PID shopping list, just looking for suggestions/help

[Fonzerelli]

This weekend I will was watching some BBQ competition show and noticed one of them had temperature controller on smokers, I elated! The set it and forget it aspect of a pellet grill was the only reason I never got an offset smoker but now I finally had the best of both worlds. It was just funny because I had remembered purists screaming from the roof top that pellet grills temp control wasn’t true BBQ and now this stuff is mainstream even the norm in competitions….



Anyway took a dive into commercial units and spending $250-$400 on something that takes less than $100 to make yourself… I’ve always wanted to make a PID for other hobbies I have like my dry age fridge, heat treatment kiln for my knife making and now a smoker. This holiday weekend I have spent 8 hours learning everything I can about how to do this on my own so I don’t potentially buy the wrong stuff.



I pulled the trigger and now I just wanna make sure i got the right stuff and don’t blow my PID accidentally lol.



So here is the list of things I purchased, if people with actual experience take a look at it I’d appreciate it…



This is the power cable I will use to power the PID

https://a.co/d/5YoFN5B

The Rex-c100 PID

Amazon.com

This is the blower, I made sure to buy 12v and >1amp DC

https://a.co/d/gTQAco9

I purchased the 12v 2amp DC plug for the power source of the blower. 2amps in case I end up needing a bigger fan

https://a.co/d/1vdf2mH

This is a little upgrade I got alligator clip

https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=172



I purchased this to be able to hook up the female adapter to the PID, I heard u had to use the same cable

https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=179


Here is the female plug for the enclosure

https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=426


Buzzer for the PID

https://www.auberins.com/index.php?...ducts_id=215:b756d8a14e401468095386ae4ef72d15




I wondering if I could get advice on running this without the SSR using this diagram can I run what I purchased without it and without the mosfet?



Another thing I was thinking since the PID I purchased will come with the SSR should I just use it since it couldn’t hurt and will the power cable i purchased be sufficient to do that….



Lastly I could use some suggestions on enclosures for this… this will initially be used for a 22 Weber kettle, I figured Id somehow mount it to one of the legs or set it on or get 3 more clips like they use for the ash tray and add a second shelf that way and set the PID on that… later on i do plan on getting an offset Oklahoma just hope i can get this proof of concept done….


Im new to this so if im missing something let me know, if i can be doing something better let me know that too!

 

[912smoker]

No help from me but do search on the PID and you should find an answer.

Keith

 

[tallbm]

This weekend I will was watching some BBQ competition show and noticed one of them had temperature controller on smokers, I elated! The set it and forget it aspect of a pellet grill was the only reason I never got an offset smoker but now I finally had the best of both worlds. It was just funny because I had remembered purists screaming from the roof top that pellet grills temp control wasn’t true BBQ and now this stuff is mainstream even the norm in competitions….



Anyway took a dive into commercial units and spending $250-$400 on something that takes less than $100 to make yourself… I’ve always wanted to make a PID for other hobbies I have like my dry age fridge, heat treatment kiln for my knife making and now a smoker. This holiday weekend I have spent 8 hours learning everything I can about how to do this on my own so I don’t potentially buy the wrong stuff.



I pulled the trigger and now I just wanna make sure i got the right stuff and don’t blow my PID accidentally lol.



So here is the list of things I purchased, if people with actual experience take a look at it I’d appreciate it…



This is the power cable I will use to power the PID

https://a.co/d/5YoFN5B

The Rex-c100 PID

Amazon.com

This is the blower, I made sure to buy 12v and >1amp DC

https://a.co/d/gTQAco9

I purchased the 12v 2amp DC plug for the power source of the blower. 2amps in case I end up needing a bigger fan

https://a.co/d/1vdf2mH

This is a little upgrade I got alligator clip

https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=172



I purchased this to be able to hook up the female adapter to the PID, I heard u had to use the same cable

https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=179


Here is the female plug for the enclosure

https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=426


Buzzer for the PID

https://www.auberins.com/index.php?...ducts_id=215:b756d8a14e401468095386ae4ef72d15




I wondering if I could get advice on running this without the SSR using this diagram can I run what I purchased without it and without the mosfet?



