PID advice

[okiefisher]

I have an Englander PG100 which is basically a Cookshack PG500 minus the stainless. Lately my smoker temps have been running about 40 degrees hotter than the controller set temp. This started all of a sudden and I'm wondering if I might be better off trying to invest in a PID controller like the pellet pro or similar? I normally try to do all my smoking around 225 degrees. Once the smoker temp gets up to around 245-250 it don't give me much smoke. Is there something else that can cause the spike in temps or is it probably going to be the controller and I should maybe replace it with a new PID?

 

[tallbm]

I have an Englander PG100 which is basically a Cookshack PG500 minus the stainless. Lately my smoker temps have been running about 40 degrees hotter than the controller set temp. This started all of a sudden and I'm wondering if I might be better off trying to invest in a PID controller like the pellet pro or similar? I normally try to do all my smoking around 225 degrees. Once the smoker temp gets up to around 245-250 it don't give me much smoke. Is there something else that can cause the spike in temps or is it probably going to be the controller and I should maybe replace it with a new PID?

I can't give you much input on a pellet smoker but have you verified temps with 3rd party probes?  It could be that your smoker probe is just wearing out.  A 3rd party probe like a Thermopro or Maverick would let you know what the temp really is.  If the onboard probe is wearing out you could just use the 3rd party probe to help you out like all of us MES users do :)

 

[okiefisher]

Using a thermopro is how I know the difference. My door thermometer is showing about 45 degrees high. I cleaned my temp probe for the smoker and gonna give it another run tomorrow.

 

[ironhorse07]

If the smoker is maintaining a consistent temp but just running hot, I would start with the probe first. Not familiar with how this probe connects to the controller, but you might check for a loose connection.

 

[bregent]

If you end up needing a new controller, I would consider the PG500 controller rather than a PID. Most everyone that owns it loves it for the ability to tweak the amount of smoke produced. Not sure if it's a drop in replacement for the Englander, or if you'd need to make mods.