Hi All,
Still new to smoking as I bought my first smoker last year, a SV24 and have a few mod questions and also wanted to show off a mod I just made. My ultimate goal is get it to a "set it and forget" type smoker. I know I can buy a different smoker but I'm a techie and love building things.
I'm interested in maintaining temps a little better so I did the needle valve mod, door gasket and plugged 1 out of every 4 holes in the burner with brass screws.
I just finished building my own 4 probe thermometer and temperature controller all of which connects to the internet and can be controlled by an app. I wasn't really happy with any of the store bought solutions so I thought I'd make my own. I was kind of surprised that none of the thermometers out there would give an alert if your temperature falls below a certain setpoint. I mounted a stepper motor to the needle valve so I can remotely adjust the temperature. Just tested it over the weekend with some reverse seared porterhouse steaks and it works great!!!!
So here are some of my questions about mods and if anyone has done any of these:
1. Needle valve - probably a stupid question but is it better to the leave the SV valve on High and then control the temp with the needle valve or is it better to leave the SV valve at a lower setting and use the needle valve.
2. Has anyone ever upgraded the manual igniter to an electronic (battery operated)? I noticed it's a single wire and the setup I bought is the two wire with a covered hood to collect the gas. Just wondering if anyone has done it yet and wanted to post some pics. If not I'll post them when I'm done. I want to tie this into my wifi controller through a relay so I can ignite it remotely if it blows out.
3. Wind breaks. How beneficial is this mod and besides flattening the two lower vents does it help to cover the entire section around the legs.
4. Installing a water tube to refill the water tray from outside. I'd like to install a tube and fill the tray from outside. I figure it's one less reason to have to open the door. I can always put a solenoid on this to control it remotely as well.
Oh well, that's all I have for now.
Happy smoking and looking forward to contributing to the group.
Still new to smoking as I bought my first smoker last year, a SV24 and have a few mod questions and also wanted to show off a mod I just made. My ultimate goal is get it to a "set it and forget" type smoker. I know I can buy a different smoker but I'm a techie and love building things.
I'm interested in maintaining temps a little better so I did the needle valve mod, door gasket and plugged 1 out of every 4 holes in the burner with brass screws.
I just finished building my own 4 probe thermometer and temperature controller all of which connects to the internet and can be controlled by an app. I wasn't really happy with any of the store bought solutions so I thought I'd make my own. I was kind of surprised that none of the thermometers out there would give an alert if your temperature falls below a certain setpoint. I mounted a stepper motor to the needle valve so I can remotely adjust the temperature. Just tested it over the weekend with some reverse seared porterhouse steaks and it works great!!!!
So here are some of my questions about mods and if anyone has done any of these:
1. Needle valve - probably a stupid question but is it better to the leave the SV valve on High and then control the temp with the needle valve or is it better to leave the SV valve at a lower setting and use the needle valve.
2. Has anyone ever upgraded the manual igniter to an electronic (battery operated)? I noticed it's a single wire and the setup I bought is the two wire with a covered hood to collect the gas. Just wondering if anyone has done it yet and wanted to post some pics. If not I'll post them when I'm done. I want to tie this into my wifi controller through a relay so I can ignite it remotely if it blows out.
3. Wind breaks. How beneficial is this mod and besides flattening the two lower vents does it help to cover the entire section around the legs.
4. Installing a water tube to refill the water tray from outside. I'd like to install a tube and fill the tray from outside. I figure it's one less reason to have to open the door. I can always put a solenoid on this to control it remotely as well.
Oh well, that's all I have for now.
Happy smoking and looking forward to contributing to the group.