Another thing I was thinking since the PID I purchased will come with the SSR should I just use it since it couldn’t hurt and will the power cable i purchased be sufficient to do that….



Lastly I could use some suggestions on enclosures for this… this will initially be used for a 22 Weber kettle, I figured Id somehow mount it to one of the legs or set it on or get 3 more clips like they use for the ash tray and add a second shelf that way and set the PID on that… later on i do plan on getting an offset Oklahoma just hope i can get this proof of concept done….


Im new to this so if im missing something let me know, if i can be doing something better let me know that too!

Hi there and welcome!
At a glance I think you have a good start.

I haven't ever hooked up a PID to run a blower fan so not sure I can be of much help in that area but I've made PIDs and used premade Auber ones to run electric elements for rewired MES smokers.

The 1st thing that comes to mind for running your unit is it might be worth while to run an outdoor rated cord, this one could be cannibalized and the female end could be utilized and extra wire could be utilized as well.

Amazon.com

$7.78

As for the enclosure box.... this is always my nightmare. I can say get bigger than you think, there is never enough room inside of them AND round holes are your friend, by all means avoid having to cut squares and rectangles to mount things to the box! A universal drill bit will make life so much easier to drill holes of the right size.
These relief cable glands will help with corsd and plugs male/female ends to fasten and secure to your enclosure and using an extension cord male/female ends for plugs are 10000x more superior and easier than trying to mount outlets and such to the box itself (square holes for that) and the cords don't melt down like the cheap Chinese plastic electrical components.
$7.99 for these:

Amazon.com

Something like this clamp mount might help you clamp the PID to a bar/leg or something similar that is part of the smoker or a shelf attached to the smoker/grill and it just screws into your project box, just food for thought as this may not exactly work but gives you some ideas:
$14.41

Amazon.com

As for running without the SSR, I'm a tiny bit out of my element here, but
[Edit: info is not accurate, it seems the output Amps are too weak to run the 0.5A blower fan and an SSR will be needed, it's a better overall option anyhow]
I THINK you can by using the Voltage Output terminals 4 & 5 (see manual here https://www.mpja.com/download/rex-c100.pdf) to actually drive your 12v blower fan.

If I understand PID+ blower fan behavior correctly, then I believe this is a way to go.
Again, I've not done it so you would have to figure it out AND you would very very likely have to use vastly different P-I-D values than what us electric element guys are using. The response times and such of a fan blowing on coals is not like the response time of electric current heating up a heating element.


Final thoughts. I would make this as modular as possible. Meaning you can easily plug/unplug the controller from the wall, the blower from the controller and grill/smoker, and the thermostat/temp-probe from the controller and grill/smoker so it's all easy to pack up and move inside or easy to replace some of those parts.
This is where the relief cable glands also come in handy so that you can use cords that have male/female ends to easily hook/unhook all this stuff.

I wish I had more answers for you and I hope some of this gives some good food for thought :)

 

[Fonzerelli]

Hi there and welcome!
At a glance I think you have a good start.

I haven't ever hooked up a PID to run a blower fan so not sure I can be of much help in that area but I've made PIDs and used premade Auber ones to run electric elements for rewired MES smokers.

The 1st thing that comes to mind for running your unit is it might be worth while to run an outdoor rated cord, this one could be cannibalized and the female end could be utilized and extra wire could be utilized as well.

