More Alton Brown smoker love...Update: It's done!

[danzigrules]

Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt

Originally posted by: JDub02
:thumbsup:

details on the AB smoker? i've heard people have alot of trouble with the hot plates. what brand are you using and where'd you get it?

Here's a link that describes the assembly of the smoker in some detail. This one was particularly helpful to me because the author lives in Seattle (as do I) so I could go to exactly the places he names to find the components.

I got my hotplate at Target. It was a 1000W model. I'm still toying with it to get it just right. Here's a summary of my experience.

At first, because of the thermal safety fuse, I had to turn it up to max to barely reach like 215 degrees. I wanted better control of the temps on the dial, so I removed the thermal fuse. Now, I have the damnedest time trying to find my sweet spot. It's either too hot or too cool, and I'm barely turning the dial up at all.

I've since acquired a furnace limit switch, thanks to some advice from another user in a previous thread about this smoker. I've yet to wire it in, but I have high hopes that it will be my solution. In hindsight, I kinda just wish I would've left the thing alone. It was hitting 215 to begin with, which is adequate enough.

In addition to the above modification, I also took the heating element and all the wiring out of the square-ish housing that it came in, because it wasn't able to sit all the way in the bottom of my round pot, and it also let me move the dial control outside the smoker so I didn't have to take everything out to make adjustments to it.

If I took the time to figure it out, I could probably acquire a more robust rheostat to replace the one it is built with. I only have a cursory knowledge of electronics, however, so I'd probably need some advice from someone more knowledgeable than I.

The limit switch idea was from me and I have yet to take the pics that I said that I would :

I think that I shall go do that now and do a little write up of how I wire it all up, to finally answer you PM to me from ages ago also.

 

[Eli]

I used to build kilns.. some pretty fancy ones, infact.. with nice ramping programmable PID controllers with serial interfaces. I don't think I have any around still, though.

But ever since Alton inspired me to build the smoker, I've wanted to employ one of the PID controllers, build a NEMA enclosed all-in-one PC with a little 7" LCD.. and hook it up to the ghetto smoker. That would be badass... haha.

 

[idiotekniQues]

you are my hero

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Originally posted by: Eli
This is the one I have, except mine is the silver version.

I'm beginning to think that Aroma discontinued the model that I bought, because I can't find a link to it anywhere. I don't know the model number, unfortunately, so that makes it more challenging.

Anyway here is a pic of the housing mine came in, after I removed the guts. You can see it says "1000W" right on the dial.

Here is a pic of the control apparatus (minus the knob).

Oh, and here is a pic of the smoker in action.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt

Originally posted by: Eli
This is the one I have, except mine is the silver version.

I'm beginning to think that Aroma discontinued the model that I bought, because I can't find a link to it anywhere. I don't know the model number, unfortunately, so that makes it more challenging.

Anyway here is a pic of the housing mine came in, after I removed the guts. You can see it says "1000W" right on the dial.

Here is a pic of the control apparatus (minus the knob).

Oh, and here is a pic of the smoker in action.

Ahh, yeah. That was the first one we went out and bought. Found it at K-Mart.

Nice looking setup.

Yeah, that's just a bi-metal thermostat switch. Looks the same as the one in my model. Be careful! Those contacts are live.

Your problems getting the temperature dialed in right are due to the fact that.. that type of thermostat needs to be in the environment its controlling the temperature for. Slight changes in ambient temperature will affect the temperature inside your smoker the way you have it setup.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Originally posted by: Eli

Ahh, yeah. That was the first one we went out and bought. Found it at K-Mart.

Nice looking setup.

Yeah, that's just a bi-metal thermostat switch. Looks the same as the one in my model. Be careful! Those contacts are live.

Your problems getting the temperature dialed in right are due to the fact that.. that type of thermostat needs to be in the environment its controlling the temperature for. Slight changes in ambient temperature will affect the temperature inside your smoker the way you have it setup.

Come to think of it, it may have been Kmart where I purchased that hotplate -- not Target.

What you say about ambient temperature effects makes sense. With appropriate attention to my temps I can basically bounce back and forth between 200 and 230 with small adjustments to the control.

When I get the limit switch integrated I think it will be pretty much "set it and forget it."

 

[moparacer]

mmmmm scrape all that nasty carcinogen crap off it and spread it on bread like butter....Be dammed what the cancer experts say.

Thread made me hungry....

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Just to be picky- that's not smoked, it's BBQed because it's charred

I'm making ribs tomorrow. Oh yes. I am.

It is not charred. It is smoked. The temperature never went above 225 degrees.

I beg to differ Your thermostat may be at the top, but all the heat is on the bottom. Unless you put BBQ sauce on it and it carmelized?

It's no biggie- looks great.

 

[SilverThief]

Good God man, that looks incredible.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Just to be picky- that's not smoked, it's BBQed because it's charred

I'm making ribs tomorrow. Oh yes. I am.

It is not charred. It is smoked. The temperature never went above 225 degrees.

I beg to differ Your thermostat may be at the top, but all the heat is on the bottom. Unless you put BBQ sauce on it and it carmelized?

It's no biggie- looks great.

No. Nothing on it but rub. It's covered in smoke... There is nothing charred, even on the bottom.

 

[danzigrules]

Bleh at having troubles with a retarded Kodak camera and their stupid software.

But here ya go http://picasaweb.google.com/danzigrules/Smoker#

I hope that works.