Why Not a Real Temp-Regulator?

[ronboc]

I'm going to admit I'm new here, so please bear with me.  Maybe this was answered already but I didn't see anything in a search.

I have a Brinkman bullet smoker that I just couldn't get the hang-of, so I switched to a propane smoker to get a better/lower temp regulating when needed.  In-depth analysis (partly from the 'depths' of a few cold ones 

  ) made me realize the temp-regulation is just a On-Off thermostat... when it gets hot, it cuts off - and shuts down the heat completely and the wood starts to cool off.  When it calls for heat, the element gets kicked on full-heat - and starts the wood going again.  But then cuts off once more when everything gets back to high-temp.

My propane smoker has a valve that adjusts the flame... you want more heat/smoke and you turn it up and when you want less and you turn it down.  All the while, the burner is providing 'some' amount of heat to keep the chips/chunks/pellets going and not stopping/starting over at each cycle.  Much more consistent.

Did I miss something that does this already?  A simple switching regulated supply is all that's needed.

 

[tallbm]

 
I'm going to admit I'm new here, so please bear with me.  Maybe this was answered already but I didn't see anything in a search.

I have a Brinkman bullet smoker that I just couldn't get the hang-of, so I switched to a propane smoker to get a better/lower temp regulating when needed.  In-depth analysis (partly from the 'depths' of a few cold ones 

  ) made me realize the temp-regulation is just a On-Off thermostat... when it gets hot, it cuts off - and shuts down the heat completely and the wood starts to cool off.  When it calls for heat, the element gets kicked on full-heat - and starts the wood going again.  But then cuts off once more when everything gets back to high-temp.

My propane smoker has a valve that adjusts the flame... you want more heat/smoke and you turn it up and when you want less and you turn it down.  All the while, the burner is providing 'some' amount of heat to keep the chips/chunks/pellets going and not stopping/starting over at each cycle.  Much more consistent.

Did I miss something that does this already?  A simple switching regulated supply is all that's needed.

I think you have come to a pretty good conclusion.  The only thing you need to consider is that you would need to rewire the Brinkman so that such a controller regulates the electricity from the wall outlet straight to the heating element.

I believe that @DaveOmak  has done such a  thing so if he chimes in you can get some good info directly from the source :)

 

[shyzabrau]

Of course it is possible, and several people have put together digital propane controllers.

 

[ronboc]

Thanks for the quick reply.  Yeah, that's where i'm thinking.  Something like a lite-dimmer in the house idea... but obviously something that can handle the additional current. 

Technically, likely a pulse-width-modulator (PWM) circuit that would provide 'bursts' of full 120vac as needed - the more bursts of full-power over a short period of time (usually milliseconds),  the hotter it becomes. And so on for the reverse.  That way, it keeps some heat on the element continuously and not just kicking on and off every couple minutes.  May have to get to work on that.  But what with fishing trips, days at the beach, and so on, my day gets full pretty-fast. 

Would definitely love to hear from Dave, and compare notes.

 

[shyzabrau]

Wait. Are you looking to regulate propane or just an electric heater?

 

[ronboc]

Oh yeah, sorry.  I guess that got confusing.  

 

I'm trying to resurrect my Brinkman electric bullet into something more useful.  I hate to have to look at it all time just sitting there under a tarp, when I think it could use just a little more help.  Like I heard someone say recently:  "Never stop fixing it until it's really broken".

 

[shyzabrau]

Yeah, you can get a PID controller with a solid state relay. You can use it with on/off control on a short cycle or with a proportional output, with or without the PID control. I do that with my mash tun and hot liquor tank on my homebrew (beer) system.