Amazon.com

$7.78

As for the enclosure box.... this is always my nightmare. I can say get bigger than you think, there is never enough room inside of them AND round holes are your friend, by all means avoid having to cut squares and rectangles to mount things to the box! A universal drill bit will make life so much easier to drill holes of the right size.
These relief cable glands will help with corsd and plugs male/female ends to fasten and secure to your enclosure and using an extension cord male/female ends for plugs are 10000x more superior and easier than trying to mount outlets and such to the box itself (square holes for that) and the cords don't melt down like the cheap Chinese plastic electrical components.
$7.99 for these:

Amazon.com

View attachment 697866



Something like this clamp mount might help you clamp the PID to a bar/leg or something similar that is part of the smoker or a shelf attached to the smoker/grill and it just screws into your project box, just food for thought as this may not exactly work but gives you some ideas:
$14.41

Amazon.com

View attachment 697867



As for running without the SSR, I'm a tiny bit out of my element here, but
I THINK you can by using the Voltage Output terminals 4 & 5 (see manual here https://www.mpja.com/download/rex-c100.pdf) to actually drive your 12v blower fan.

If I understand PID+ blower fan behavior correctly, then I believe this is a way to go.
Again, I've not done it so you would have to figure it out AND you would very very likely have to use vastly different P-I-D values than what us electric element guys are using. The response times and such of a fan blowing on coals is not like the response time of electric current heating up a heating element.


Final thoughts. I would make this as modular as possible. Meaning you can easily plug/unplug the controller from the wall, the blower from the controller and grill/smoker, and the thermostat/temp-probe from the controller and grill/smoker so it's all easy to pack up and move inside or easy to replace some of those parts.
This is where the relief cable glands also come in handy so that you can use cords that have male/female ends to easily hook/unhook all this stuff.

I wish I had more answers for you and I hope some of this gives some good food for thought :)

That was actually a ton of help! You have some great suggestions here and will be doing them all… you know I kept seeing people writing P=1 I=XX D=XX but I had no idea what it was talking about…. Now that u mention values it leads me to believe there is some sort of input you need to put in the controller…. For what ever reason I was under the impression all you would have to do is set temp and you’d be ready to rock and roll…. I’ll have to start looking how to program, any suggested threads?

 

[dsk]

The PID will drive the SSR which will be swithching on and off either the transformer you bought or the one with the variable speed control (which you will leave on high,) every number of seconds you program (lets say 10, but I don't have a pellet grill so I cannot knowledgeably advise the best value.) Based on the heating requirements, it will be on 0 to 10 seconds during the 10 second interval, and off the rest of the time. The more heat needed, the higher percentage of time your fan will be running. The SSR output is likely not able to directly drive the fan (I looked at the spec of one and it can only drive 0.020 amps,) so you will need to use the SSR. There are several examples on this website of PID builds you can peruse for ideas. Your enclosure requirements will be determined if you need rain proofing or not. The advice to go with a bigger enclosure is well founded (and I wish I could heed it.)

Also, I would advise against using the sensor supplied with the PID, unless you are dangling it into the pit. Using one of these very short sensors suffers from excessive heat transfer to the outside, resulting in a lower than actual reading, and thus higher than set chamber temperature (that there is some hard won knowledge. ;) ) If you do use it, use a separate chamber thermometer to monitor the air temperature right by your meat, and set your pid to the appropriate offset. Since chamber temperatures vary across the volume enclosed, this is good advice regardless of any fixed sensor used. The PID will control temperature only at the point it is measuring, and if your sensor is removed from the meat you need to account for any difference.

 

[tallbm]

That was actually a ton of help! You have some great suggestions here and will be doing them all… you know I kept seeing people writing P=1 I=XX D=XX but I had no idea what it was talking about…. Now that u mention values it leads me to believe there is some sort of input you need to put in the controller…. For what ever reason I was under the impression all you would have to do is set temp and you’d be ready to rock and roll…. I’ll have to start looking how to program, any suggested threads?

