Great video. I completed the wiring easily. Cutting the holes in the box was a bit of a challenge. It took some outside the box thought. Some tools are not in the ordinary DIYers tool box.
So it sounds like it worked out, I am happy. I hope you are as happy with yours as I am with mine. I have been playing with a 12 volt version to drive a fan for the charcoal vertical smokers(WSM and Cuisinart 18")
Great video - simple and concise!. I built one and am doing a dry run on it now. I went ahead and calibrated it to 212F by putting the probe into boiling water and adjusting the calibration display until it matched. I also changed the hysteresis to 0.1 per the video you recommended (not sure if that's for the alarm or the running temp but did it anyway). For the trial, the target temperature is set to 130F. Reportedly this unit is accurate to +/- 1F. The best I can get it to the 130F target is +/- 7F. (Actually it's +14/-0) To get this I set it 7 degrees under the target (123F) so it runts 123-137F based on a very accurate thermometer. With a smoker, has anybody had better luck due to it turning the element on at the target temperature, shutting off, and the heat continues to carry over and overshooting? Granted, it's WAY more accurate than the controller that came with it but would like to get closer to the stated specs. Any Suggestions?
Knocked it out my man. Built my own with your vid. Using it to powder coat instead but I can also use it with my smoker with the plug and play cord set up.
The heat sink was included with the SSR or in kits. As for the paste I used what I had for rebuilding high end GPUs, Artic Sliver. This is a bit overkill for this but buy once, cry once, lolo. -> amzn.to/3Vcu11R . thanks for watching
I left it in place and secured it to the side. I want to be able to reconnect it back to the factory cord and removing it from the passthrough grommet would make that difficult.
I have a tip for you. Those masterbuilt smokers have an over temp themostat in them that is wired in series with the element. You can remove the cover on the bottom and make a couple of wiring changes that will do 2 things. One, allow you to use the existing power cord with ground, two, it will keep the over temp thermostat in the power loop.
and one more. I saw a thread where a guy contacted Inkbird about the INKBIRD ITC106 VH PID controller. They told him not to use that model for an electric smoker. The ITC 100 is the one to use. The 106 is sold to control liquids that are heated, the 100 is more suitable for smokers.
@@USA__2023 I contacted Inkbird to ask which one the buy. This was their reply, "The ITC-100 series is an industrial thermostat with a wide temperature range, suitable for a variety of heating systems. The temperature unit of ITC-100 can only be set to Celsius. The ITC-106 series is a household controller, suitable for slow cooking, winemaking, etc. The temperature unit of ITC-106 can be set to Celsius/ Fahrenheit. If professional control is required, it is recommended to purchase the ITC-100 series."
Great job. Question on PID. When approaching target temp, does the PID reduce heat output by lowering power to heater or does it just cycle on/off more so that when at temp it is activating / deactivating the heater at the rate needed to keep it at target temp? I have 2 in my house that seem to work differently, one to control temp on Weber smoker that increases fan speed in proportion to error signal. When at target temp, it just puffs the fan at low speed to keep temp constant. Another on my espresso machine that seems to just flicker on/ off when at temp. Just curious. Thanks.
I will research and test it but I think it is on/off... I would hate to say it definitively. I am planning on transferring it to a different smoker in a few weeks.
That's what makes the PID better than a thermostat on/off type controller. Yes, it will start to limit the power output as it gets closer to the setpoint. It does this by pulsing the output which allows it to put out a smaller percentage of power to the element using PWM. Keep in mind that the PID controller needs to be tuned correctly to do this. Once tuned it should put out 100% power in the warm up stage, then cut back as it gets closer to the setpoint. If tuned right it will not "overshoot" by very much and then settle down at the setpoint.
Great video. I completed the wiring easily. Cutting the holes in the box was a bit of a challenge. It took some outside the box thought. Some tools are not in the ordinary DIYers tool box.
So it sounds like it worked out, I am happy. I hope you are as happy with yours as I am with mine. I have been playing with a 12 volt version to drive a fan for the charcoal vertical smokers(WSM and Cuisinart 18")
Can not Thank you enough. Your Awasome works great
Thank you! I am trying to make this helpful and maintainable.
Thanks for this video. I had watched several others, but yours was the best. I appreciate the to-the-point and step by step directions.
