2 new HeaterMeter build not working at all

Ralph,

The adapters sold by BBQ Buru seems to just be steel plates with a hole in them. I made one for myself a couple years ago and connected a MicroDamper to it with a 1" nipple. The problem with this is that you cannot easily remove that plate when you are grilling (vs smoking). The stock stand for the large BGE blocks the channel so that you cannot really remove the plate without removing it from the stand. When I am grilling, I don't necessarily want to go to the trouble of setting up a HeaterMeter, and I like the way I can get the grill super hot (>800F) with the door wide open whereas the microdamper/heatermeter doesn't seem to be able to do that even with the fan full on.

So I tried to come up with an adapter that would make it easy to switch between "Smoker mode" and "Grill mode". What I came up with worked great for a little while, but sadly the heat near the opening of the grill was enough to cause my box to warp and then it leaked too much air. Anyway, it was a fail, but I haven't given up quite yet. Pictures of my attempted solution are attached for your entertainment

https://ibb.co/m56D1x
https://ibb.co/bsSxTc
https://ibb.co/b6LHTc

When you say the stand is blocking the plate, you mean the ability to slide it in from left to right?

You should be able to get the plate into the BGE (and other similar vent designs) by having the plate slightly shorter than the distance between the upper and lower channels that the existing vents slide in. You then slide the plate up into the upper channel and the bottom of the plate should now clear the bottom channel and sit into the bottom channel while still remaining held in by the upper channel.

Steve_M said:

When you say the stand is blocking the plate, you mean the ability to slide it in from left to right?

You should be able to get the plate into the BGE (and other similar vent designs) by having the plate slightly shorter than the distance between the upper and lower channels that the existing vents slide in. You then slide the plate up into the upper channel and the bottom of the plate should now clear the bottom channel and sit into the bottom channel while still remaining held in by the upper channel.

Click to expand...

Ah good idea!

Yes, I was assuming you were going about it the way Steve describes, lift up and tilt out from the bottom.
I am not shilling for guru, but if you've worked with stainless steel you know how hard it is to tool, it's not like drilling tin or aluminum. So the price compared to the work and material doesn't seem bad to me... and that is also assuming you have the tools to make the cuts. A welded adapter has a lower inside the grill profile (not having the nut and threads), on some grills this can be a plus... like on the akorn, where you can only get a 3/4" threaded pipe in there but the guru adapter gets the full inch.

JeffLa said:

I sent a note to the HeaterMeter store begging for a replacement BS170 transistor so I can get the last baseboard up and running.

Now I just need to solve the problem mounting to a large BGE. I don't like the solutions that are out there because you have to use the heatermeter for normal grilling and I really only want it for smoking. I devised a very cool mounting box that made it easy to mount the micro-damper for smoking and remove it and use the original door for normal grilling, but sadly it warped due to the heat. If I figure out a robust solution, I'll share with the community. Thanks again to everyone for the assistance. It was very helpful and motivating.


Jeff Lavin

Click to expand...

I made a steel slider with a hole in it and a magnetic mount. Pops on and off in a second. The center opening is big enough for most grilling, but also slides out of the way easily. Should be able to do something similar on the BGE.

https://www.kamadoguru.com/topic/34099-controller-adapter-and-lower-vent-seal/