I'm glad the info helps!
Yeah the input you need to enter will be for the P, I, and D values. They dictate how the controller will behave when it comes to hitting and holding temperature. For example the "P" value is usually the most important and usually works in a fashion where the closer you get to your set temp (lets say 250F) the weaker the signal to produce heat gets. Usually think a P of 5 means that when you are within 5 degrees of your set temp (250F here) the controller will tone down the blower output from 100%. So when the controller reads 246F the controller would be blowing at 80%. At 247F the controller would blow at 60% strength etc. and at 250F the controller would not blow at all.

The "I" value usually does some magic to try and keep the temp on or around your set temp once you have initially gotten there (P kinda drives it initially). Then finally the "D" value is usually a drastic temp change in time type driver. So if all of a sudden you had a massive drop or spike in temp the "D" value would kick in to control the smoker from dropping or spiking too hard.

All three P-I-D will work in concert to dictate how your smoker behaves to hit and hold the set temp and those values would be much different in a system using a blower fan versus a system using a heating element. I imagine that a blower fan is very fast acting in causing temps to spike BUT has little effect on the temp coming back down where a heating element is slower responding both ways... I think lol.

Now on to the SSR topic again. I believe D dsk found a flaw in my initial "thinking" when it came to running the fan just from the PID controller. I was thinking the PID controller had a 3A output but it seems it has a 4-20 mAmp output which is not enough to run your 0.5Amp (500mA) fan. So the SSR will be needed to run your fan as it can handle a max 40 Amp throughput/output as your fan tries to pull 0.5A, so well capable there.
The good thing about this is that the SSR will work will with many applications so it's kind of the bullet proof solution whether you were running a blower fan or just supplying power directly to a stronger device (like a heating element).

Now this means your controller wiring will have to adjust. You'll need power coming in via a male cord (male end of extension cord I linked to you also allows to be cannibalized for female end).
Then once the cord enters the enclosure it will need to split off so that it provides power to:

1. Male Power cord (hot and neutral wires) -to- the Rex-C100 so it is powered up and runs
2. Male hot wire -to- the SSR, the ~1
3. Male neutral wire -to- the Female neutral wire
4. SSR ~2 hot -to- the Female hot wire
5. Blower fan can now plug into the Female cord plug and receive power
   
   

I hope this makeshift conceptual diagram helps to visualize some of it.
You will have some P-I-D tuning work ahead of you so you can get the performance you want. It's just part of the game but can be a challenge.
I'm guessing you start with your fan dial open to all 12v so it receives all the power at once and try with a P value of like 5 with I and D at 0 and just see what happens and how fast it happens lol.

Then keep tuning P until you get something reliable/repeatable and then move on to adding an "I" value of umm 10 I guess lol and see how that behaves. It's all just tuning and playing from there. This is where having a fancy thermometer that creates a graph over time would really help but not many have that (including me).

I hope this gives some food for thought :D

 

[dsk]

I like the diagram. Be careful about the colors of the K type thermocouple wires. There are several standards (a famous engineering joke is "The trouble with standards is there are so many to choose from.") In the yellow/red version, the red is negative. In the red/blue (chinese) version, red is positive. Keep the positives (Chromel) and negatives (Alumel) wires straight for best temperature accuracy.

 

[Fonzerelli]

I'm glad the info helps!
Yeah the input you need to enter will be for the P, I, and D values. They dictate how the controller will behave when it comes to hitting and holding temperature. For example the "P" value is usually the most important and usually works in a fashion where the closer you get to your set temp (lets say 250F) the weaker the signal to produce heat gets. Usually think a P of 5 means that when you are within 5 degrees of your set temp (250F here) the controller will tone down the blower output from 100%. So when the controller reads 246F the controller would be blowing at 80%. At 247F the controller would blow at 60% strength etc. and at 250F the controller would not blow at all.

The "I" value usually does some magic to try and keep the temp on or around your set temp once you have initially gotten there (P kinda drives it initially). Then finally the "D" value is usually a drastic temp change in time type driver. So if all of a sudden you had a massive drop or spike in temp the "D" value would kick in to control the smoker from dropping or spiking too hard.

