My homemade digital temperature controller!

[reinhart36]

Greetings all,

I got my large BGE in 2010, and have loved it and used it extensively. I wanted a temperature controller so I could do other things (such as sleep) while smoking or drying things.

I've chipped away at a few iterations of one over the last couple of years, and am now completely finished.

Check out this video of it in use:

https://vimeo.com/90480641

Please let me know what you guys think!

thanks,
Eric

[aris]

Nice idea. I've seen similar for a UDS where it uses a servo to open and close the air-flow to the vents.

Is this a commercial idea, or are you open-sourcing it?

[reinhart36]

Nice idea. I've seen similar for a UDS where it uses a servo to open and close the air-flow to the vents.

Is this a commercial idea, or are you open-sourcing it?

Hi Aris,

So far, it's neither. It is sort of a hobby project that spiraled out of control. I've been excited to show it around and get some feedback or suggestions, but it took me a while to make a worthy video.

What is a UDS?

thanks,
Eric

[robgunby]

Good work dude! I'd not considered a passive auto regulator (as opposed to forced air).

UDS is short for Ugly Drum Smoker, and refers to smokers home made out of an oil drum. They have ball valve taps to control airflow so would work with a rig similar to yours.

[aris]

I'm tinkering with a controller myself - still incomplete. I'm using arduino. What algorithm did you use to keep the temperatures steady? A standard PID?

[reinhart36]

@robgunby - thanks! I appreciate the clarification too. I've seen pictures of the setups you're talking about but never knew the name.

@Aris - It is strongly rooted in PID, but there are a great deal of heuristics that needed to be baked into it for excellent robustness, and "fool proofing." You'll find out what I'm talking about when you get into it.

Thanks for the interest and questions. Aris, keep me posted on your progress and let me know of any detailed questions you may have.

[robgunby]

I'm intrigued aris, following a conversation down the pub with an electrical engineer chum about the possibility of building one of these.

What part does the arduino play? I got the impression from matey that, at the most basic, a unit to do this (with forced air) would need a PID unit, a fan, some ducting and a power pack. I'm interested in your more technical sounding jiggery pokery!

[aris]

Arduino is basically an interface to an ATMEGA micro-controller - but made easier to use for the layman. As it is programmable, it can incorporate a PID which is basically just an algorithm. I am finding the PID difficult to tune for BBQ purposes though so for the moment have just settled on a simple thermostat type algorithm with a few tweaks. Now that BBQ season is upon us, i'll have more opportunity to experiment.

[robgunby]

I've gotcha (I think - I tend to leave such matters to the experts!). So, the arduino isn't strictly necessary for a PID controlled setup, but provides an easy to use interface for the control of said PID unit?

[aris]

I've gotcha (I think - I tend to leave such matters to the experts!). So, the arduino isn't strictly necessary for a PID controlled setup, but provides an easy to use interface for the control of said PID unit?

Not quite - think of the Arduino as a very low powered computer with interfaces to control both analogue and digital devices (think temperature sensors, or relay switch). It is not a general purpose computer like your PC - more like an embedded computer you might find in a household appliance. Once it is programmed, it does one thing - and one thing only, over and over and over.