New to the game

[BenCarlson]

I just wanna start off by saying that this forum is probably the best on the internet. Everyone is incredibly knowledgeable yet also non-judgmental and willing to help anyone. That kinda stuff matters in a world where folks can barely keep a conversation.

Anyway, I got my Masterbuilt 2 door smoker a few weeks ago. I've already gone ahead and installed a needle valve and some self tapping screws into the burner. Both have worked phenomenally and my gasket is coming Monday for the doors.

My goal is basically to have a similar setup as Cmayna has in this post: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/my-masterbuilt-gasser-mods.129949/

I already worked out a shelf for the AMNS, but my question is about Stack location. In the post, Cmayna has the stack dead nuts in the center of the top. I can't seem to find a stack online that doesn't have an elbow. Could I just buy one with an elbow and install it on either side of the top of the smoker or does it need to be a straight on type?

So far I love this unit and it has worked pretty well with some tinkering. It's fun because I love smoked food and love tinkering with things.

Appreciate anyone taking time to read this and/or getting back to me!

 

[gmc2003]

Welcome to the site, it sounds like your well on your way to producing some excellent foods.

Chris

 

[solman]

what's the benefit of the stack being top-dead-center? the vent built into the upper back of my propane unit seems to work well enough. if you're intent on moving the vent to the top, why not get a simple pin wheel style vent:

 

[BenCarlson]

You make a very valid point. Now that I think about it I was more interested in it for the aesthetics rather than the functionality. I'm gonna go that right if I do at all.

Appreciate the responses from you guys. Solman I may have some questions regarding the PID setup you put together. That looks so awesome.

 

[solman]

yeah i love my PID set up. the vast majority of the PID talk around here involves the electric smoker, but it works so well with propane i'm kind of surprised it hasn't caught on as much.

the newer version of my auber PID has 6 programmable settings, so you can swap the PID between smokers without having to change settings. i'm tempted to ugprade because mine can only do one at a time, and i have to re-enter the PID settings depending on which smoker it's hooked up to. not sure what other PIDs are out there, but i highly recommend the auber. https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=14_27

 

[BenCarlson]

Beautiful! Thank you. So if I'm understanding correctly, with the PID setup I'll need a GFCI outlet to use the smoker? Not a problem but that's what I was wondering about. Everything else is self explanatory

 

[solman]

a GFCI outlet for the auber? i don't think it has to be, i don't see anything on auber's product page about having it on a GFCI outlet. i just plug mine into a regular outlet and it works fine.

For example for their Model: SYL-2615SYS:
AC adaptor: 100 ~ 240 V, 50 / 60 Hz input. 12V DC, 1 Amp output.

it looks like you could plug it directly onto a 12v battery and get it to work anywhere too, if you're crazy enough to take your propane smoker out into the woods on a camping trip and had an extra 12v car battery lying around. :)

 

[BenCarlson]

Great points. My final question: How large are the two Male connections on the safety shutoff for your PID system? I dont see it listed on Amazon. I need it for the two barbed female pieces so I get the correct size.

 

[solman]

I used two 1/8" npt x 3/8" barb fittings: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DE7JDZE/?tag=smokingmeatforums-20

 

[BenCarlson]

Ordered. Awesome. Do you have a recommendation for the Auber units? They all say charcoal and I dont wanna get the wrong one.

 

[solman]

For the charcoal units, they only have 2 models. The one with wifi is the newer one. The reason they have so many options is because they package them with different blower sizes and different mounts for the blower depending on which smoker you're buying it for.

The newer unit also has, i believe, a setting to control blower speed. If i was buying a unit solely for this project, I'd get a bare bones non-wifi unit without fan or mount. https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_27&products_id=399

If you anticipate expanding your collection of smokers, maybe adding a charcoal smoker in the future, the bare bones wifi unit seems like a good start. You can add a blower and mount later on. https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_27&products_id=656

 

[BenCarlson]

Dude you are the absolute best. I just got it ordered. I should have it up and running by Saturday. I'm jacked up!

 

[solman]

Good luck and hope you follow-up letting us know how it's working out for you.

 

[BenCarlson]

Alright, so all my parts came today and I have the solenoid, needle valve and safety shutoff rigged into one unit. Checked for leaks and it was clean. My question now, is how do I rig the PID to the solenoid? As far as I can tell it's the final piece of the puzzle. Everything else has gone smoothly.

 

[solman]

I guess i left out that bit of information in my post. I happened to have spare barrel connectors that fit into the PID's solid state relay port.

I put a female barrel connector on the solenoid side, then created an extension cable with male barrel connectors on either end that's used to connect the PID to the solenoid. That way I didn't have a long piece of wire hanging off the solenoid at all times.

You could buy the barrel connectors separately or get something like this and hack the pieces to fit the way you need.
The PIDs power port is 5.5mmx2.1mm, and the solid state relay port is 5.5mmx2.5mm.

 

[BenCarlson]

So If I order those wires, strip them, then wire in to the two wires coming from the solenoid, I will be good? Is that what you mean by hacking it up? Using a wire nut to splice it in?

 

[solman]

Take a male end of one cable and splice it to the solenoid wires. You can make it as short or long as you want. Then you can use one of the other cables to hook it all up, male end goes to PID and female end goes to solenoid. Polarity doesn't matter.

 

[BenCarlson]

Beautiful. A simple fix. Amazon had those available with 1 day shipping so hopefully we're operational tomorrow afternoon.

 

[BenCarlson]

Wires came today and it's all together. My burner should be done at the welding shop by Monday and I'll be able to get this rig up and rolling for a test drive. Appreciate ya, Solman! Hopefully somebody will find this thread informative down the road. You've been a monumental help to me. Again I thank you!

 

[solman]

Good luck with it and hope you post a follow-up on how it's working out for you. Also don't forget to test for leaks, I had a slight leak on one of the metal fittings on my first test run. All the hose clamp fittings worked great though, no leaks. I still test for leaks though, with so many fittings and connections the potential for leaks is significantly more now compared to the original single hose connection.