All three P-I-D will work in concert to dictate how your smoker behaves to hit and hold the set temp and those values would be much different in a system using a blower fan versus a system using a heating element. I imagine that a blower fan is very fast acting in causing temps to spike BUT has little effect on the temp coming back down where a heating element is slower responding both ways... I think lol.

Now on to the SSR topic again. I believe D dsk found a flaw in my initial "thinking" when it came to running the fan just from the PID controller. I was thinking the PID controller had a 3A output but it seems it has a 4-20 mAmp output which is not enough to run your 0.5Amp (500mA) fan. So the SSR will be needed to run your fan as it can handle a max 40 Amp throughput/output as your fan tries to pull 0.5A, so well capable there.
The good thing about this is that the SSR will work will with many applications so it's kind of the bullet proof solution whether you were running a blower fan or just supplying power directly to a stronger device (like a heating element).

Now this means your controller wiring will have to adjust. You'll need power coming in via a male cord (male end of extension cord I linked to you also allows to be cannibalized for female end).
Then once the cord enters the enclosure it will need to split off so that it provides power to:

1. Male Power cord (hot and neutral wires) -to- the Rex-C100 so it is powered up and runs
2. Male hot wire -to- the SSR, the ~1
3. Male neutral wire -to- the Female neutral wire
4. SSR ~2 hot -to- the Female hot wire
5. Blower fan can now plug into the Female cord plug and receive power
   View attachment 697889

I hope this makeshift conceptual diagram helps to visualize some of it.
You will have some P-I-D tuning work ahead of you so you can get the performance you want. It's just part of the game but can be a challenge.
I'm guessing you start with your fan dial open to all 12v so it receives all the power at once and try with a P value of like 5 with I and D at 0 and just see what happens and how fast it happens lol.

Then keep tuning P until you get something reliable/repeatable and then move on to adding an "I" value of umm 10 I guess lol and see how that behaves. It's all just tuning and playing from there. This is where having a fancy thermometer that creates a graph over time would really help but not many have that (including me).

I hope this gives some food for thought :D

Tons of good info here, I’m actually going to go the male extension cord route female route…. The thing that has me scratching my head is that the male hot is going to both to the SSR and the PID, which is confusing me how that works…. The only thing I can figure is that I’ll get a wire nut running 2 wires I make and the hot in the wire nut combining the three then having it run to the SSR and PID that way… let me know if that’s right, I’ll be attempting a brisket today

 

[Fonzerelli]

Tons of good info here, I’m actually going to go the male extension cord route female route…. The thing that has me scratching my head is that the male hot is going to both to the SSR and the PID, which is confusing me how that works…. The only thing I can figure is that I’ll get a wire nut running 2 wires I make and the hot in the wire nut combining the three then having it run to the SSR and PID that way… let me know if that’s right, I’ll be attempting a brisket today

Scratch that question, I figured it out, i did it with the 3 prong jumpers just make it so the hot went to 3 prongs 1st from male 2nd from SSR 3rd from PID…. I did the same with the nuteral and presto…. Now time to watch some videos and ho to get into the PID settings and play around with those numbers we u suggested… also I’ll be buying one the the k type female prong and alligator clip probe so that I’m not having to run it through a hole in my enclosure…..

Really guys I couldn’t thank you enough, I’ve spent $40 and didn’t need to spend $250-$400 on one…. I’m going to freeze the prime brisket I bought so some tests through the week and pull that bad boy out for next weekend

 

[JC in GB]

I use a REX C-100 controller for running both by charcoal and electric smokers.

I love the REX C-100. Great control, inexpensive, and readily available.

Hope your design exceeds your expectations.

I also have a pretty detailed explanation of how to use and wire these controllers on the forum. If you haven't seen it yet.

JC

 

[02ebz06]

Glad to see you back JC, been a while. Hope you are doing OK.

