Smoker Controller

Yesterday as I was waiting for the smoker to finish the pulled pork I had on it I I got to thinking. It was frustrating to have the temperature fluctuating so much. I had the controller set to 225ºF and it was swinging from 200º-245º which I consider to be a bit extreme.

Yes, I ordered a new controller already.

But why leave well enough alone?

In the past, I was experimenting with Cypress Semiconductor's PSOC 5 series of system on a chip (hence SOC) controllers.

What do you need to control a pellet grill?

• Pellet auger control (120V relay)

• Fan control (120V relay, optionally PWM relay)

• Igniter control (120V relay)

• At least a couple of temperature sensors

• Display controller

• UI (i.e. touch sensor or buttons)

The PSOC5 does all that with no additional components except for solid-state relays for the 120V switching.

Not only that, but it would be able to support different varieties of sensors as well and be nothing more than a software config between RTDs and thermocouples. It also natively has capacitive touch sensor support as well.

All in a $10 chip.

Maybe I can whip something up and open source it.

Whack on some serial support and you can interface in a Raspberry Pi and get wifi and remote control.

Total BOM cost would be under around $40.