DIY Refinishing oven

[Old Grafton]

I swear that looks just like the heating element and controller for my Charbroil Patio Caddie electric grill!! From where did you purchase it?

And nice looking work, BTW.

[Netpackrat]

I ordered it direct from Charbroil. It's a replacement set for a grill like yours.

[Netpackrat]

Rivnuts are here. Maybe I can wrap this up in the next day or two.

[Netpackrat]

Back to the drawing board:



Too much power, not enough regulation. The dial on the "control" unit has positions from 1 to 5... Cranking it all the way to "5" to see how fast the oven will heat up is apparently right out. Somewhere below "1" is more like it... Once set, it will regulate the temperature after a fashion, if one doesn't mind a 60 degree spread between where the temp bottoms, and where the rise stops after the power cuts out.

I had hoped that the grill element and control would work, based on it being a self-contained unit with power and regulation built in, and also because in googling other curing ovens, I found that at least one other guy had used the same type of setup. But it looks like there is no easy button after all.

[BDK]

Look on eBay. You want a PID. Plenty of cheap ones on there to precisely control temps, using almost any heating element.

I'd suggest a fan, though, unless even heating isn't that important

Perhaps some engine firewall heat shielding around the element to protect the insulation?

[HTRN]

a fan, plus a sheetmetal inner liner, plus you know, better insulation.

Amazon has an AgTek PID for 25 bucks, that's SSR ready.

[Netpackrat]

Not going to screw with the insulation at this time, but I am going to make a metal liner for at least the lower portion down by the element. I ordered a PID kit from ebay that includes an SSR and a thermocouple probe, and also an oven fan and motor.

[Netpackrat]

I heart sheet metal.





This is just some relatively thin galvanized sheet, cut and bent, almost ready to be glued into the oven with the high temp RTV I was using earlier, and the pieces attached to each other with pop rivets. I just need to make the cut out for the heating element, and drill all the rivet holes first. I've had the sheet metal for a while, but only managed to retrieve my brake from AlaskaTRX's hangar last friday. I'd intended to get this project knocked out over the holidays, but between getting sick, then Christmas, and then spending time with my brother e-filing for more NFA goodness, all I managed to get done was haul the brake back into town.

I also have the PID control with solid state relay somewhere in a box. I have to decide whether to try to hotwire the BBQ grill receptacle to bypass its built-in (and not very effective) thermostat control, or just plan on leaving it cranked to full power, since the PID/SSR are going to be doing all of the regulation anyway. I'm leaning toward the latter at the moment. I'll just wire the SSR output to a plain outlet that I can plug the grill unit into.

I obtained an old oven fan, but I am not sure how well it is going to work. The shaft may be barely long enough to get through the 2" insulation and still have enough clearance for the fan to rotate, but I am not sure about that yet. Beyond that I think the main thing will be trying to locate it out of the way of the parts hanging rod.

Hopefully I will have time to work on it again tomorrow. Another thing I need to do, is either make or buy a suitable metal enclosure(s) for the fan motor and the PID/SSR units, that can be attached to the outside of the oven.

[Precision]

doesn't galvanize emit toxic fumes when it gets hot or is that only when it gets HOTTTTT?

[Netpackrat]

doesn't galvanize emit toxic fumes when it gets hot or is that only when it gets HOTTTTT?

At welding temperatures, yes. Zinc doesn't even melt until it reaches 787.2 degrees F, and the boiling point is of course much higher.