Post your live HeaterMeter Cooks


 

T. Stinnett

New member
Bryan started a thread a few months back here: http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?42779-Post-your-HeaterMeter-graphs for users to post their cook graphs using the Heater Meter.

Many months back when I was thinking about biting the bullet and someone posted a live link to their current cook and I was mesmerized for hours. Instantly sold.

I'd like to start this thread to take it one step further and allow Heater Meter users to share their live cooks, and also let those that have yet to build one get feel for the great interface that Bryan has put together.


Details of todays cook:

9 pound Pork Shoulder my neighbor brought over and wanted cooked after I teased him with samples of previous cooks.
Being cooked on a UDS, HeaterMeter 4.0, rPi Model A
PID settings: B=4 P=3 I=.005 D=20
Min Fan 5, Max Fan 35% (Not using the fan from the build)
Typically use Royal Oak lump charcoal, today using Kingsford Blue briquettes mixed with the remnants of yesterdays lump cook.
It's windy with rain/thunderstorms expected most of the afternoon/evening.
Plan on foiling at 160 until done.

Link Here: http://24.159.18.78:8080/luci

Picture of my setup here as it's running now with my Heater Meter ziplocked, tupperwared and hiding out under my gas grill cover to stay out of the weather. Also note the custom wind shield for the fan.

rfqc.jpg
 
Last edited:
Great idea to start a live cooks thread...

I am still jealous of your very cool looking graph, I love the realistic flames and the black background! I never cared much for the blue overlay, it just seemed to dull things out IMHO... I managed to steal your fire3 image (sorry for doing that without asking first) but editing the page is another story. I would have no problem editing the HTML but it is in the hidden folder that can't be seen in windows, and I am not up to speed enough on ssh and linux to upload and download files, and don't have a linux machine up and running at the moment where I could have easy access to the hidden folders. I was hoping perhaps Bryan would integrate your updated graphics into a future HM release so I wouldn't have to go through setting up a linux machine to work on this??? If not I guess I am gonna have to dig in and go for it, cause I really like the look you've got going on there... If you have any pointers on getting this done (did you use ssh or connect the SD card to a linux machine?) they would be appreciated (sorry to bring this up in your live cook thread, if you have tips to share and would prefer to add them into the thread about customizing the interface that would be cool)
 
Last edited:
I love it! Thanks so much for doing this! I've thought about making one and it was nice seeing the interface. Totally awesome.

I like how you can immediately tell when you foiled it lol
 
Well I have all night......low and slow it will be lol

As for the Temp changes, I too was wondering this morning about it. I have the blower going into the drum with a Ball valve in-between. I had a mark on it, that when set to that mark it would starve the UDS just enough that the fan would just come on, once a minute or two. Today im using a pit probe I have not used in a long time, I did check it prior to make sure it works and seemed to work fine. Also im using two brand new et-732 probes on the meat. I also checked those too and one was off about 3 degrees at boiling and the other was 2 off.

Later I might go back to my old pit probe, atm it is my Ambient temp probe, lol.
 
Last edited:
Cookin' a 5lb butt today for dinner. Got started a little late because I was doing an Unknown Probe on the thermoworks probe in the grill and had to clean up and reset. Wrapped a Maverick and the thermoworks in a giant sausage made from rice and aluminum foil and put them on the grill at ~550F. Waited for them to heat up and and started the automatic deal, closed off the grill and went to bed. This morning I woke up with nice fresh coefficients. So confident am I that I am using the thermoworks probe as my Pit probe today.

http://home.capnbry.net:22675/luci

I'm running a bit high because I managed to melt my servo damper last night when searing steaks at 650F. The screw that I used to mount the damper got hot enough that the plastic deformed so it's no longer getting a good seal with the cardboard that holds it in place.
 
Short ribs are on with version 2 of my prototype air burner. Very strange today when I plugged the box in, it said that pit temp was 0 degrees despite not having a probe plugged in. When I did get a probe in, the fan didn't go on, the PID's didn't move, nothing. Rebooted....nothing. Rebooted AVR....nothing... Re-flashed AVR....nothing. Changed the set-point on the grill from 225 to 350 and everything magically came to life. Changed it back to 225, everything seems to be hunky dory.

Also trying a new charcoal burning method. The rock in the center of the grill with the coals "fused" around just didn't seem to be helping things so I took it out. I filled up the bowl with lump leaving room in the middle for some lit coals from a chimney. Things are going a LOT smoother now and the HM hasn't had to do almost any work yet. I guess I should have learned to use the WSM first, then applied the tech.

It is currently a little hot, but I am okay with that...

Edit: About to pull the plug, but here was the day. Ribs were great.

BBQ-20131020-ShortRibs.jpg
 
Last edited:
Short ribs are on with version 2 of my prototype air burner. Very strange today when I plugged the box in, it said that pit temp was 0 degrees despite not having a probe plugged in. When I did get a probe in, the fan didn't go on, the PID's didn't move, nothing. Rebooted....nothing. Rebooted AVR....nothing... Re-flashed AVR....nothing. Changed the set-point on the grill from 225 to 350 and everything magically came to life
You were in manual mode for some reason. When in manual mode, the device shows a temperature no matter what. The web UI still shows the automatic setpoint because there's nothing sent from HeaterMeter to indicate it is in manual mode. The only way to tell is if you look at the LCD where the output percentage is, it has ^ ^ around it instead of [ ]. Setting a setpoint takes it back to automatic mode.
 
You were in manual mode for some reason. When in manual mode, the device shows a temperature no matter what. The web UI still shows the automatic setpoint because there's nothing sent from HeaterMeter to indicate it is in manual mode. The only way to tell is if you look at the LCD where the output percentage is, it has ^ ^ around it instead of [ ]. Setting a setpoint takes it back to automatic mode.

Good to know. It baffles me as to how I got into manual mode since my button has been absent since the debacle a couple of weeks ago. New part is on order along with a couple more HM boards from OSH that haven't shown up. They seem to be having issues. Anyways, onwards and upwards.
 
My HeaterMeter was in manual mode when I started it yesterday too, but I've been doing a lot of pokery to do the unknown probe stuff so it might not just be you.

Thermoworks Coefficients:
6.6854301e-04,2.2230691e-04,9.9719788e-08

Only correlated down to 25C because this is Florida, so we're lucky to even be that low.
 
Last edited:
My HeaterMeter was in manual mode when I started it yesterday too, but I've been doing a lot of pokery to do the unknown probe stuff so it might not just be you.

Thermoworks Coefficients:
6.6854301e-04,2.2230691e-04,9.9719788e-08

Only correlated down to 25C because this is Florida, so we're lucky to even be that low.

So the Thermoworks probe is all dialed in and working accurately now? Exactly what model is it?

I left some Maverick probes out the other day and it rained, now they are flakey, so I guess it's time to order some more probes. I think I will give a Thermoworks probe a try if you've got it dialed in at this point.

Thanks again for all the work you do to make the HM project available to us.....
 
Last edited:
So the Thermoworks probe is all dialed in and working accurately now? Exactly what model is it?
Errr I'm not 100% sure. All I can say is that they should read within a reasonable amount of error from a Maverick probe using the the constants I calculated earlier this week. I had an analog thermometer stuck in through the top of the egg and it read within 5 degrees of what the Thermoworks probe said, but who knows which is accurate?

It is model TX-1001X-OP.
 

 

Back
Top