new build - what fan rig should i pursue


 
T

TomWalker

New member
Hello Folks. I ordered and received the parts to build a HM and i want to install on my WSM18. I am waiting on a case from a local 3D printer and sorting out the last item. How to do the fan? The fan that that I received is very small. That was a surprise. I am not sure how to mount. I do see a bunch of fan enclosures and different types and all. And I can get it printed.

Anyone have a suggestion on which fan enclosure/type to use on a WSM18? It's just the wife and me and I smoke stuff mainly for us. no huge quantities, but want to learn how to do brisket this year and smoke overnight without tending to it. Plus the coolness self satisfaction of building something instead of buying it.

Suggestions? Thx, Tom.
 
+1 on the thread Steve linked, it's got a lot of ideas.

When I first got a HM, I went with a simple Auber 6.5cfm blower w/ gasket, and it worked pretty darn well. 6.5 cfm is plenty of output for an 18", and you'll likely never exceed 50% power on it.

There's plenty of other options, but that's probably one of the easiest without doing a bunch of work, as it has a spring that sucks the device up into the vent hole. "Toughest" part is simply wiring it into your ethernet cord.

Nowadays I've got rotoblowers and I use either a custom mounting solution (for big pits) or a Guru adapter mount (for my 22 WSM).


Cheers!
 
Yes. I have reviewed the above URL and trying to process it. But advice from the field is always good. I want to enclose the fan in a fairly nice and complete assembly. Just not sure which option to pick. I have the fan on the BOM. But I can always get a better one if needed.

I am thinking I will mount the HM/Fan one of two ways. 1st option. I will keep the HM in my basement near my workbench. and run a cat5 cable to an external box on the back of my home. When I want to run the rig, I'll just run a heavy duty CAT5 cable from that to the WSM. I am hoping to run it with a light rain and don't want to have to pull the HM/Fan offline due to weather. 2nd option. Is do the same thing and put a outlet on the back of the house, but use a POE injector to send power on the CAT5 cable to the HM and have the HM hanging off the WSM. That is not too bad as I can also get 100mb Ethernet on it along with the power for the RPi and use Ethernet instead of wifi. both ways ensure I get solid network connection to HM.

I'll look at the URL again. But if folks have suggestions on which case to get for a specific fan, i can have one 3d printed, and whipped up, and all? That will be great. I plan on adding handles and mods for the probes, so tweaking it to attach a cool case/fan assembly is easy for me. And the more cooler and finished it looks, will be a bonus for the wife unit.

Thx everyone.
 
1. You're overlooking some stuff, the main one being --- how are you going to run the HM inside if your temp probes are outside? The answer of course is with a breakout board. RalphTrimble's RotoDamper3 incorporates such a board, if you're interested in that.

2. Building off that, you're not going to be able to power the HM via the same ethernet cable as what you're using for the fan and potentially the probes. The ethernet cable powers the output to the fan/servo, not the HM itself. You can surely use an ethernet cable if you prefer, but I don't think hardly anyone does.

3. If you want my personal advice, I'd recommend that you get a weatherproof case for the HM instead, and utilize that, but it's totally up to you. Probe noise is increased if you carry the signals across the CAT5 cable, and distance of the cable run can be a potential issue as well. I compete in Memphis in May BBQ Fest and that's commonly known as Memphis in Mud due to the downpours every single year. Last year it rained cats and dogs starting at 5am on competition day, and my HM enclosed in a weatherproof case performed like a champ the whole time, never had any probe failures or signal issues, and was simply flawless aside from a wrong-wire issue that was my own fault.

4. As for your fan preferences, if you're looking to get an enclosed setup, you might as well go for the rotoblower/servo-damper designs. There are several folks on the forums that make them, between Tom Kole, WBegg, and RalphTrimble, and I believe 1 or 2 others (sorry if I missed you). I believe WBegg and Tom have been kind enough to share their files, but you may have to ask Ralph for his via email. All will work very well for their intended purpose, so the real question becomes --- which one do you think will mount best for you, and which looks most aesthetically pleasing to you?
 
Last edited:
Nick has some very good points. The Adapter boards have about a 50ft max. Cat5 length, you could go longer but may have a large temperature difference then actual. The Cat5 only have power for blower and servo.

AS for keeping the blower and heatermeter rain, snow proof, I have used just a plain ziplock bag for many years in Chicago and now in Washington St. without any issues from the heaviest rain, Snow or whatever. I have also never covered my Delta Blower and its have been going strong since when the heatermeter was still the Linkmeter(2009/2010). Although, now I use an RD25(a bigger Rotodamper) Just last weekend had it out in the rain, making pulled beef. it rained the whole 11 hours. I even started the charcoal chimney in the rain.

For ease of attaching the blower to the smoker a damper would be the easiest to get everything into a nice attachable unit. My blower RD25, I just take it outside and screw it onto the 3/4 pipe and connect the cat5 and I'm ready to go.
 
FYI, WBegg is also working on a small box to house the Aux. Thermocouple/Thermistor board so that it can be used with any fan/damper setup. Not sure where he stands on development since he's on vacation right now though.
 
Yeah. Dooh. not sure i used my brain on option 1. ok I'll poke around more and read up on the fan cases more and try and sort out.
 
I am going two routes and play with them. I ordered a microdamper from SteveCK with the connector and servo. I'll then 3d print one of TomK's design and try and make that work and see which one i like. Whichever my attention span gets me with a working HM and my goal. Thx for all the suggestions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top