New PID available

[ChickenTurtle]

I own a slow cooker. Can anybody tell me what this bit of kit does, and why I'd want one? (I do already because it has a numerical panel and looks rather 'Blakes Seven'!

[Cedaronics]

Hi Chicken Turtle

I use my personal one for cooking sous vide in a slow cooker, and I know of another user who makes cheese in a slow cooker too, using this PID.

It gives very accurate temperature control - not available in your home oven etc.

HTH

[ChickenTurtle]

Cheese making in a slow cooker, now we're talking.

I think this is going on my wish list for Christmas!

Thanks for the explanation.

CT.

[JerBear]

What this unit does is precisely control the temperature of a water bath (large crock pot, counter top roaster or large rice cooker), typically within .5 degrees C. Typically professional models check temperature, heat it and pump it. Units such as this one control the heat by plugging your crockpot (or other device) into the PID controller and the controller into the wall. You turn your crockpot on to high and set the temperature on the PID and when necessary (temperature drops) the PID opens the relay and allows power to the crockpot. When the set temperature is reached the relay is opened and power is shut off.

The great thing about cooking this way is that you can cook a tough piece of meat, for instance lamb neck for 48-72 hrs. It'll break down the collagen but the meat will never overcook as the temperature won't rise beyond the set point.

[ChickenTurtle]

Oh, I see. That makes perfect sense. It's very much like the electronic thermostats I use to control the bulbs (or ceramic heaters) in my snake's vivarium. One is a pulse proportional, and the other a dimming type (for use with bulbs).

The temperature is gauged by a probe which sits under the hot spot in the vivarium and feeds a reading back to the Thermostat.

How does this device we're discussing monitor the temperature within the crock-pot/rice cooker, assuming the lid is down fast?

Also, and excuse my ignorance, wouldn't cooking the meats at lowish temperatures for long periods cause a risk of bacteria to form of some sort or am I talking rot?

[Cedaronics]

Hi CT

The unit has sensor on the end of the probe. This sits in the fluid. With a glass-lidded crock pot, the lead just has to sit there and is held down by the lid. It's important to position the sensor away from touching the sides or bottom of the pot. I usually stir the contents every few hours, to facilitate circulation.

Re: food temps, no, you are not talking rot. Some meats you can cook at lower temps than others. Chicken, as you might expect must be cooked at higher temps than lamb, for example, or rashers of bacon.

Minced beef must cooked at a minimum of 71°C. But food safety is not my area - there are good web resources about how to cook sous vide.

So far I have cooked chunks of beef, beef burgers and lamb. I do chicken in the slow cooker, but not sous vide.

Regards,

[JerBear]

Here's a couple great sausage applications for a PID / sous vide cooker:

1. Use it for temp-controlled water bath fermentation of sausages.

2. Use it for poaching, specific temperature control. You can do sausages such as bratwurst or kielbasa after smoking. Poach a large mortadella or maybe a couple summer sausages.

[ChickenTurtle]

Thanks guys for all that information. I have ordered a rice cooker today as I think the higher output will make temperature correction more instantaneous.
My concern is over the cost of the PID unit, as a colleague at work seemed to think I could use the basic PIDs on eBay or similar to do the same job.

I'm no electronics expert (obviously) and just wondered what the benefits of the Cedaronics device were over the sort of units for sale a whole lot cheaper on eBay?

[JerBear]

I was curious of the same thing as the unit I was considering from Auber Ind. cost $200 USD or about $124 GBP in current exchange rates.

[wheels]

My budget means that I use the cheap Chinese thermostats/temperature controllers for my projects. I think that there are also cheap PID's available on ebay.

They're obviously not the same quality (and probably not the same accuracy) as the one at the top of the thread. Mine are wired through 16amp relays with 3mm gaps for safety and seem to work OK. The thermostat is the one on the right:



Phil

[ChickenTurtle]

Ok, what I need to know is if I were to buy the PID device and relay off ebay for example, how do I get it all set up like your rig Phil?

Is the OP available to sway me towards the benefits of his companies unit if I decide it's too much hassle (or indeed to explain WHY it's so much more and why I'd be better of spending the extra?)

[ChickenTurtle]

Ok! I guess not?

[wheels]

Me, or the OP?

If you get one like mine, you'll get instructions with it. I'll help if possible, but some others are better qualified than I am to advise. I can send you a copy of my wiring diagram if it'll help?

That said, whatever you do, I'd get it checked/tested by someone qualified to do so.

Phil

[ChickenTurtle]

No Phil, the OP not you lol!

It's just that they were showing off this lovely looking machine and whilst I was keen to buy one, I just wanted clarification as to why it was 10x the cost of the component parts (as I saw it in my ignorance).

I'd be grateful for a detailed explanation as to how you did it, and diagrams etc would be fantastic!

I'd love to buy the OP's unit but at £250 odd it's a big investment.

If I can replicate the results for a fraction of that, why wouldn't I? (my question to the OP).

[wheels]

No probs, my offer stands.

Phil