Will An 1800 Watt Element Be Enough

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JckDanls 07

Legendary Pitmaster
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Sep 10, 2011
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Tampa area, Florida.
In a 30"x30"x48"H smokehouse... Only going to be used for sausage/sticks/summer sausage... So I don't need it to go above 180 dgrees... But I do want it recover quickly after opening the door ...

Reason I'm asking is because Aubers only PnP PID controller with step features is only rated for an 1800 watt element... I am trying to go this route so I don't have to build a controller ...

Otherwise it's build a controller using an external SSR and use a higher wattage element... Or use a couple of elements to get a higher wattage...
 
Just doing the math:

30x30x48 is 25 cubic ft of volume. At 1800 watts that’s 72 watts per cuft

Comparing smokin Tex 1500 runs 249 watts per cuft. This tops out at 300 degrees

The smokehouse big chief has 150 watts per cuft. This hits 165 degrees.

This tells me that you will be a bit lean to hold 180…..
 
This one is plug and play for 220 and 4800 watts and has 6 steps

IMG_0474.jpeg

It will drive 2400 watts on 120v which would be 96 watts per cuft…..to match the smokehouse you will need around 3600 watts ie 220v
 
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You should have brought this up last weekend.
Building another house?
Myself, I would want a dual unit. A maintenance unit on the controller and a separate unit on a 2-5 minute timer for quick recovery.
You have a lot of heat storage in the firebrick and fire plate in your current model. A separate coil above the fire plate would add a quicker recovery of the chamber air.
I purchased a PiD unit last summer, but never got my project finished. I have never used one so new to me in operation.
Unless a PiD does a lot of frequent switching, I'm more inclined to use old school mechanical contactor. Why? They're cheap, run cooler, and very reliable as long as the contacts have a minute or two to cool between cycles. A 40 amp Packard unit is $10 (or was last time I bought one). Sorry, Packard is a Kleenex term for a cube contactor.

Just doing the math:

30x30x48 is 25 cubic ft of volume. At 1800 watts that’s 72 watts per cuft

Comparing smokin Tex 1500 runs 249 watts per cuft. This tops out at 300 degrees

The smokehouse big chief has 150 watts per cuft. This hits 165 degrees.

This tells me that you will be a bit lean to hold 180…..
Don't know anything about Smokin Tex.

The smokehouse Big Chief is basically a non insulated swiss cheese box.
The only way I could get 165° or above was to use a cardboard box on the side walls to block the vents

This one is plug and play for 220 and 4800 watts and has 6 steps

View attachment 709404
It will drive 2400 watts on 120v which would be 96 watts per cuft…..to match the smokehouse you will need around 3600 watts ie 220v
Another option, but I stand by my dual mode concept
 
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I dual unit would be effective as well! Just need enough watts per cuft to get to the proper heat
 
Building another house?

No... Mark is interested since I gave him the stuffer... Plus he has been giving out his sticks and people are wanting more... He says a freind has a grinder..

Unless a PiD does a lot of frequent switching

It does... This is why I use the SSR instead of metal contactor...



This one is plug and play for 220 and 4800 watts and has 6 steps

That's a little pricey.. plus trying to stay away from 220v...

So we'll look into building one like mine... It has 30 steps and uses an SSR... I have 2300 watts worth of elements on it...
 
No... Mark is interested since I gave him the stuffer... Plus he has been giving out his sticks and people are wanting more... He says a freind has a grinder..



It does... This is why I use the SSR instead of metal contactor...





That's a little pricey.. plus trying to stay away from 220v...

So we'll look into building one like mine... It has 30 steps and uses an SSR... I have 2300 watts worth of elements on it...
You can buy the two probe PID (in the plug and play above) for your build, it is model SMD-200D it is 80bills. However, it you want wifi control you need to 30 step one
 
This is the one I have... For SSR's.. I beleive we will probably go with it...


Unless wifi is wanted... then we would go with this one..

 
In a 30"x30"x48"H smokehouse... Only going to be used for sausage/sticks/summer sausage... So I don't need it to go above 180 dgrees... But I do want it recover quickly after opening the door ...

Reason I'm asking is because Aubers only PnP PID controller with step features is only rated for an 1800 watt element... I am trying to go this route so I don't have to build a controller ...

Otherwise it's build a controller using an external SSR and use a higher wattage element... Or use a couple of elements to get a higher wattage...
I use an 1800 w in mine, and it works fine, however my smokehouse is well insulated.

HT
 
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This is the one I have... For SSR's.. I beleive we will probably go with it...


Unless wifi is wanted... then we would go with this one..

on eBay for 30 bucks
 
This is the one I have... For SSR's.. I beleive we will probably go with it...


Unless wifi is wanted... then we would go with this one..

I use the first one in my knife heat treat oven it works really well. The benefit to using this one.
is you can have the food temp in (a function) your step, ie, once the food product reaches a set temp then the camber temp can react.

I am looking at using this one in an electric smoker I'm table toping right now, and this function is what I want to have "a pork shoulder" hit temp then I have to oven drop to 145 degrees to hold.....

I will add that I really want wifi connective so that limits to the 1800 watts and the P&P because they don't have at two probe PID that is wifi other than the P&P.....ps sorry for the highjack....

I use an 1800 w in mine, and it works fine, however my smokehouse is well insulated.

HT
Would you mind sharing the inside dimensions, and "how" its insulated. As I am sitting on the same place that JCKD is so I would love to have some details on your smoke house to have a watts per cuft in the real world sense.
 
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This is getting my creative juices rolling for controlling a smoker.
My (MN) garage project is making a smokehouse from a rescued Westinghouse fridge.

Sustain wattage will vary greatly between Idaho, Minnesota (summer residence), and Florida/Texas. Insulation is a big factor as you noted Courtney. Ambient temperature is the part that also dictates the perimeters

This is my thoughts for controlling an air chamber temperature recovery element
Auber Universal
 
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This seems to be alot of good information. Im gathering information to build something. Ill be filling up with some more questions.
 
This is getting my creative juices rolling for controlling a smoker.
My (MN) garage project is making a smokehouse from a rescued Westinghouse fridge.

Sustain wattage will vary greatly between Idaho, Minnesota (summer residence), and Florida/Texas. Insulation is a big factor as you noted Courtney. Ambient temperature is the part that also dictates the perimeters

This is my thoughts for controlling an air chamber temperature recovery element
Auber Universal
John for a constant temp controller that is a nice cost effective PID.
 
I use the first one in my knife heat treat oven it works really well. The benefit to using this one.
is you can have the food temp in (a function) your step, ie, once the food product reaches a set temp then the camber temp can react.

I am looking at using this one in an electric smoker I'm table toping right now, and this function is what I want to have "a pork shoulder" hit temp then I have to oven drop to 145 degrees to hold.....

I will add that I really want wifi connective so that limits to the 1800 watts and the P&P because they don't have at two probe PID that is wifi other than the P&P.....ps sorry for the highjack....


Would you mind sharing the inside dimensions, and "how" its insulated. As I am sitting on the same place that JCKD is so I would love to have some details on your smoke house to have a watts per cuft in the real world sense.
It is a used proofing cabinet, stainless steel insulated probably 1-1/2". I'll measure it for ya. Here is a picture of it also.
60081441711__3C34EE42-A00B-435A-9EF3-71A5D98943A1.JPG
 
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