BBQ-Me-Up_Scotty
New member
I got my Model #2 on August 13 and did my first cook August 16 after assembling the cart and arranging things on my covered patio so the smoker cord would reach my outdoor GFI outlet. Over the course of several more cooks after that, during which I monitored both meat and cabinet temperatures with my Thermoworks Smoke, I decided I wanted an Auber PID to avoid the rather large temperature swings inherent in the #2's analog control system.
My Auber AW-1520-H arrived last week, and I got it set up last weekend. The wifi connection was a problem at first because my Netgear router automatically assigns a frequency based on the signal strength available at a device's location, and my #2 is only about 25-30 feet from the router, so the Auber wasn't getting wifi connection on the 2.4 GHz channel. I solved that problem by setting up a guest network on the router that only works on the 2.4 GHz channel and connecting the Auber to that network.
Even with the stock Bradley PID settings, the Auber held the smoker within 10̊ to 15̊ of the set temperature during a cook this past Monday.
Late this afternoon I got around to doing an auto-tune. The smoker temperature probe was clipped on the next-to-highest rack level several inches away from a standard metal loaf pan filled with damp sand. The #2 analog control has not been bypassed and was set at maximum. Auto-tuning began at 4:30 p.m. and ended about 8 p.m. The average ambient outdoor temperature during that time was 65̊. I used the recommended program: (1) 140̊ for 30 minutes, (2) 225̊ for 2 hours, and (3) 140̊ for 1 hour. Results were:
P – 80
I – 886
D – 221
I will update this post when I have time to do another cook using the Auber – probably early next week – with information about how well the Auber manages cabinet temperature with these PID settings.
Comment on the Auber smartphone app: I saw some older posts criticizing the Auber app. I found that the current Auber app for Android phones is intuitive and very easy to use. It enabled me to set up the auto-tune session very quickly. I plan to use it to set up all my smoking projects going forward. I can't speak to the iPhone version, but I assume it is equally good.
Steve Scott
in Columbia, Mo.
My Auber AW-1520-H arrived last week, and I got it set up last weekend. The wifi connection was a problem at first because my Netgear router automatically assigns a frequency based on the signal strength available at a device's location, and my #2 is only about 25-30 feet from the router, so the Auber wasn't getting wifi connection on the 2.4 GHz channel. I solved that problem by setting up a guest network on the router that only works on the 2.4 GHz channel and connecting the Auber to that network.
Even with the stock Bradley PID settings, the Auber held the smoker within 10̊ to 15̊ of the set temperature during a cook this past Monday.
Late this afternoon I got around to doing an auto-tune. The smoker temperature probe was clipped on the next-to-highest rack level several inches away from a standard metal loaf pan filled with damp sand. The #2 analog control has not been bypassed and was set at maximum. Auto-tuning began at 4:30 p.m. and ended about 8 p.m. The average ambient outdoor temperature during that time was 65̊. I used the recommended program: (1) 140̊ for 30 minutes, (2) 225̊ for 2 hours, and (3) 140̊ for 1 hour. Results were:
P – 80
I – 886
D – 221
I will update this post when I have time to do another cook using the Auber – probably early next week – with information about how well the Auber manages cabinet temperature with these PID settings.
Comment on the Auber smartphone app: I saw some older posts criticizing the Auber app. I found that the current Auber app for Android phones is intuitive and very easy to use. It enabled me to set up the auto-tune session very quickly. I plan to use it to set up all my smoking projects going forward. I can't speak to the iPhone version, but I assume it is equally good.
Steve Scott
in Columbia, Mo.
