a problem, than getting away from those who enable you! ;D

[Arcs_n_Sparks]

I am a biologist and have very little experience/knowledge on building electrical components, so this was a huge step for me.

Smokin Stu,

I thought biology was just a notch over from electrochemistry?  :o

Glad to hear it "fired up" with no real flames.  8)

Arcs_n_Sparks

[smokin stu]

My friend who knows what he is doing suggested I ground the box because its metal so here is how I spliced in the ground to the box.

The blue wire is the addition, with the green wire going to the ground screw on the metal box.  Everything else is the same.

[smokin stu]

My neighbour who suggested the ground line seems to know what he is doing.  Should the authors of the diagram at www.susanminor.org/Rayeimages/pid/diagram.jpg add the option of a ground coming off the green wire if they are using a metal box?

[Arcs_n_Sparks]

Grounding a metal enclosure is always a good idea. That way, when your hot wire comes loose and wants to arc weld, your breaker will trip.

Arcin' & Sparkin'  :D :D :D

[iceman]

Yeppers, what arcs said. Ann already shocks the heck out of me on a daily time frame, no need to add to it. :o ;D :D Abba, I'm a BAD boy!!! :D :D :D

[splitslim]

Hi,

I'm a new Original Bradley owner, and I'm in the middle of building a similar shack for my unit.

I'm wondering if I could get some help with a couple of issues I've run into.

Smokin Stu, did you use a plastic roof vent or an aluminum vent?

When you use your smoker, do you close the shack and let the Bradley do it's business, or do you keep one/both doors open?

Does your shack have a fresh air inlet?

Thanks!

[Wildcat]

Welcome to the forum splitslim!

[smokin stu]

I used the aluminum roof vent and I keep the doors closed when I am smoking.  The shack gets a pile of smoke in it and then the smoke goes out by the vent.

I like the shack becaus ethe weather is no longer an issue.  I have had to shovel a path in the snow this winter to get to my smoker.

I don't have a fresh air inlet simply because my woodworking skills are such that I have plenty of air hols already.  I did cut a two inch or slightly more in diameter hole in the back to run the extension cord. 

I bought a cheap flourescent light as well for the shack, you know the one for under counter tops.

If I did it over again, I would have more than a 1 inch drop in the roof, bring it to 3-4 inch drop, and I would have around an 8 inch overhang on the roof at the front rather than the 5-6 inches now so as to prevent that driving rain from coming in the gap at the top of the doors.

I plan on putting in wood blocks so I can slide in and out BS smoker racks beside the BS when I am prepping or moving around racks.

I am also planning on painting the shack flamin raed with a porky pig mural on the side....  nothing too tacky though  ;D

If you build a BS shack, post some photos.  That's how I got to doing my own, from photos from this forum.

[splitslim]

Thanks for the reply!

I finished the shack, it's almost identical to yours.  I used a plastic roof vent, as I found the heat of the smoke wasn't that bad to warrant the aluminum.  I guess I'll find out soon enough.

I left a 2 inch roof over hang for along all sides.  I can understand how more slope and overhang would help, but I didn't think of it during construction. 

Right now I'm in hour 2 of my first smoke.  I have a 6 3/4lbs boston butt in there, and I can barely wait for the morning.

I'll post some pics soon.

Thanks again!

[smokin stu]

This forum really is great for sharing ideas.

Looking forward to seeing the pics.