Stoker idea

moda253 · 01-24-2011, 03:48 PM

I've been thinking about the idea of a stoker for a while but don't want to spend insane amounts of money on it, and today i had an idea. Probably a bad idea but one that I got from homebrewing.

I use an aquarium pump with a hepa filter to oxygenate me unfermented wort. And I got to thinking that the aquarium pump puts out very little air flow. So I was wondering if I might not be able to put a hose barb on the ball valve of my UDS and hook up an aquarium pump. it could run non-stop just like a fan would and it would be a constant air flow. I suppose I could rig up a cheap PID for it too. I like this idea better than flap doors on a fan.

Any thoughts? Is this a dumb idea or what?

btcg · 01-24-2011, 03:52 PM

Before I got my Guru, I had this vision of the fan running constantly, and consistantly.

But after using it, you see that you only get a few short bursts of air from the fan periodically: most of the time the fan is off.

Constant air, IMO, would lead to accelerating heat, not controlled.

Professor Salt · 01-24-2011, 04:39 PM

2x what he said ^^^^^

You'll go broke saving all this money. Just get yourself the real deal.

Panthers65 · 01-24-2011, 04:45 PM

X3, there was one or two homebuild "redneck gurus" on here earlier, but it's not easy to be successful.

righteousdog · 01-24-2011, 04:50 PM

there's something to be said for doing it yourself

would it work?

probably

would it look good?

that's in the eye of the beholder

would it have all the bell's and whistle's

no

you didn't have this epiphany whilst sampling your homebrew did you

moda253 · 01-24-2011, 04:55 PM

Seems to me the idea is limiting the air that you send to the pit. Now 400 bucks is a steep price. I have a pump and I need to get a love pid controller for homebrewing beer anyway. So I'll probably give it a go and see how it works out. But if I could build a controller for the price of a PID and an aquarium pump pffft why not

moda253 · 01-24-2011, 05:00 PM

You make a very good point.

I built my electric boil kettle, a pretty neat thing can bring 12 gallons to boil in ~25 minutes. so I really do enjoy playing with this sort of stuff. The last thing I need is a PID controller for it and I am going to make that control an outlet so that it can be sued with multiple devices. It's a pretty basic concept that just needs to be able to turn something on and off at certain degrees. You are right though no bells and whistles like web monitoring. But that's where linux helps out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by righteousdog

you didn't have this epiphany whilst sampling your homebrew did you

h00kemh0rns · 01-24-2011, 05:04 PM

You don't need to spend $400 for peace of mind and constant temps. Try this:

http://store.pitmasteriq.com/iq110.html

righteousdog · 01-24-2011, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moda253

I really do enjoy playing with this sort of stuff

my point exactly. do what makes you happy

01-24-2011, 03:48 PM	#1
moda253 On the road to being a farker Join Date: 07-17-09 Location: Saint Paul, MN	Stoker idea I've been thinking about the idea of a stoker for a while but don't want to spend insane amounts of money on it, and today i had an idea. Probably a bad idea but one that I got from homebrewing. I use an aquarium pump with a hepa filter to oxygenate me unfermented wort. And I got to thinking that the aquarium pump puts out very little air flow. So I was wondering if I might not be able to put a hose barb on the ball valve of my UDS and hook up an aquarium pump. it could run non-stop just like a fan would and it would be a constant air flow. I suppose I could rig up a cheap PID for it too. I like this idea better than flap doors on a fan. Any thoughts? Is this a dumb idea or what?

01-24-2011, 03:52 PM	#2
btcg Babbling Farker Join Date: 02-28-10 Location: North Potomac, MD	Before I got my Guru, I had this vision of the fan running constantly, and consistantly. But after using it, you see that you only get a few short bursts of air from the fan periodically: most of the time the fan is off. Constant air, IMO, would lead to accelerating heat, not controlled. __________________ Graduate: Jack's Old South BBQ School, Smokin Triggers BBQ School, Paul Kirk BBQ School

01-24-2011, 04:39 PM	#3
Professor Salt is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 01-23-07 Location: Orange County, CA	2x what he said ^^^^^ You'll go broke saving all this money. Just get yourself the real deal. __________________ 1/4 of the Four Q BBQ Team I write for the LA Weekly, OC Weekly and professorsalt.com I cook on two WSM's, 22 1/2" Weber kettle, a Komodo Kamado plus UDS. Super-fast purple Thermapen

01-24-2011, 04:50 PM	#5
righteousdog On the road to being a farker Join Date: 04-15-10 Location: west olive mi	there's something to be said for doing it yourself would it work? probably would it look good? that's in the eye of the beholder would it have all the bell's and whistle's no you didn't have this epiphany whilst sampling your homebrew did you __________________ CGP w/sfb, 275g roaster, 55g wsm knock off (UDS), 16g MUDS, otg, 2x55g UDS, 22.5 WSM

01-24-2011, 04:45 PM	#4
Panthers65 is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 07-13-09 Location: Lilburn, GA	X3, there was one or two homebuild "redneck gurus" on here earlier, but it's not easy to be successful.

01-24-2011, 04:55 PM	#6
moda253 On the road to being a farker Join Date: 07-17-09 Location: Saint Paul, MN	Seems to me the idea is limiting the air that you send to the pit. Now 400 bucks is a steep price. I have a pump and I need to get a love pid controller for homebrewing beer anyway. So I'll probably give it a go and see how it works out. But if I could build a controller for the price of a PID and an aquarium pump pffft why not

01-24-2011, 05:04 PM	#8
h00kemh0rns On the road to being a farker Join Date: 07-30-10 Location: Round Rock, TX	You don't need to spend $400 for peace of mind and constant temps. Try this: http://store.pitmasteriq.com/iq110.html