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Auber PID Controllers => Auber PID Tips and Tricks => Topic started by: mnsmoker on February 09, 2014, 09:15:01 AM

Title: temp probe placement
Post by: mnsmoker on February 09, 2014, 09:15:01 AM
Ordered my #2 on Saturday as soon as the smoker and controller arrive will be bypassing stock controller and doing cord mods. I also want to permanently mount the probe. I was wondering if anyone has done this and if so whats the best spot for this.
Title: Re: temp probe placement
Post by: Three Sons BBQ on February 09, 2014, 09:24:46 AM
I have not done this.

I may suggest o hold off on permanently mounting until you get a feel for it. For example, the stock temp probe if used with a water pan gets faked as the heat travels up the back and ultimately grate temp varies from stock controller temp by quite a bit.

I have found I like the flexibility to always put the Auber probe at the grate... No fluctuations or guess work.

Just a thought....
Title: Re: temp probe placement
Post by: Wik on February 11, 2014, 07:20:04 PM
I also like to put the probe on the rack where the meat is (not to close to the meat as there is a blanket of cold air there).  I've also noticed a small difference in degrees from lowest rack to highest rack.  That being said being from a cold climate the Auber might actually have an easier time maintaining temps if it was closer to the bottom since we tend to pull in some damn cold temps this time of year.  And since Heat rises / Cold stays lower, by the time my probe on the rack senses a difference it is already time to "Catch-Up" I presume.  However I have my Auber working within 1-2 degrees of the set point after auto-tuning it.

Here is the link where I posted how I mount it to the racks, but other approaches with a block of wood or tin foil would be just as good (and cheaper).
http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1292.0 (http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1292.0)

Cheers, Wik
Title: Re: temp probe placement
Post by: DivotMaker on February 11, 2014, 08:21:13 PM
Hey Jim,  I've been doing a little research on the Auber probes lately, and am convinced that the only way to permanently mount one is to use their permanent mount probe (order from Auber).  Their probe has a thermoplastic insulating base to it, and the size of the probe is designed for permanent mounting.  The insulating base eliminates a problem common to the double-wall stainless smokers - the wall heat-sink effect.  If you mount a metal probe to the sidewall, the temp it reads will generally be lower than the actual box temp, due to the heat-sink effect of the sidewalls.  Here's a screenshot from the Auber site. 

Anyone have one of these?
Title: Re: temp probe placement
Post by: benjammn on February 12, 2014, 12:07:06 AM
Tony my thoughts exactly.