New to Heatermeter - few questions


 
A

AlexFeig

New member
Hi All,

First of all, this is an amazing project and I look forward to tinkering with you guys. I'm not much of an electronics guy, but I'm relatively certain I can at least solder the board! In full disclosure, I have a Big Green Egg (Large).

I have a few questions for you folks (I tried looking first, maybe I'm blind!).

  1. If you don't have a damper, is the lower vent always open? Obviously if it's somewhat constricted by a fan, ingress air isn't as big of a deal, but I'm concerned that with my egg it'll cause temperature fluctuations.
  2. In the same light as my first question, is a damper required? Preferred? Stoker and Guru have them, so I'm guessing it's a nice to have.
  3. I see references to HM 4.2.3 and a BOM, but I can't find it. On the wiki I see 4.1.. which do I go with?
  4. If I go with 4.2.3, is there a case for it yet? If so, who can I get to print one for me? I live in the Bay Area, so I'm guessing there are local shops, but I'd love to have someone here do one if possible.

Thanks in advance, and sorry if these are answered elsewhere.

A
 
Hey Alex,

I developed the HeaterMeter using a large big green egg so I am extra qualified to field these questions.

1. The damper isn't required but it certainly does make things easier. I used HeaterMeter from 1.0 to 4.0 over 4 years without one with good results. Without the damper you have to close off the top vent so there's just a space so small a toothpick could get stuck in in the daisy vent. For different temperatures different vent positions are required. You'd be surprised how much an open vent can draft air even through the blower body and cause your temps to way overshoot. If you don't mind having to know the right vent positions for temperature ranges (like 225, 300, 375) then working without a damper is perfectly acceptable.

2. Oh I guess I answered that in 1. I messed up the order here but the fan jams into the bottom vent track then you close the vent door on it to hold it in place.

3. v4.2 is in development and will probably be released in about a month or two if everything goes right. Only v4.2 testers have v4.2 boards as I haven't made them public yet. v4.1.4 is the current "stable" hardware.

4. There's no case for 4.2 series yet, the connectors were still moving around until a week ago. When the case design is published anyone with a 3D printer can print their own I reckon.
 
Thanks Bryan. I'll roll with 4.1 in that case. It looks like I can add the damper later, so I'll roll without for now and see how it goes. I'm assuming the BOM for 4.1 is identical across minor versions?

Thanks again!
Alex
 
That's correct, the parts list is the same but the PCB has been upgraded a couple of times to help decrease noise levels and fix bugs.

It's a good idea to start without the damper if you just want to get your feet wet. All the HeaterMeter hardware is the same so if you decide you want the damper you can just add it on. The only changes you'll need to make are at the blower (by adding a servo, damper, and a little wiring).
 
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