Ranco Controller for a smoker?

[bwarbiany]

I was recommending a Ranco controller to a friend that needs to keep a water bath at 110 deg F for making yogurt, and in doing so perused the spec page for the Ranco controller. It appears to have a set point up to 220 deg F.

I immediately thought of this: Alton Brown Terracotta Smoker

Any reason I wouldn't want to use this as a controller?

[jward]

At that temp you would be fine. You probably still want a SS thermo well. I doubt the Ranco probe can be placed in water. Have you considered a submersible aquarium water heater? I always liked Eheim products for quality plus their water heaters stay where you set them.

[bwarbiany]

Sorry... I guess I wasn't clear.

The other guy would potentially use it for yogurt.

*I* would be trying to use it as the temp control for a smoker. The output would go to a hot plate with a pan full of wood chips on the top of it, and the temperature would probably be set somewhere in the 210 deg F range. Essentially the purpose would be to automate the temp control for smoking pork over a 10-12 hour time frame without having to manually control it.

I worry about two things:

1) The ability of the probe to deal with both the heat and the smoke.
2) Whether or not alternating on/off on a hot plate would keep the wood continually smoking, rather than using a lower power setting for the hot plate and keeping it constantly turned on.

[backyard brewer]

I worry about two things:

1) The ability of the probe to deal with both the heat and the smoke.
2) Whether or not alternating on/off on a hot plate would keep the wood continually smoking, rather than using a lower power setting for the hot plate and keeping it constantly turned on.

Both good points. I wouldn't choose a Ranco for this. I also don't think the onboard relay could handle 1000 watts for long, but I'd have to look up the specs again for that.

I think you'd be better off with a generic PID controller and a thermocouple. If there is a spike in temp, it won't destroy your sensor like would happen with thermistor from a Ranco. The PID can also 'throttle' the element to provide more consistent heat. Thermocouples can withstand temperatures in the thousands so that wouldn't be an issue.

I didn't get a chance to read the whole article, but an intriguing project.

[brahn]

Have you registered SmokersHardware.com yet?

[backyard brewer]

Have you registered SmokersHardware.com yet?

hehehehe not yet.

Reading through a lot of people's comments on that blog, it looks like the element dies with regularity. I wonder if one of those electric briquette starters might not make a good element. Probably way to hot on it's own, but PID controlled it would probably work great. I think fitment would be the issue if anything.

[bwarbiany]

Okay, sounds like it's not worth it. Given the rarity I plan to use a smoker, if I do build it I'll probably just stick with manual control (at least until I've finished all my other projects -- i.e. brew sculpture fitted for NG) for now...

[backyard brewer]

Yeah, it definitely has the coolness of the DIY factor but at the end of the day, probably much better off with a real smoker. I plan on retiring the one I have and buying a 'real' one pretty soon. I probably use my smoker as often as I use my grill. There is nothing like pulled pork that's been on for 8+ hours.... MMmmmmmmmmmmmm pulllllled.... pork.....

I think Brewers Hardware needs BGE for R&D work...