New Sausage maker

[JckDanls 07]

Tim.. I have both elements (broiler and bake) from an oven rigged up... The mounting plates on the elements are bolted together with self drilling screws... then I bent the tabs for the connections so that one screw goes through both... I made legs for them to sit on out of a strip of metal.. one screwed to the base (can see in pic) and then wrapped one around each side of each element at the back side (no pictures of that).... here's a couple of pics I took real quick... maybe that will help...


This one just shows how it sits in the smokehouse under the difuser (need to make a bigger difuser as this one is for the pipe burner)
(click on pics to enlarge)

Oven Elements 001.JPG

• JckDanls 07
• Jul 4, 2016

Here's a couple of the connections and how they are bolted together ...

Oven Elements 002.JPG

• JckDanls 07
• Jul 4, 2016

Oven Elements 003.JPG

• JckDanls 07
• Jul 4, 2016

I used both elements so I can cook at 300` or higher if I want (never have yet) ... I don't use the pipe burner anymore since the flame has blown out a couple of times while using... essentially leaving a bomb waiting to explode with raw propane flowing into the smokehouse... I noticed it when the temps started dropping on the Mavs.... If anymore questions let me know ..


PS. These are just temporary connections for testing.. I need to get it finished up correctly...

 

[daveomak]

I used both elements so I can cook at 300` or higher if I want (never have yet) ... I don't use the pipe burner anymore since the flame has blown out a couple of times while using... essentially leaving a bomb waiting to explode with raw propane flowing into the smokehouse... I noticed it when the temps started dropping on the Mavs.... If anymore questions let me know ..


PS. These are just temporary connections for testing.. I need to get it finished up correctly...

 

[bamafan]

well I have not made an update in a while but the building is done except for some trim. Tried the 220 circuit today with a single element and could only get to 140 after an hour the element was red hot. Going to go back over and put my amp probe on it and check the current draw. If it's only the 11 amps it should be going to throw another element in? Determination will prevail!!!!!:biggrin:

 

[bamafan]

Well after the epic fail 2 days ago. I pulled 2 more elements out of a old oven. Took my amp meter to check the current draw of the supposedly 2850 watt element i bought off amazon and it was only 8 amps. Added the broiler element from the old oven  and connected it to the relay also  and fired it back up. Temps started jumping up right away. Checked the current draw with the second element and pulling 22 amps. After an hour smoke house was over 200 degrees which I thought was pretty good considering the volume. Next thing on the list is get the controller mounted and protected from the weather and put the temp wires in conduit and clean that mess up. After that going to make some kind of heat shield to keep grease from falling on the elements. Make the racks for the dowels and we should be ready for a ops check

 

[JckDanls 07]

ok.. so we're getting closer... did you try it with both elements that you just took out of the oven ?? I would do that and if it works send the other element back to Amazon ...

 

[dward51]

What voltage are you running those oven elements on?   If they are rated at 2,850 watts at 220v and you are running them on 110v, you will only get 1/4 the rated wattage, or about 712.5 watts.  They would pretty much have to be 220v elements if they are above 2,000 watts.  I know you talked about a 110v system to start with and the possibility of going to a 220v system.

You can actually use ohms law to figure out the specific reading to expect from a good element that is rated for x watts at y voltage. Formula for expected resistance of a 2,850 watt element on a 220v system is as follows:

R=(VxV)/P  (V squared divided by power in watts)

R=(220/220)/2850

R=48,400/2850

R=16.98 ohms

So if you have that element disconnected an check it with a digital ohm meter, you should be in the 17 ohm neighborhood if the element is good.  Change out the figures for any element as needed.

For anyone interested, here is the science behind using a 220v element in a 110v circuit.  You would at first think that since you have cut the voltage in 1/2 the wattage is cut in 1/2 also.  Nope, don't work that way.  For the purpose of this illustration, let's assume the 5,300 watt is a single phase element (although 3 phase is more common in 208v circuits - the math would be the same but the wiring is totally different).

The load is a resistive load and as such it is governed by Ohm's law. Current is directly proportional to the voltage and inversely proportional to the resistance. As the voltage goes down so does the current. Current formula is I=P/E or 5,300 watt heater at 208 volts = 5,300/208 = 25.48 amps. Once we know that, we can calculate the Resistance by using R = E/I = 208/25.48 = 8.16 ohms of resistance in the heater. Now we have all the data we need to take the 5,300 watt heater element and calculate the wattage if it is powered on a 110v circuit. Current (amps) can also be expressed as I = E/R, Amps = Volts / Resistance.  Using our 110v circuit and the 8.16 ohms resistant heating element you get 110/8.16 = 13.48 amps at 110v. So now we can answer the question.  Yes a 220 volt heater will run on a 110 volt circuit but at a reduced wattage. Using the formula for wattage (power), P = E x I = 110v x 13.48amps = 1,482.84 watts or 28% of the original 5,300 watt rating (all calculations assume 100% efficiency which never occurs so the real world number would be less than that).

Here is the Ohm's law wheel for reference.  Amps (current) = I, Volts (electromotive force) = E, Power (watts) = P and Resistance = R.

500px-Ohm%27s_Law_Pie_chart.svg.png

• dward51
• Aug 7, 2016

 

[bamafan]

Were are running 220 volt. Will check the ohmage of that new element and see what it reads when I go back up to where the smoke house is. Thanks

 

[bamafan]

Got back up to the smoker for a couple of hours today. Getting close. Just need to get the racks in now and the heat shield built and trim on . Got the controller installed and the box around it to protest from the rain. Jay sprayed it with a can of the flex seal on the outside. It's water proof! Ran a short test after we got everything mounted and hit 170 in about 35 minutes.

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• bamafan
• Aug 16, 2016

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• bamafan
• Aug 16, 2016

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• bamafan
• Aug 16, 2016

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• bamafan
• Aug 16, 2016

 

[JckDanls 07]

looking good guys.. I can almost taste the sausage already...

 

[JckDanls 07]

any updates on this ?? Is it up and running ??

 

[bamafan]

All that's left is a couple of trim boards. We are waiting on a little cooler weather to give it a go. All the test runs have been good. No problem getting it to 180 with the 2 elements. Heat shield is installed. Will probably have to build another one as the sheet metal I got for free was a little thin but we'll see how the first run goes.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Cool build looking forward to see some sausage hanging!

 

[bamafan]

Well Jay and I finally had some time and got some meat out of the freezer. Made 42 pounds of jalapeño

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• bamafan
• Oct 7, 2016

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• bamafan
• Oct 7, 2016

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Points! That's quite the load!

 

[paprika pal]

Looks Awesome! Can't wait to see it smoke.  Thanks for the pics.

 

[crankybuzzard]

Now that's how to break in a smoker!

Points for sure!

 

[JckDanls 07]

YUMMM YUMMMMMM.. waiting to here how the smokehouse worked ??

 

[bamafan]

It was 44 pounds when we weighed it out and we didn't make a dent in the space. Also made 25 pounds of ground breakfast sausage while we had the grinder out. The new carnivore grinder we went in on is a beast. As fast as you can shove it in

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• bamafan
• Oct 7, 2016

 

[daveomak]

AWESOME job !!!!  

 

[bamafan]

Will post the results tomorrow after a taste test. But the electric worked great and we used 2 of the newer tube smokers.