Smokin-It Model 4 and DIN300A Controller

[bill scott]

I have had my Smokin-It Model 4 for several years. I absolutely love it. Hands down, the best smoker I have ever had. It has a standard analog temp setting potentiator and it's a real pain to set to the right temperature much less keep within certain parameters while cooking. They are selling them with digital temp controllers now, but I had two of those with a Masterbuilt cooker and both of those are in the land fill. Anyway, I love the smoker, just hated the analog temp controller.

To make a long story even longer, the analog controller on my Smokin-It died recently, no matter what setting you turn it to the 1500 watt heating element would not turn off. I tried one of those controllers you buy over the Internet, wired it up, and it worked great; but, the max temp setting was 210F degrees.Most of those things are maximum 10Amps so I had to put a relay with it to make it work at all.

Then I found the DIN300A controller. They have a max temperature setting of 572F degrees and come with its own relay. It's rated for 30A instead of 10A. I still had my doubts it would work with the 1500 watt heating element in the Smokin-It, but these things are so cheap I decided to try it anyway. I ran it for an hour at 230F degrees with no meat in it to test it out.

I was thrilled with the results. The controller kept the temperature in the smoker at +/- 0.75F degrees, from a high of 230.7F to a low of 229.2F. (Graph attached). I did check the wiring throughout the test and they were barely warm to the touch. I can say that if you are looking for an excellent controller for an electric smoker, give this one a try.

 

[sm0kin]

That is for sure the cheapest I have seen!

 

[SonnyE]

Here you go for your future calculating needs. https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/electric/Watt_to_Amp_Calculator.html
In a word, 1500 watts + 12.5 Amps. (AC-120 volts-1500 watts-PF=1)

That said, using a 30 amp rated control is fine. It gives you a built in toughness for your load.

Is there a reason you didn't contact SmokinIt to see if you could have just gotten their updated controller?
Although, I probably would have done similar to the way you did it.

I got an Inkbird controller (1000 watts) to use for my Sous Vide crock-pot. And also to use with my MES 30 w/my own bypass for the control relay.
Making my MES 30 (800 watts) work normal, or via cord connected (Inkbird) controller.
My reasoning is for cold smoking heat control below MES's 100° lowest temperature. (Not to point out accuracy issues.)
Allowing me to select 70-80° cold smoking temperature ranges.

 

[sm0kin]

Here you go for your future calculating needs. https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/electric/Watt_to_Amp_Calculator.html
In a word, 1500 watts + 12.5 Amps. (AC-120 volts-1500 watts-PF=1)

That said, using a 30 amp rated control is fine. It gives you a built in toughness for your load.

Is there a reason you didn't contact SmokinIt to see if you could have just gotten their updated controller?
Although, I probably would have done similar to the way you did it.

I got an Inkbird controller (1000 watts) to use for my Sous Vide crock-pot. And also to use with my MES 30 w/my own bypass for the control relay.
Making my MES 30 (800 watts) work normal, or via cord connected (Inkbird) controller.
My reasoning is for cold smoking heat control below MES's 100° lowest temperature. (Not to point out accuracy issues.)
Allowing me to select 70-80° cold smoking temperature ranges.

Sonny that is great! I had been searching for an alternative to the rewire mod that member TALLBM documented. I’m curious now to find if this DIN300A could be wired similarly to what you have done. I saw the wiring schematic was in the manual provided at the bottom in the link posted here by Bill. Unfortunately I’m more mechanical and less electrical savvy :/

 

[SonnyE]

Sonny that is great! I had been searching for an alternative to the rewire mod that member TALLBM documented. I’m curious now to find if this DIN300A could be wired similarly to what you have done. I saw the wiring schematic was in the manual provided at the bottom in the link posted here by Bill. Unfortunately I’m more mechanical and less electrical savvy :/

Hi Sm0kin,
It's pretty straight forward. The switch simply bypasses the normal MES board control relay, so the element is on at all times. Then the external device can control the MES heating element through the MES cord.
This way the over temperature device is still actively in the control. If we forgot to put the switch back to off, returning control to the MES controller, the heating would be shut off by the over temperature snap disk. This Bypass mod keeps the safety built in unchanged.
I'll be using my modification tonight for a cold smoke of some Flounder.

I have my MES doing a sterilizing run* at 275° for 2 hours right now. (and drying some pellets while it's hot anyway)
Probably the easiest way for most would be to use the piggyback connectors on your switch wires, and put the connectors normally on the relay, onto the piggybacks.

If you need any questions answered, Please feel free to send me a message and we can work through them. Glad to help.

* = daveomak got me doing that. I do a 2 hour after I have the racks cleaned up before putting the MES to bed, and before I have a use planned. Hopefully I'll never have a problem with molds or bacteria.

