INTRODUCING: the "Roto Damper"


 
Yes it is the Tower Pro MG90s, but the white horn is from a different brand. The black one did not fit I need to get out the Dremel and trim it so it will fit the RD3
 
Hmm, ok, I haven't run across the black horns from the Tower Pro that didn't fit either... Was it close or WAY off in size?
 
RalphTrimble said:
Hmm, ok, I haven't run across the black horns from the Tower Pro that didn't fit either... Was it close or WAY off in size?
Click to expand...

It is close, tried trimming it with a razor but could not get it to lay flat inside the rd, so the shaft would not lock into the horn.
I need to put on my magnifying visor so I can see the fine detail of why it does not fit
 
Sometimes it is the round part of the horn that is too large to fit, sounds like that might be the case from your description. A good way to test that is to insert the round part of the horn in the other side of the RD part, if it doesn't fit you can widen that hole a little bit with hand tools until it fits... but try to leave it snug, if it is too loose it will leak a bit...
 
I finally got some time to build the Auxiliary TC board for one of the two RD3s I got from Ralph. I tested the board before mounting it in the little box of the RD3 and it worked perfectly…
Having everything ready and all planets aligned, I assembled RD3 and AuxTC and mounted them in my Akorn, ready for a test run…
Bed of charcoal, plumber torch, and the fire started… Heat diffuser on, grid on, and closed lid…
First round, target temp in the HM set at 220F… It took more or less 15 to 20 minutes to reach the target temp and stood steady around 220F for 2 and a half hours…
Second round was to set HM target at 450F… 15 to 20 minutes to reach the new temp, after which stood steady again for 3 hours…
Third stage was to check charcoal and set target at 700F… Again, 15 minutes to reach the target… After 3 hours around 700F, I declared 100% success!!!
The performance of the RD3 is awesome. It barely used the blower to maintain a steady temperature. Most of the work was done by the servo opening and closing the damper when the blower worked between stages to ramp up the temperature.
Thank you Ralph and John for all your work developing the RDTC combination!... No doubts it’s a monster!...
 
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I am asking you right now to please stay out of my thread here. I am asking politely, though your PM's were quite insulting.
Rock on with your barrel damper brother.
 
Well… I have one Akorn, a mini Akorn and an UDS made from an old wood burning furnace. My original plan was to use one old model RD with the mini Akorn keeping the two RD3s for the full size Akorn and the UDS…
As winter is coming and so far I could only install the RD3 in the Akorn, I changed the plan and will use the second RD3 for the mini Akorn, retiring the old RD and rescheduling the UDS for next spring with another RD3. I really like the idea of no moving wires and remote probes in the RDTC combo!
To install the mini Akorn, I plan to set up the servo signal to a RD3 max damper opening area equivalent to the max area of the connector to the smoker, to allow a consistent servo work.
I’ll post some test results in a week or so…
Ralph, I will PM you early spring to ask for another RD3 (Thanks!)…
 
Ralph,

Putting together the RD3 without the circuit board. Trying to figure out proper orientation of the ethernet jack in the rd3. where does the locking tab fit, got a picture?
Once the jack is installed can it be removed, trying to find a a black ethernet jack so it matches the RD3, Home Depot does not seem to have them in black, anyone fine black anywhere.
 
Ordered RD3 on Thursday and received on Saturday. Talk about super fast service. Not sure Amazon can compare to that! Hooked everything up to the Cat5 jack and works as expected.i think I need to do some tuning as the servo does not open the damper fully or close fully but this is in no way an issue with Ralph's product. It's either the servo I bought or some settings within LinkMeter. I'll play with them today and get them fixed.
 
Glad to hear that the USPS did their job too...

On the servo travel limits, you need to calibrate the RD3 which is done by altering the Servo Pulse Duration (SPD) numbers in the HM Config.

Here is a rundown of how to calibrate the servo with the RD3.

In your HM Config for Servo Pulse Duration set numbers 700 - 2100 as ballpark starting numbers. Do not select Inverted or Open/Closed only.

Now make your HM go to 100% output

When servo is at 100% position mate the damper disc on top of the RD3 body so the openings are aligned on top of each other (valve fully open), or as close to that as possible.

Unplug the CAT5 cable from the RD3 and make sure the damper disc can still rotate at least a tiny bit in the open direction. If not then remove the damper disc and rotate it one tooth in the open direction and re-seat it.

Now make your HM go to 0%

Your RD3 should move to somewhere close to closed. Adjust the lower SPD number (in small amounts) to adjust the closed position until it is completely closed.

Unplug the CAT5 cable and make sure you can rotate the damper disc at least a small amount further in the closed direction (you do not want your servo to be pegged at the end of its range in either the 0% or 100% position)

Now make your HM go to 100% again, adjust the upper SPD number until the valve is perfectly open.

Now enter a high setpoint in the HM, it should go to 100% and RD3 should fully open. Toggle Lid Mode and the RD3 should completely close. Bounce it back and forth a couple times to make sure the motion range is right, also make sure the servo is not pegged in either direction.

Tweak upper or lower SPD numbers if needed, remove and rotate the damper disk a tooth or two in the appropriate direction if the servo is reaching the end of its range in either 0% or 100% position...
 
RalphTrimble said:
Glad to hear that the USPS did their job too...

On the servo travel limits, you need to calibrate the RD3 which is done by altering the Servo Pulse Duration (SPD) numbers in the HM Config.

Here is a rundown of how to calibrate the servo with the RD3....
Click to expand...

Thanks Ralph. Your guidance helped tremendously!
 
Ralph,

I gave my new RD3 a run on a 12 hr pork butt cook and the results were outstanding! The temp precision was even more dialed in than with my previous Auber setup, and the temp dives it can perform are very quick now that it can starve the smoker of oxygen.

Thanks again! Highly recommend the RD3.
 
Ralp,

Love the new RD3, did overnight 15 pound brisket. After a minor adjustment in the PID setting, temps were rock study for 21 hours at 225
I think it out performs the First RD you made for me. Cant wait to try it n the high heat cook.
 
Thanks for the positive feedback, rock solid temps for an 18 hour cook is pretty impressive!
The RD3 has a lot of improvements in the design, one major improvement is in the top end air flow. When you get around to doing a high heat cook you will really see the difference there, the RD3 is much more capable of achieving and maintaining high cooking temps.
 
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