George foreman grille element for hot smoker.

[GUS]

Just thinking laterally.

After many years fine service the teflon hot plates on ole "jumbo" george are flaking badly, he's a big boy with a nice large working element within.

Any use stripping it our for use in future combined with a p.i.d? (is it even pid-able).

Being xmas / new year there are many deals on new george so would it be opportune to grab a cheap specific model or something with a thermostat or merely opt for a cheap single hot plate down the line?

If george can be re-purposed / upcycled for hot smoking then i'd be a happy lad,

Either to inroduce a bit of heat or as a dust burning tray heater.
So any tips for "ole" George & "getting there" Gus?

[Dingo]

Absolutely Gus. My first Frankenstein cold smoke set up used a solid plate element to heat a pan full of sawdust. Honestly, it was a little slow and didn't result i very efficient combustion. My venturi setup is far superior.
However, as a variable heat source is a good option. You actually don't need the complexity of a PID setup to use it. Just get an old fashioned mechanical oven thermostat with the thermocouple still attached. At a base level, ie controlling a temp, there is not really any advantage with a PID controller, it's just digital.

I'm planning on doing this exact thing to my Brinkman, as it runs on gas and only has a simple high low set up. So i struggle with temps if I want anything other than 190f or 300f. I am going to use on oven element in the base of the smoker, that way I can keep the gas, and add the oven thermostat for control. Pretty simple conversion.