Akorn Controller -- First Cook


 

SteveSmith

New member
Just posting some pics of my new rig using the design of the MicroDamper by SteveCK. I am not using the HeaterMeter, because I already had a Huzzah Feather ESp8266 chip, and a SPI Quad TC board. So I wired up the whole thing inside of a Pelican Case with Avionic Connectors for the TC's. On the Micro Damper, I used the 4 pole Female connector you guys selected, but and I put one in my controller too, so I only needed to buy a male to male cable to connect the two together. It is basically water proof. Obviously, I will need to think through the packaging a bit, but that will come in time. My first test was on the Akorn with SteveCK's PID settings.....but I forgot to add in the Lid Open Detection that the HeaterMeter has and I kept spiking my output due to the fan coming on....I have since added that detection code in the Huzzah. But I believe with this setting, I will be hanging out right at setpoint. I do have to say that the Akorn is not forgiving at all when it overtemps....it is just too insulated. Since I could not hook into the MeterLink to graph the data, I chose to use a local Blynk Server on a Raspberry Pi 3, so I have control and gauges on my phone, as well as historical data too.

Just wanted to say thanks for posting all the great information on the HeaterMeter and the Micro Damper print....and the PID settings. This website, and long with several others(Blynk, ESP8266..etc) have really helped me learn how to implement this technology into the Smoker. I should have it all dialed in after a few more smokes.

Now that I have gotten the basic part working, I am now working on adding in the ability to do 8 TC's, with the ability to drive up to 4+ fans and 4+ servos, so I can work towards a Dual or Tri pit controller. For that part, I am working with a 16 channel PWM board/H-bridge combo. Super cheap and small. Also with the SimpleTimer library, I should be able to easily drive multiple PID loops without a problem on the ESP8266 (or maybe the ESP32.) I am also adding in an OLED to the local controller.....not that I need it, because the Blynk app runs on my phone, but it might be nice to see the current pit and food temps. The final piece will be to push the data to the ThingSpeak and then drive a multipen chart via HTML....should have that part up and running in the next few weeks.

Appreciate all the great posts on how to do Q the easy way.

Steve

Not sure how to post pics....they didn't show up in the preview, so I just used the Link option.

Current Test Rig....with the TC, Microdamper, USB powered cable.
http://imgur.com/S6PDxic

Sample Blynk phone app...TC's not connected.
http://imgur.com/GDLgicX

Graph of my first Smoke without the Lid Detection....ugh...silly programmer
http://imgur.com/PRQvoTA

The finished Product
http://imgur.com/vIKjhhv
 

 

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