Heater Meter Newbie


 
P

Peter SC

New member
Hello all. I was directed to this site by John Bostwick because I want to build a heater meter. My primary goal is simply automatic temperature control of an UDS. Here are my questions.

1. Should I build a HM 4.0 (the easiest for me to get a board), a HM 4.1 (probably a little better design), or a HM 4.2 (likely the best, but also sounds like some of the components will be a little above my soldering skill level and equipment capabilities)?

2. I would like a more powerful fan than the one that comes stock ( I want 10 to 20 cfm). Will I have to make changes to the board to accommodate this?

3. Is a damper servo necessary or just an added nicety?

Thanks,

Peter
 
1. I would wait and get a 4.2. We're inside of a month until release, it adds some great features, and you don't have to solder the thermocouple if it is outside your comfort level (just stick with regular maverick probes). I need to make a post about this because it is coming up more and more.

2. The HeaterMeter supports up to and probably beyond 12V/1A blowers. The v4.2 board's switching blower power actually can go beyond this while producing less noise than 4.0 boards, and way less than 4.1 boards.

3. The damper isn't necessary and can be added later if you feel you need it. Without it you'll need to manually get your airflow in the ballpark of where it can be controlled by the blower. The damper helps because the size of that ballpark is massively increased, but if you're used to manually adjusting your smoker then you've probably got the skills to get it working well without a damper. None of us had dampers until recently and HeaterMeter has been working for years.
 
1)The HMv4.1 was acually a bit more noisy on the probe lines than the v4.0, but the CAT5 jack is a bit better for I/O than the RCA jack for the blower and nothing for the servo (you have to piggy back solder wires on the v4.0 board to run a servo but it will work) That said, you can always wire in your own CAT5 jack to the HMv4.0 to make it like the v4.1, you can also mod the blower driver circuit to be the newer style on the v4.0 as well, at that point the 4.0 and 4.1 are about the same, but the probes will read slightly better on the 4.0 The v4.2 release should be around the corner, there are lots of improvements, MUCH cleaner probe readings, and thermocouple support. You dont HAVE to use the thermocouple on v4.2, you can use all standard thermistor probes if you like, if you go this route you do not have to do the more difficult SMD soldering on this board. I actually thought soldering up the v4.2 board was easier than the 4.0 and 4.1 if you don't do the SMD thermocouple stuff...

2 If you do actually need a more powerful blower the only thing you need to do is make sure your power supply is up to the task of powering it. I would get a 12V 2A PS instead of the 1A that is recommended in that case....

3) It depends on your grill and setup on the damper. If you have a leaky grill that doesnt hold heat well you probably wont need a damper. If you have a well insulated kamado or any other grill that will have trouble with overshoot if you leave a path for natural air draft a servo damper will keep that in check.
 
2. I would like a more powerful fan than the one that comes stock ( I want 10 to 20 cfm). Will I have to make changes to the board to accommodate this?


I run a 28cfm without problems with a Linksys router wallwart that's 1amp.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top