can a soldering newbie build this?


 
A

Andrew Flusche

TVWBB Member
Hey guys,

This is an amazing project! Thanks to Bryan Mayland and all who have contributed to its development.

I've been wanting to build a HeaterMeter since I got my WSM a couple years ago. But I have almost no soldering / electronics experience. I'm a programming nerd, so the software won't be a problem. The assembly directions look fairly straightforward, but I'm wondering if I'm crazy to try this.

My soldering experience amounts to: 1.) replacing the not-user-replaceable battery in my electric toothbrush a few weeks ago (success!), and 2.) building an AM radio kit with my brother (probably 22 years ago).

What do you think? Is this doable for a newbie?

Thank you!!
Andrew
 
I think this is very doable. Take a look at a couple soldering how to videos on youtube to learn a few key things, like put the solder opposite the iron. Then go for it. It if more about being meticulous than anything else. Go slowly, organize your parts by type, size/color. Pay attention to the instructions when they say the orientation matters.

It is a professionally made board which makes a huge difference when putting it together. And there are many people on the forum that will help.

dave
 
The HeaterMeter is surprisingly easy to assemble. The most challenging part of the entire build is soldering the LCD pins so that it ends up flush with the case. I found it easier to solder the pins to the LCD and then solder it to the HeaterMeter board with it laying in the case. Your mileage may vary.
 
Yes you can!

As someone who was in a similar situation, I'll add to these good tips.

-- Get a couple of beginner electronics kits for practice. I did a flashing led thing and a light-sensing car. Plus the kits I had were pretty crappy boards, so it was even easier working on the HeaterMeter's buttery smooth solder pads.

-- Make sure your soldering iron is suited to the job. I started with an old crappy one with a fat tip. I bought this one and it made a night and day difference.

-- I found a flux pen to be very helpful for getting the solder to flow smoothly while I was getting the hang of it.

-- Don't put the button cap on until you're done. I've melted the switch and two caps so far from not watching where the tip of my iron was.

Good luck!
 
When I started this project I hadn't done much soldering either, so I tried to maintain that ease of assembly. There are a lot of soldering to do but they're mostly all well-spaced and through-hole components are pretty forgiving. I try my best to keep it a beginner's project.
KellyMc said:
Yes you can!
-- Don't put the button cap on until you're done. I've melted the switch and two caps so far from not watching where the tip of my iron was.
Click to expand...
All my button caps are half melted
emot-smith.gif
 
Bryan Mayland said:
When I started this project I hadn't done much soldering either, so I tried to maintain that ease of assembly. There are a lot of soldering to do but they're mostly all well-spaced and through-hole components are pretty forgiving. I try my best to keep it a beginner's project.

All my button caps are half melted
emot-smith.gif
Click to expand...

Add me to that group, lol.

This was my first project too, about 4 years ago. Yes it's very doable and a fun project
 
I had almost no soldering experience. The most I had done was soldering 2 wires together for putting a new stereo in a car or some similar project. When I completed my heatermeter, it worked first try. I agree with KellyMc on the soldering iron. I think that's the same iron I ended up getting. My old Radio Shack iron just wouldn't get hot enough to remove the RCA plug from my Pi.

Think about the worse thing that can happen, although unlikely, maybe you burn up something. IIRC, the parts that you have to solder are cheap. You almost have no chance of screwing up the most expensive parts like the fan, pi, board and so on. So, if you screw up something, it's just going to cost you time and very little money. If I was doing it again, I'd probably buy 2 of all of the cheap components, just so I didn't have to pay $3 shipping to get a $.25 part.

Go for it. You'll enjoy it.
 
Darren C. said:
You almost have no chance of screwing up the most expensive parts like the fan, pi, board and so on
Click to expand...

I should clarify here, almost impossible assuming you don't go poking wires at connections trying to test outputs. I learned how to send 12v current into the Pi, which is why I bought two for this project.
 
Awesome everyone! Since I got the go-ahead from my wife, it's time to order the components!!

I'm sure I'll be back with lots of questions. :)
 
32 LBS of pulled pork on the Big Green Egg last weekend for a party of 50. My wife didn't have to cook. She has been 100% on board for a few years now.
 
Thank you guys! All the parts arrived, and I finally had the time for assembly. As posted above, my soldering experience is non-existent. Total time from a pile of parts to working HeaterMeter was about 4 hours.

HeaterMeter414.jpg
 
Steve_M said:
I bet he says that to all his clients :)
Click to expand...

AWESOME. :D

I'm going to wait on a case until I can test this out. I'm thinking I might actually try fashioning a waterproof version based on some of the cool ones I've seen here. I don't need it to look pretty, but I would like to not worry about the sporadic rain that Virginia gets throughout the summer.
 
Andrew FIusche said:
AWESOME. :D

I'm going to wait on a case until I can test this out. I'm thinking I might actually try fashioning a waterproof version based on some of the cool ones I've seen here. I don't need it to look pretty, but I would like to not worry about the sporadic rain that Virginia gets throughout the summer.
Click to expand...

I have used the Heatermeter for years now during rain, snow, and you name it in the Chicago area and a cheap ziplock bag works great for rain proofing
 
A quick update after my first use of the HeaterMeter for some ribs.

This thing ROCKS!

Here's my graph:

pit.png


The craziness until about 12:30 was me putting WAY too much fuel in my 18.5" Weber. I lit a full chimney of Kingsford and put it on top of a full chimney in the fire ring. Yeah, that was a bit much.

I finally got it under control by removing all but about 20 briquettes and putting more unlit inside.

It was incredibly perfect for 2 hours, then I had to open the stupid lid. (about 15:22) (I wanted to check the trimmings that I cut off the ribs, since they're really small.) After that, the temp went up and then plummeted. I added a few lit and unlit briquettes, and the temp came back up.

My conclusion is that the HeaterMeter does its job great, but I've got to add the right fuel to begin with. :/
 
Yea. Looks like about 3 hours of rock solid temps. I've had my hm for several months. And, I'm still working out the details myself. I feel like I can always improve mine. It took me awhile to get my hm attached to my WSM in a way that satisfies me enough to stop worrying about improving it.

Regardless of what I'm cooking, I start with a full load of charcoal in the smoker and 3 or 4 handfuls of lit. I let that come up to temp, then I put the food on (about 30-45 minutes usually). That gives the thick smoke time to clear out.

Note that when you open the lid, the graph may show the temp is going down (because at the probe, it is), but the fire is actually being stoked by increased airflow. The fire is getting much hotter. So, when you put the lid back on, your pit probe temp is going to jump past your set temp. Adding lit coals at that point is just going to exacerbate the issue. I don't know how to avoid that other than to just to avoid leaving the lid off any longer than absolutely necessary. I also lengthened the lid mode so when the fan comes back on, the pit has had some time to recover and the HM doesn't think that it needs to work as hard, or at all.

Good luck and keep posting pics.
 
Darren C. said:
It took me awhile to get my hm attached to my WSM in a way that satisfies me enough to stop worrying about improving it.
Click to expand...

Thanks Darren. I definitely should check out the lid mode settings. I didn't really think about that.

How do you have yours attached? I went with a tin can and a long bolt with a toggle nut (?) on the other end. It's definitely got gaps where air can come in, but I closed the other bottom vents completely. That seemed to work decent, although it certainly isn't pretty.
 
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