Contraption for a MES

[hassy]

Hi Marvin,
I am new to this forum and I am very intrigued by your solution. I have a "Centro" electric smoker which is the Canadian version of the MES and identical in every respect. I am very happy with it and have done some excellent hot smoking but would like to use it also for cold smoking salmon. This should be done at a temperature of around 80 degree F in the smoke chamber. My question to you is if your modification would be suitable to achieve this. Thanks for your input.

Hassy

 

[illini]

My cheese smoking method: set the temp controller to 100*, set the time to 0, then the digital controller will read the internal temp down to as low as 32* the " contraption" will raise the internal above the ambient temp that you are having on any given day (very slowly). So I set a few minutes on the timer (2-10) at a time and pulse the timer manually to hold between 75* and 100* internal.

In theory if your ambient is say 70* and the contraption is adding heat (which it is) you could end up at exactly 80* +or-. If not bump it occasionally with the MES heater or if too hot I guess you could open the door a little.

Its too bad they didn't engineer the controller to a minimum of 75*

You can cold smoke salmon on a cooler ambient day and bump the heat with the MES heater and not get anything else done but monitoring the smoke

The "contraption" is great for smoke generation

 

[hassy]

Thanx for your reply, Marvin. I will try to build one when I'm back from vacation in April. I looked at the Grainger catalog and it seems that their Cartridge Heater # 2E914 (Vulcan TB5013A) with 200 Watts and 86 Watts per square inch may be best suited. If the 200 Watts is too high then they could still be wired in series or the power supply pulsed on and off.

Did "Smokin' Siggy" reply what cartridge heaters he used and how it was working out?

Thanx again for your inspirational design. I was just about to build a separate smoke generator with a hot plate and pipe it into the chip loader opening but your design is much more functional.

Regards, Hassy

 

[illini]

Hi Hassy, no have not gotten a response from Siggy. I asked him to PM but to no avail

Really wish that I could advise you on what size to order for the heaters....Think that the series connection will extend the life of the heaters as they are not being pressed to their temp limits nearly as much....Do not think that you will like the connect/disconnect operation you mentioned as you will have to really be on top of it....The ones I am using are plugged in all the time and do a great job of making the chunks smolder and do not jump to a flame-up at all....Yes I use homemade sized chunks and they work much better than using chips....the harder woods require smaller chunks than the softer fruit woods to obtain the same smoking effect....this is a learning curve thing on the chunk sizing....

The heaters I have wired in parallel will get eventually to a red color when heated....when wired in series you can not see a color change but when wood chunks on top of them are smoldering they will change a little toward red hot but not nearly as much as when in a prallel connection with no wood on top of them....You might want to try them before installing and see what temps are being produced....hopefully they can be exchanged for another size if not what you need

Would like to know how your project turns out and what size heaters you eventually end up with....sorry but I have no clue as to what wattage is needed since the used ones I have are unreadable

 

[hassy]

Hi Marvin, I am thinking of running the Cartridge Heaters in parallel (which sums up to a max. 400 Watt load) and then connect them to 120 Volt supply via a LEVITON Cat. Nr. 6681 Delux Full Range Rotary Dimmer (or similar..). This dimmer costs only $9.81 and is rated for 600 Watts. This should allow me to adjust the glow temperature just right. What's your opinion about this idea?

Hassy

 

[illini]

Sounds GREAT

Like that idea

Let me know how it works when you get to the project!

 

[tender loins]

Any updates on this, especially from Siggy or Hassy?

 

[illini]

Have not heard a word from either of them!
I still use mine and it is especially useful as a cold smoking tool.
It does not extend the time for adding chips/chunks. But does make the process easier to manage and you can readily tell how much smoke you are producing at any given moment

thanks for your interest and if I can be of assistance let me know

 

[hassy]

Hi,
I have not made the modification yet but are planning to do this as my "Fall Project". I'll definitely let you know how it turns out.

Cheers,
Karl Hassenbach
****** I would be unstoppable. If I could just get started. ******