 

[JC in GB]

Glad to see you back JC, been a while. Hope you are doing OK.

Thanks. Still having issues but I try to come by and check the site when I can. Hope things clear up for me soon so I can get back to some serious BBQ.

JC

 

[Fonzerelli]

I use a REX C-100 controller for running both by charcoal and electric smokers.

I love the REX C-100. Great control, inexpensive, and readily available.

Hope your design exceeds your expectations.

I also have a pretty detailed explanation of how to use and wire these controllers on the forum. If you haven't seen it yet.

JC

Yeah I did read ur thread I was going to run it without the SSR on ur diagram but for whatever reason plugging into two outlets was freaking me out lol…. But I did learn a lot reading ur tutorial and thats what started me down this rabbit hole…. Just another hobby to suck my money from my wallet lol I’ve already bought new wireless temp probes from chef IQ, a brisket, charcoal, wood, I’m looking at upgrading this kettle grill I’ve been BBQin on for 10 years to an offset from old country or the gen 2, I doubt I’ll splurge and get this Komodo Joe but got my eye on that too…

I’ve smoked meats on this kettle but I feel it’s time to really getting to smoking…

 

[tallbm]

Scratch that question, I figured it out, i did it with the 3 prong jumpers just make it so the hot went to 3 prongs 1st from male 2nd from SSR 3rd from PID…. I did the same with the nuteral and presto…. Now time to watch some videos and ho to get into the PID settings and play around with those numbers we u suggested… also I’ll be buying one the the k type female prong and alligator clip probe so that I’m not having to run it through a hole in my enclosure…..

Really guys I couldn’t thank you enough, I’ve spent $40 and didn’t need to spend $250-$400 on one…. I’m going to freeze the prime brisket I bought so some tests through the week and pull that bad boy out for next weekend

Hey sorry for the delay in replying, I've been out of pocket a little bit this week.

I'm glad you got it sorted out! Those 3 prong nuts/clips are nice for stuff like this.
As for power to the SSR and the PID yeah that can be a little confusing at first. In short power to the PID keeps the PID on and going.
Hot to the SSR and wire from SSR to female plug will allow your PID to cut power on/off to your female plug that your fan blower will plug into, to get it's power.
The Neutral to the female PID and female plug is to complete the power to PID so it runs and to the female plug so the blower fan can run.

I think you're buying the round female k-type outlet/prongs. That is the way to go. I bought a rectangular one once and won't be doing that again. Round holes for EVERYTHING that can be round is the way to go hahaha.

This stuff is fun and exciting aye?! I think JC's info and feedback on P-I-D values for a blower fan may get you where you want to be a lot faster than pure trial and error.

I'm looking forward to see where you land and then bug you for your PID values to run your blower fan :D

Finally, I'd highly recommend giving everything a test run with a pork butt before diving into that prime brisket. Pork butts are so much less expensive and are actually closer to cooking a brisket (cook length, meat size, smoker temps, etc.) than probably any other cut of meat AND it's hard to mess up a pork butt but super easy to not get a brisket correct. This will teach you a bunch before potentially having some heartbreak with a less then ideal brisket smoke :D
If you do briskets all the time then ignore that last bit of insight :D

 

[Fonzerelli]

Hey sorry for the delay in replying, I've been out of pocket a little bit this week.

I'm glad you got it sorted out! Those 3 prong nuts/clips are nice for stuff like this.
As for power to the SSR and the PID yeah that can be a little confusing at first. In short power to the PID keeps the PID on and going.
Hot to the SSR and wire from SSR to female plug will allow your PID to cut power on/off to your female plug that your fan blower will plug into, to get it's power.
The Neutral to the female PID and female plug is to complete the power to PID so it runs and to the female plug so the blower fan can run.

I think you're buying the round female k-type outlet/prongs. That is the way to go. I bought a rectangular one once and won't be doing that again. Round holes for EVERYTHING that can be round is the way to go hahaha.

