Anyone here use their casting PID for controlling a smoker fan? Just got a smoker for Christmas & I already want to accessorize it.
Anyone here use their casting PID for controlling a smoker fan? Just got a smoker for Christmas & I already want to accessorize it.
Don't use the same controller for your smoker! They are dirt cheap. Get another one if you wish to mess with a fan. But the fan you have in there is probably a shaded pole motor and will NOT work with variable voltage. All you will do is burn out the fan motor. If an elecric smoker like I have, you can put the controller in charge of the heating element. But I would not wast time. My smoker already has an excellent digital controller on the temp.....(within 2F).
You cannot PID-control the speed of an induction type motor.....only brush type AC/DC motors.
You might be able to use on-off control from the PID controller on a fan like that. Just buy another controller and SSR and try it. Remember the moder PID controllers use fuzzy logic to "learn" the process control. SWappign it out/moving it just confuses it and takes unneeded time re-learning the new process parameters.
Hey anyone can afford $35!
Banger
I do use a different probe for my smoker than the one I use in my melting pot - no fan in mine, just the heat control.
Works good.
Thanks for the replies Banger & Morgan 61. I've been looking at what others on the web have been doing. They typically use the PID on/off circuit to control a 12v DC computer fan or such. This is for Kamado style smokers (not electric). I was figuring on using a wall wart plugged into my PID. I have spare probes but I did not think about the learning/relearning process of the PID.
Banger is correct that most PIDs autotune to the device they are controlling.
PIDs do not vary the voltage to the device they are controlling.
Basically its just a ON/OFF switch.
You use a Solid State Relay (SSR) because the MTBF (mean time before failure) is normally between in excess of 50 million operations
Compared to a standard relay which under load could fail as soon as 100K cycles.
Now you are thinking 100K cycles is a lot but in reality if we say you use your casting pot 1 day a week for 8 hrs every week and we say for discussion that after initial heat, it cycles once per min of use (to maintain heat). Then after 4 years of use your relay will fail.
A SSR will fail in 2000 years.... LOL
Keep in mind that it cycles a lot more then just once per minute.
I worked in the HVAC industry for 15 years supplying SSR to customers and techs.
Unless they got hit by a surge, I have only replaced 1 or 2 in my time because they stopped working.
I have supplied piles of standard relays.
The PID's I use provide a fixed voltage to the SSR (24vdc) even though the SSR can operate normaly between 3vdc and 30 vdc.
I use mine on a smoker but it controls the heating element. I don't bother this time of year because the smoker barely makes temp as it is. I have the P, I and D values written down for the smoker and lead pot. Takes a few seconds to change them manually when switching between the two. It goes w/out saying that they have dedicated thermocouples.
Sig, if you need a Thermocouple for your project, I got a bunch of wrong temp ones (for my applications) and I can send you one for shipping cost.
Its 4 inch and rated for 752F.
That should be hotter then your smoker will be.
CHARLES
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |