BBQ075.04 Controller

DoyleS

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BBQ075.04
I have had the BBQ075.04 Big Tex since 2015 and smoked a lot of meat on it. The only issues I have ever had are temp control variation and a few fire outs. Temp swings are often greater than plus minus 20 degrees. This has led me to read some articles on replacement controllers. My unit has the BAC283 digital controller. My question is whether newer controllers like the BAC365 have a better algorithm for temp control. I do not need the extra thermometers for the meat as I have a unit with 4 wifi thermometers that works great. I can see any discussion or articles on the actual difference between the BAC283 and BAC365. Maybe the control circuitry and control algorithms are the same of very similar. Doesn't sound like people get a lot of answers from Traeger, so suggestions are welcome. (picture of my unit is from 2015)
 

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Call the Traeger Techs. They have been helpful. v/r arcee
 
I talked to a Brandi, a Traeger Tech this morning. The BAC365 is an upgrade to the BAC283 that I have and it is no longer manufactured. She said it the BAC365 would give more accurate temperature control but wasn't specific about whether that gets you to plus minus 10 or 15 degrees. She also asked if I had changed the RTD Probe. The Probe is $16. and the BAC365 is $150. I would really like some real world feedback on what level of temp control Traeger owners are seeing that have the BAC365 installed. Comments still welcomed.
 
I ran some tests on my Smoker today. The RTD correlates very well with a more precision sensor attached alongside the RTD. A few degrees slower in response and that may be due to the type of thermocouple. I set the unit to Smoke and within a few minutes I had smoke as usual but temps ran up to 250F before starting to fall. It took 40 minutes to get under 200 degrees and finally stabilized at 180. Then changing temp to 225, it ramped up to 260, a good 35 degrees over set temp and then when it did come down it went 10 under to 215 and then went back up to 255 before starting to fall again. At this point I am thinking that this is all in the controller and trying to decide whether to go with the BAC365 or to find an actual PID or other controller that will hold temps within plus minus 10-15 degrees. I smoke a lot of homemade sausages and can't afford a lot of over temperatures as it really affects texture when the fat gets too hot.
 
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