 

[sm0kin]

I think I’ll go ahead and get one, thanks in advance for the help Sonny!

 

[bill scott]

Thanks for the table, Sonny E, It will come in handy. Yes, I did talk to Steve at Smokin-It. He told me the model I have could not be upgraded to his digital controller. I have had a lot of trouble with built-in temp controllers in the past, so I think having a separate controller is more convenient for me. If it breaks, I'll just get another. I love the smoker.

Sm0kin, the wiring is easy. At lot easier than wiring up one with a separate relay. A couple of words on safety: Solder your 'spliced' wires and cover them up with shrink wrap, and observe the polarity (Hot/Neutral). The small side of the receptacle (Socket) should be wired to the wire the diagram shows as 'L' It did not come with a fuse but I will put one in later. The neutral side is labeled 'N', and of course the 'G' wire should be connected to the ground screw on the bottom of the receptacle.

If you are like me, I can read a schematic diagram pretty well, but when I try to translate to wires and components, sometimes it just doesn't compute.

It helped me to break it up into four separate steps:
1. From the male plug that plugs into the wall receptacle (the power source), run the HOT wire (the smaller blade) to the controller Pin 1 & Pin 3.

2. From the male plug that comes from the wall receptacle, run the NEUTRAL (the larger blade) to the controller Pin 4 and to the larger NEUTRAL blade on the wall socket you will use to supply power to the smoker.

3. Run a wire from the controller Pin 2 to the HOT (small blade) of the wall socket you will use to supply power to the smoker.

4. From the plug that comes from the wall receptacle, run the GROUND wire to the ground screw on wall socket you will use to supply power to the smoker.

The sensor has no polarity. Recheck your work several times before you plug the male plug into your power source.

If anyone sees an error in my description, please respond.

 

[sm0kin]

Thanks Bill, I’m sure that will make sense once I receive the unit. For the record, I have the 1200w element and I ordered the 10a unit. According to Sonny’s link I believe I chose the correct one

 

[bill scott]

I hope so too.

 

[bill scott]

I would like to clarify the model number of this device. It is a DIN300A-30Amp, and not the 10Amp DIN300A

 

[SonnyE]

Thanks Bill, I’m sure that will make sense once I receive the unit. For the record, I have the 1200w element and I ordered the 10a unit. According to Sonny’s link I believe I chose the correct one

That should work. 1200w at 120 VAC is 10 amps.
Personally, I prefer to err to the heavy side.
"That said, using a 30 amp rated control is fine. It gives you a built in toughness for your load."
You're probably fine, Sm0kin.

 

[SonnyE]

I would like to clarify the model number of this device. It is a DIN300A-30Amp, and not the 10Amp DIN300A

Bill,
Could you give a link to your specific controller for us, Please.

If I could justify a smokinit to my needs, I would go to any measures to continue using it.
They look like amazing smokers. :D

 

[bill scott]

I can do better than that. Attached is the PDF of the specific product (if it uploaded it). Or you can go to www.thermomart.com and try to find it. Here is the link on Amazon
I have had the Smokin-It for four or five years. It is an amazing smoker. Also, another thing I like about this company. If you have a question, Steve Lamier answers the phone himself.

 

[sm0kin]

I ordered the 10 amp not knowing any better. If Thermomart can't cancel it, I will have to ship it back and order the 30 amp. Its only 5 bucks more :(

 

[bill scott]

I would, I have both because I made the same mistake, but I decided to keep it for emergencies. I have a relay I can use if I need it. Now I have three. LOL!

 

[SonnyE]

You could use the 10 amp for Sous Vide with an analog crock pot. ;)
Just be aware of the wattage ratings.

I use my Inkbird for both. But my MES 30 is only 800w.

I can do better than that. Attached is the PDF of the specific product (if it uploaded it). Or you can go to www.thermomart.com and try to find it. Here is the link on Amazon
I have had the Smokin-It for four or five years. It is an amazing smoker. Also, another thing I like about this company. If you have a question, Steve Lamier answers the phone himself.

Steve also answers his email before the next day. :cool: ;)

 

[sm0kin]

Bill did you mount the controller in a project enclosure?

 

[bill scott]

Yes, Sm0kin. I chose a larger box for stability and because I had a relay in it before. Pics attached.

 

[sm0kin]

Looks like that suits your needs. I’m going with a much smaller enclosure, and I want to keep the factory plug on my smoker. I guess I need to run a female receptacle out the back. I’ll post up my project when everything arrives. Thanks for the info ;)

 

[bill scott]

Great, sm0kin, let me know how you progress. I would like to see a smoker with a temperature sensor port on the back so you could plug in with the sensor of your choosing.