Upgraded my 1400 to a Digital temperature controller

[BirdDog]

This is what these ovens need. I can now hold a 10 degree heat range as opposed to a 85+ degree with the OEM controller. Cost was aprox. 100 dollars. This controller is a must for fish and jerky. No more radical temp swings (125-210f with jerky). Now I can hover the temps around 170f for fish and 160f for jerky.

[ctimmer]

Can you give us more details about your upgrade?

Thanks,
Curt

[Magers]

Birddog - I'm interested in your mod. Do you have details that you can share? I'd like to do the same with my 1400.

Thanks

jba@comcast.net

[Tampasteve]

This might be a interesting subject for the ST folks to look into. I'm interested....And thanks for your input....Steve

[jamsweb]

Hi,
I would also like more detail on the upgrade for the theromstat. The temp control has been a real bug a boo for me with a lot of failures. Hubby is not happy. Need part number, proceedures. Looks like you could start a nice garage business with this.
JoAnn Mantych (JAMSWEB)

[kerrys]

I would love some info on this procedure!! T. Stat model number?

[pavirgil]

7776 this is my version of a digital control. Auburn PID controller with a solid state relay. works great and very small fluctuation in temp cost was about $100.00. the solid state relay and heat sink are mounted on the rear of the smoker

[BillyBob]

pavirgil...can you give more info on the installation and where you got it???

BillyBob

[pavirgil]

Hi Billybob, I got everything from auberins.com best price on the pid controller I could find
pid controller p/n (syl-2352) ssr control output
ssr 25a p/n (rs1a40d25)
heat sink for 25a ssr p/n (hs25)
thermocouple 4" probe 3ft cable option p/n (tc-k3mm)
project box for pid controller 1/16 p/n (cptbox16)
I used the heat sink for the the solid state relay (SSR) even though it is putting out 7 amps (actually less than that) just to keep it cool. this setup has been working very well for me I have had my smokin tex for years and it is great.
You can down load the instructions for the pid controller and ssr if you need any help let me know. I also added a on/off switch where the old thermostat was located

[Woodys]

I don't know, instead of all that work, I'd just use a BBQ Guru. More features, like cook and hold, and timer. Doesn't cost that much more, and no messing with the smoker or possibly voiding the warranty.

[pavirgil]

Woodys, my 1400 is many years past warranty. The reason I moded my 1400 was that the original temp control had gone out. Smokin Tex has the best products out there in my opinion and would not have even thought of trying to fix something that worked.
Now as far as the price of the bbq guru don't forget to add the power raptor to your control, and you will still have to rewire it to take the factory thermostat out. so min price would be 237.93 shipped to my house. If I were to use what they recomended it would come to 301.93 delivered. The whole project took me about 1 to 1.5 hours to complete. Now I guess you could say that a Porshe cost is just a little more than a Kia,

[Woodys]

Why would you have to rewire anything? I just put my thermostat on to the highest setting and let it go, the guru takes care of everything, but to be honest, I hardly ever use the guru with an electric. I usually just set the temp and let it go till it's done. I am talking out of my butt though as I just got my 1500CXLD last week. I use the guru on my Big Green Egg and Cookshack Smokette. Haven't plugged the 1500 in to it yet. Is it different than using it on the smokette?

If you're way past warranty, I guess it makes sense to mod it, but I wouldn't change it just for the sake of having digital. I'm a Luddite anyway, I like the dial.

[pavirgil]

If you leave the old thermostat in line and want to bring your digital to 250 deg then you will have the same temp swings you may have been trying to avoid' just saying.If you are going to spend that much money why would you leave the old sysem in? That would not make it a redundant system

[BillyBob]

'Woodys...How would you use a Guru with the 1400? I use it with some of my other smokers...but not with the ST 1400.

BillyBob

[Woodys]

Billybob, you need the power raptor for the guru and you plug the 1400 into the raptor. The guru cycles it on and off.

PA, I see what you mean, but that would only happen at 250*. Any less and the guru moderates it. On the cyberq you can custom set the swing range.

Swings are meaningless anyway, it is the average over many hours that matters for the most part.

[tbandcq4u]

Me too!... The photo of the controller does not display a brand, model etc... could you possibly provide that info and where you purchased it. I went to a local store and the owner was definately opinionated regarding wood vs electric so he was not much help.

[tbandcq4u]

Smokin Tex if you are listening..... there is obviously a market need for more precise temp control on your retail somkers! Are you working on it?

[ctimmer]

Me too!... The photo of the controller does not display a brand, model etc... could you possibly provide that info and where you purchased it. I went to a local store and the owner was definately opinionated regarding wood vs electric so he was not much help.

You might try a google search on 'smokintex mods'. Could find something useful there.

Curt

[admin]

Yes we are listening and will continue to listen.
As to the question concerning tighter temp control. You first need to understand our position and what we’ve found in our testing.
The questions we have to answer are: does our smoker produce good product at a reasonable price and meet our needs as an ongoing business.
Currently we provide the longest and strongest warranty in the business and we back that up with our actions. We are more than reasonably priced initially and the parts that may eventually need to be replaced, the heating element and thermostat, are available from us at $29.95 each. They fit our original smokers as well as our current smokers. This continued support is important to us and, I believe, our customers.
When we make changes we have to consider everything and the changes impact on a lot of factors.
1. Purchase Price. Can we maintain our price? Going digital will cost a lot more. A competitor of ours recently went all digital and raised the price of their smokers to almost twice what the analog version was priced at. More recently they have had to reintroduce an old design analog smoker.
2. Warranty. If you look at warranties on digital for outdoor products you’ll see that no one does a two year warranty. We couldn’t continue ours in the same way either.
3. Cost of repairs. Where the current temperature control cost our customers $29.95 to replace the digital control will cost more, probably a lot more. In addition, we suspect the effect on the heating elements from a tighter temp control will shorten their life span.
4. What do we gain? While there are some benefits to some people we have to come back to will this produce a better product than we currently get from our smokers? The answer from our customers, for the most part, is that the current controls provide a good consistent product at a reasonable cost. They like what our smokers do.
Are we going to have smokers with a tighter temp control thru digital? The answer is yes. But it will be more expensive all the way around and the warranty will be different. Will we get rid of the current system? No. It provides a great consistent product at a fair price, both initially and ongoing.
We will continue to listen to our customers but please consider everything we need to take into account before we make any kind of change.

[pavirgil]

the p/n's for the controller and ssr are on a previous post

[AceofSpd]

I just completed this upgrade to my 10 year old 1400. I ordered the PID from aubin. I got the controller with the built in relay along with the 4 inch prob. Cost around $65 with shipping. After running the set up program, the smoker maintained within 1 degree. Problem was that the element was never on long enough to keep the wood lit, not even at start up. I switched to the manual control with a 5 degree differential. This still did not maintain control within 20 degrees. Next I moved the prob from a sticking strait out of the back to a mount that I could attach to the cooking grates, up near the food. This worked great and keeps the temp within 10 degrees either way, and I could lower the differential even more but I am worried about keeping the wood lit. I am going to try a combination of chips or smaller pieces.

NOTE Before upgrading, try relocating your temperature prob. I believe that the proximity to the steel wall and the wood bin, cause the actual temperature to decrease as the prob gets hotter. The insulation and low air flow add to the effect. The result is the smoker keeps getting cooler, causing your times to increase and drying out the meat.