Smoker Grill Temp controller Project - Raspberry Pi

[denverstone]

Well While I'm waiting for the Coops to start up..... I have found something to satisfy my erg to build things.....
I love grilling but it takes sooo much time and I always have to start grilling the day before then reheat the day of..... The goal would be to put the meat on (brisket - slow smoke stuff)  before going to bed the night before and let it smoke all night, the problem is there is a fair amount of adjusting of the flaps to keep that perfect 225deg smoking temperature....so I started reading..... I found to temp controllers that cost in the neighborhood of $300-$400 WAY to expensive for a DIY guy like me.... but I did find a site that uses an old router and a custom board to control grills.... pretty cool... kept reading and they have a new version (4.0) that uses a raspberry Pi  (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login) and a DIY board that I can build for much less... approx $130 + plus the joy of building it myself..... anyway, just thought I would share in case anyone else was bored waiting for the Coops to start

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I also on a side note think the RaspberryPi could be integrated into our equipment for blinky flashy pretty easily..... but someone smarter than me will have to look into that, and with the conductor now, it may not be needed... but the RPi only cost $35 assembled and is basically a PC the size of a credit card.......

[sebjsan]

These are used a lot with great results.
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[Night Owl]

I use the PartyQ

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It consists of a controller with a 6.5 CFM fan and a temp probe.  I use a Weber kettle.  Close the lower dampers and crack the top vent.  When the heat drops below the set point, the fan kicks on and puts some air in the kettle.  Fan shuts off and the system monitors the temp.  If it is still too low, the fan goes on again and shuts off.  I haven't tried it overnight, but I have used it for 8 hour runs and it held the temp exactly where I wanted it. 

It doesn't do all the things that the HeaterMeter is supposed to do, but I just wanted to to maintain the temp so I wouldn't have to babysit the smoker all day.  I already have a wireless thermometer and I don't go too far away from the smoker anyway.  Too paranoid something will catch fire. 

[chrisatpsu]

all this talk is making me hungry for ribs...

[arw01]

Traeger man myself..  had the kid toss some frozen chicken breasts on last week at 3:00, put it smoke.  Peeled them apart about 5:30, stuffed a temp probe in them, turned up the heat a bit to 300.  About 6 something they hit 155.. 

There were no left overs and I didn't even BBQ sauce them or put a single spice until they hit the plates .

[wildwillie]

Hmmm... it's got my attention!    Sounds like an interesting project. Checking your smoker and getting e-mail that your BBQ was done on your smart phone would just be too cool. And I thought OnStar was neat......