Thank you! I am glad it helped. I will be building another for my brother's friend.
Great video - simple and concise!. I built one and am doing a dry run on it now. I went ahead and calibrated it to 212F by putting the probe into boiling water and adjusting the calibration display until it matched. I also changed the hysteresis to 0.1 per the video you recommended (not sure if that's for the alarm or the running temp but did it anyway). For the trial, the target temperature is set to 130F. Reportedly this unit is accurate to +/- 1F. The best I can get it to the 130F target is +/- 7F. (Actually it's +14/-0) To get this I set it 7 degrees under the target (123F) so it runts 123-137F based on a very accurate thermometer. With a smoker, has anybody had better luck due to it turning the element on at the target temperature, shutting off, and the heat continues to carry over and overshooting? Granted, it's WAY more accurate than the controller that came with it but would like to get closer to the stated specs. Any Suggestions?
Great comment. I recently added a box plug and a longer thermocouple, I might do a short update and add a video link card.
Great comment! I recently added a plug for the thermocouple and a longer thermocouple. I might do a short update video and add a video link card.
Knocked it out my man. Built my own with your vid. Using it to powder coat instead but I can also use it with my smoker with the plug and play cord set up.
NICE !!
Does the heat sink get hot enough to require a cooling fan? I'll be running a Masterbuilt 40" smoker.
I did not install a fan and it is working great. I also used it on the Cuisinart and it worked well.
@@pioneersmokehouseschannel Thanks, this'll simplify my build greatly.
Great video, thanks. Do you have a link to the heat sink and thermal paste you used?
The heat sink was included with the SSR or in kits. As for the paste I used what I had for rebuilding high end GPUs, Artic Sliver. This is a bit overkill for this but buy once, cry once, lolo. -> amzn.to/3Vcu11R . thanks for watching
What happens to the original power cord? Is it still used?
I left it in place and secured it to the side. I want to be able to reconnect it back to the factory cord and removing it from the passthrough grommet would make that difficult.
I have a tip for you. Those masterbuilt smokers have an over temp themostat in them that is wired in series with the element. You can remove the cover on the bottom and make a couple of wiring changes that will do 2 things. One, allow you to use the existing power cord with ground, two, it will keep the over temp thermostat in the power loop.
and one more. I saw a thread where a guy contacted Inkbird about the INKBIRD ITC106 VH PID controller. They told him not to use that model for an electric smoker. The ITC 100 is the one to use. The 106 is sold to control liquids that are heated, the 100 is more suitable for smokers.
Thanks
Do you have a link to make that safety mod?
@@USA__2023 Great!!! I already have the wrong one.
@@USA__2023 I contacted Inkbird to ask which one the buy. This was their reply, "The ITC-100 series is an industrial thermostat with a wide temperature range, suitable for a variety of heating systems. The temperature unit of ITC-100 can only be set to Celsius.
The ITC-106 series is a household controller, suitable for slow cooking, winemaking, etc. The temperature unit of ITC-106 can be set to Celsius/ Fahrenheit.
If professional control is required, it is recommended to purchase the ITC-100 series."
Great job. Question on PID. When approaching target temp, does the PID reduce heat output by lowering power to heater or does it just cycle on/off more so that when at temp it is activating / deactivating the heater at the rate needed to keep it at target temp?
I have 2 in my house that seem to work differently, one to control temp on Weber smoker that increases fan speed in proportion to error signal. When at target temp, it just puffs the fan at low speed to keep temp constant. Another on my espresso machine that seems to just flicker on/ off when at temp.
Just curious.
Thanks.
I will research and test it but I think it is on/off... I would hate to say it definitively. I am planning on transferring it to a different smoker in a few weeks.
That's what makes the PID better than a thermostat on/off type controller. Yes, it will start to limit the power output as it gets closer to the setpoint. It does this by pulsing the output which allows it to put out a smaller percentage of power to the element using PWM. Keep in mind that the PID controller needs to be tuned correctly to do this. Once tuned it should put out 100% power in the warm up stage, then cut back as it gets closer to the setpoint. If tuned right it will not "overshoot" by very much and then settle down at the setpoint.
What size wire are you using?
I used 14ga for this project, but the control wires could have been smaller. The black, white, and green wires were cut from the extension cord.