New Smoker from Canada

[Stickbowcrafter]

Welcome! You'll find just about everything you'll ever want to know about smoking food here. This forum got me up and running in no time when I made the move to a Bradley. GREAT site!!!

-Brian

[yul]

Hi Guys, after reading everything on the board about the advantages of using a PID I have taken the plunge and ordered the main components from Auberins. Just waiting to see if they get past Canada Customs OK. The only trouble I have had is finding the Radio Shack  (or The Source as it is called in Canada ) project box . Luckily, I have a friend who makes regular trips south of the border and he is picking one up for me.
I found a digital thermometer in the local Canadian tire on sale for $9 ( Maverick ET-808C ) so I wont have to rely on the one in the Bradley door.
Just got to find a selection of pucks now...

[Mr Walleye]

Brian

No problem getting Auber products as I have ordered from them. The only thing I would add is to ask him to send it USPS. My experience with UPS (the usual shipping method) is they usually screw you on the brokers fees.

Also I will see if I can come up with the part number for the Maverick ET73. It is available from Home Hardware here in Canada. But you need the part number because they really don't know they are available from their own store.

Mike

[Mr Walleye]

Here is the product number for the ET73.

Home Hardware - Product Number 6427182

You will have to ask them to look it up on their computer because they won't have any idea what your talking about. At least that was the case here.

Mike

[yul]

  Hi Mike, I went and had a closer look at my bisquets inside the box and you are quite right, there was the recipe on the back of the card . I did not think to look there.
Thanks for the info on the Maverick ET73. I will have to go out of Quebec to order one  as there do not seem to be any Home Hardware stores here. I am a regular visitor to Ottawa so I will try there.
Pity I did not know about the shipping from Auber. When I got to the final check out they only gave one option for shipping to Canada. Ah well, lets see what happens.
Thanks again for the info, Brian.

[yul]

Hi Mike, went to the mail box today and there was my package from Auber. They had sent it via  USPS so no problems with brokerage fees etc. Really good service from them. I have now got the items thawing out on the kitchen table as it was –15 here all day and the package was sat in the box for at least six hours. That's all the components now except for the project box. I have tried  3 "The Source " stores but no luck. One even told me that they are now independent from Radio Shack and don't carry any of their stock. When I pointed out to him the number for the connector strip was exactly the same as their stock number he just stood there looking dumb. I have two more branches to try then I will have to wait for my friends trip south of the border.

Brian.

[Mr Walleye]

Brian

I never was able to get the project box from "The Source". I just kinda created my own. A person should also be able to get some type of box, roughly the same size, from an electrical supply store.

Mike

[coyote]

Hey Yul , welcome to the forum! Sorry it took me so long to roll out the welcome mat. :-[
Some how I missed the post.....Hope that's not a sign of anything ::)
                                                                                   Again Welcome Aboard,
                                                                                                        Coyote

[yul]

Hi Mike, I finally got a store clerk to look up the Radio Shack part number on the inventory computer and you are right, they no longer stock that item. So I will try the local hardware store and see if I can find a suitable box.

Hi Coyote, thanks for the warm welcome. This is a great board with a nice bunch of active members.

Brian.

[Mr Walleye]

Brian

You might want to look at an electrical supply store. One that sells household wiring. See if they have an electrical enclosure box. Here is a link to one on ebay to give you an idea of what it looks like.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/A37138-Hoffman-ASE8X6X4-Pull-Box-Enclosure-8-6-4_W0QQitemZ260211201911QQihZ016QQcategoryZ111612QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Mike

[yul]

Hi Mike. Finally making some headway with the PID. Last week I tried to shoe horn all the parts into a piece of 4" plastic drain pipe, a 45 degree elbow, but it was a really tight fit so took everything out again. My friend finally turned up with the Radio Shack box so I have been hard at work today. Everything has gone OK except for the main power cable. I used an air conditioner extension cord but the thing is like a steel towing cable, will not bend easily and is way to stiff. I tried to cut the outer sheathing of to expose the thinner inner wire but this type of cord is molded in one thick lump.  Tomorrow I will change it for a couple of 3 foot lengths of softer extension wire. Apart from that it went just fine. I ran it at work and it registered the ambient temp OK, dipped the TC into a cup of icy water and the indicator started to drop to 33 degree.
My friend who also has a B.S. was impressed with the outcome of the project so we are ordering another set of components tomorrow. The second units assembly will be a lot easier now that I have ironed out all the snags. Thanks for the link to the alternate type of box. We will be going that route and have found a local supplier thanks to the description on the link.
I will also be using Amazon .ca for all future book purchases. I did not realize that we could get free shipping in Canada, I thought such largess was reserved for our cousins  south of the border.
Brian

[Mr Walleye]

Brian

Sounds like you pretty much have the PID thing cased. You will definitely be happy with it once you get it dialed in. It will give you alot more confidence in it as a more "set it & forget it" setup.

Keep us posted how you make out with the auto tune.

Mike

[yul]

Maybe I am looking at this wrong but...  ???
A basic question, where in the power connection set up do you plug the PID.
I thought that it went between the smoke generator and the smoke box instead of the supplied cable. I followed the instructions about using an extension cord cut in half with regular household plug and socket at each end. When I went to try and plug it in between the smoke generator and the smoke box, the plugs on the Bradley units are not a  regular plug and socket. The only place that my set up will plug in is from the wall outlet to the smoke generator, but this cycles the generator on and off too.
Have Bradley changed their connector plugs since the PID instructions were posted or am I missing something.
Here is a picture of the back of my smoke generator and the ends of the wires coming out of my PID. (they are heavy duty plug and sockets) and the Bradley cable is just behind the yellow plugs.

[Wildcat]

I am brand new to the PID thing, but with mine, I plug in the PID to the wall and plug the tower into the PID.  Depending on your wiring, I think you plug your generator into the house current separate.  With mine, I have an extra plug in my PID that does not go through the PID, so that is where I plug in my tower.

[Habanero Smoker]

In 2007 Bradley did change their plug,and connections. You can plug your PID directly into a power outlet.