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  1. bigtexun

    Could I use Wood Instead of Charcoal?

    Depending on your smoker, I find that you must control the stack as well on windy days.  As the wind blows across the stack, it creates a greater pull, and on some smokers that can make the temperature difficult to control.  Reducing the stack opening will reduce the effect of the wind.  But...
  2. bigtexun

    Why is Franklin BBQ in austin so good?

    Well, I wonder if we are getting select in the grocery stores... if 70% of the meat is choice, perhaps the BBQ joints consume all of it, and the grocery stores are getting the stuff that is normally reserved for dog food and ground meat...  they don't sell that many briskets, so that mite make...
  3. bigtexun

    Why is Franklin BBQ in austin so good?

    So, Gary S., you said you found someone selling the better grade of brisket...  Was it a meat market?  I'm a bit too far to drive there just for a brisket, just curious if we have one of those places around here. If it is a meat market, I may be SOL, because around here the meat markets tend to...
  4. bigtexun

    MES Window Cleaning Solution

    I've always done it while it was cold... But what I was cleaning was a grill with a window, not a smoker.....   My smoker has no window.  So I suppose the nature of what you are scraping may be completely different.  So my razor blade advice could easily be way off base.  My grill with the...
  5. bigtexun

    Why is Franklin BBQ in austin so good?

    Does it get better the more wives that are used?  But what if you know better than to wrap it in the first place?  I guess the wives have to dance naked the whole time it is cooking then.... ;) Sounds like a paaaaarty!
  6. bigtexun

    Why is Franklin BBQ in austin so good?

    I don't wrap at all, I've tried it, and on some direct-fire pits (not a smoker) where I don't feel in control of the temperature at the meat surface that might help regulate the temp so you can at least get an edible brisket off of a grill not meant to be a smoker...  But on a properly set-up...
  7. bigtexun

    Why is Franklin BBQ in austin so good?

    I live in Austin, and I have sampled some of the best that is around here (mostly not IN Austin proper), but I am /not/ going to stand in line for two hours, or make an appointment two months in advance to try Franklins.  My brisket at home is as good or better as the best that I have tried, so...
  8. bigtexun

    Fire died while smoking a butt!

    Put set-screws on the vents to make it more difficult to easily alter them... Or use a temperature monitor that will set off an alarm if something goes wrong...
  9. bigtexun

    Royal Oak Lump Charcoal

    Yeah, I won't use any lump, unless it says on the bag exactly what it is made from.  Oak is what I try to use most of the time. I would use briquets before I used some random-wood lump...  THAT is where your weird chemical smells are coming from...  Bunk wood!
  10. bigtexun

    My build

    I haven't made my controller "pretty"yet, so it's isn't overly photogenic... When I'm not using it to smoke a brisket, it is a ball of wire on the floor in the corner of my office at home...  But I'll take some photos the next time I drag it out and wire it up. As for the web page, I keep...
  11. bigtexun

    My build

    I like your style.  For a build made of found items, you have a nice mix.  The smoke stack might drip, like Dave said.  You could either catch the drip, divert it, or rework the stack to prevent it...  But the stack adds to the charm of the build.  So does the friggin door latch, I bout fell out...
  12. bigtexun

    MES Window Cleaning Solution

    Don't use chemicals... just use a scraper with a new razor blade and a little pressure.  Once you find the right angle, the razor gets everything...  
  13. bigtexun

    Hints for first smoked chicken

    Large zip-loc bags can work for brining, but you have to be careful about leaks in the fridge.  If you can clear out a produce bin (and wash is after to disinfect) that might be the trick you need for a safe brining location for leaky zip-loc bags.  
  14. bigtexun

    New Toy - Ebay PID controller

    So I did my first smoke with my new PID set-up.  I purchased a small brisket consisting of the point end only.   I put it on at midnight, and the only problem was I was very low on charcoal, so I only loaded 1/3rd of the normal load, so I wasn't sure if it was enough or if it would stay lit. ...
  15. bigtexun

    Calibrating Thermocouple on Klein Multimeter ?

    Keep in mind also that calibration of a thermocouple is the calibration of the device reading the thermocouple.  Part of it is adjusting for error caused by "cold junctions".  A cold junction is any dissimilar metal junction in the circuit that is not the actual probe junction.  Each cold...
  16. bigtexun

    New Toy - Ebay PID controller

    Yeah, what I discovered is that my PID seems to be getting glitched by something...  When I reboot it, it behaves better.  But the alarms seem to still work correctly. I just need to stop futzing with the PID, and get a linux PID library and build my own controller.  The one I have now works...
  17. bigtexun

    New Toy - Ebay PID controller

    Update...  I noticed that after running for a while, the PID turned off autotune, and tended to hover within one degree of 250 when set to 220.  So I decided to try turning it down to 190, and see what happens...  Sure enough, it went down to 220. So the temperature is under control, I just...
  18. bigtexun

    New Toy - Ebay PID controller

    That looks like a pretty sweet PID rig... I just assembled my own PID rig for my Char-Griller Kamado Kooker.  I used a $23 PID off of Amazon, added a $12 thermocouple, an $8 SSR and a $46 smoker fan from auberins.com.  So it came out to a similar cost to the one I see selling on ebay. The...
  19. bigtexun

    meat probe inlets for ys640

    These are fairly ordinary cable glands, the only thing special is you will want to make sure and get something made from high temperature parts, so it doesn't melt or emit toxic fumes into the grill.  They will probably cost more than normal waterproof glands. You will want them to be stainless...
  20. bigtexun

    MES 40 - Troubleshoot cause of temp reading on display higher than actual temps

    Th3e shock hazard could be a wiring fault in the unit...  But it can also be a wiring fault at the outlet.  Don't these have a grounded 3-wire plug?  If it has a grounded plug, and the ground wire is connected to the chassis, then there is a problem with the outlet it is plugged into.  Check the...
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