This stuff is fun and exciting aye?! I think JC's info and feedback on P-I-D values for a blower fan may get you where you want to be a lot faster than pure trial and error.

I'm looking forward to see where you land and then bug you for your PID values to run your blower fan :D

Finally, I'd highly recommend giving everything a test run with a pork butt before diving into that prime brisket. Pork butts are so much less expensive and are actually closer to cooking a brisket (cook length, meat size, smoker temps, etc.) than probably any other cut of meat AND it's hard to mess up a pork butt but super easy to not get a brisket correct. This will teach you a bunch before potentially having some heartbreak with a less then ideal brisket smoke :D
If you do briskets all the time then ignore that last bit of insight :D

Ah come on you don’t got no faith In me to give it the one and done lol….. I’m just joking, I do plan on running a few test fires and doing some chicken thighs just to start playing around with those values… if I’m not done with the first fire I planned on just running it dry until I’m maintaining the way I want…. I did get some chef IQ probes for Father’s Day…. I ended up freezing the brisket and will be pulling that bad boy after I dial the Weber in…. I’m also looking at buying a used Lyfe Tyme offset, 16x32 he’s looking to sell it for $300…

 

[forktender]

Thanks. Still having issues but I try to come by and check the site when I can. Hope things clear up for me soon so I can get back to some serious BBQ.

JC

@ JC in GB:

I hope things are working out for you, like I stated in our messages unfortunately I somewhat know the feeling, and that is nothing nice, actually it really sucks.
When you have a chance, could you please contact me regarding wiring the switches you provided me ? I would like to get this thing together, I have a comp next month, and would like to have it dialed in by then.

Thank you.
Dan.

 

[tallbm]

Ah come on you don’t got no faith In me to give it the one and done lol….. I’m just joking, I do plan on running a few test fires and doing some chicken thighs just to start playing around with those values… if I’m not done with the first fire I planned on just running it dry until I’m maintaining the way I want…. I did get some chef IQ probes for Father’s Day…. I ended up freezing the brisket and will be pulling that bad boy after I dial the Weber in…. I’m also looking at buying a used Lyfe Tyme offset, 16x32 he’s looking to sell it for $300…

Hahahaha.
Yeah test fires and tinkering are all part of the process. The chicken thighs will be good to both eat and get your smaller smokes figured out. They are hard to mess up unless they get burned.

Once you get things going and get some good smokes under your belt with it, I bet you turn out some great bbq!!! :D

 

[forktender]

I don't think my brain can handle these PID builds.
I'm pretty sure I have most of the parts, except a few elect. ports which are on the way. I will lay everything out and maybe someone can let me know what I am missing. Like I said, I don't have a clue, about putting these things together, I may have bitten off more than I can chew.....YIKES!!!

Guru, just might be getting an order from me after all.

 

[forktender]

Here's what I have so far, I'm waiting for the fan to pit adapter, and the wire bungs for the box. And I need to pick up some screws, washers and nuts.

And an AC rocker switch, and I have heat shrink tubing.

JC in GB

I have a comp the second week of July, and need this thing running by then .

There was no rush, as my partyQ started working again. Until last week, now it's dead again, of coarse . I'm completely over this sketchy PartyQ.

Thanks for looking.
Dan.

 

[JC in GB]

Here's what I have so far, I'm waiting for the fan to pit adapter, and the wire bungs for the box. And I need to pick up some screws, washers and nuts.

And an AC rocker switch, and I have heat shrink tubing.

JC in GB

I have a comp the second week of July, and need this thing running by then .

There was no rush, as my partyQ started working again. Until last week, now it's dead again, of coarse . I'm completely over this sketchy PartyQ.

Thanks for looking.
Dan.

Can you take a pic of the bottom of the PCB for me? I am fairly sure the orange green is your +12 VDC and the other wires are the SSR trigger.