Toaster Oven Mods

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diverdale

Well-Known Member
So being a electrical engineer ... I like to tinker with ... well electrical/electronics. That said, I’m installing a PID controller in my $20 toaster oven I got from Aldi
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Cut the controls out and riveted a piece of stainless I had from an old grill shelf. Should be finished tomorrow ... wish me luck ... lol
 
Something that will help greatly is to give your oven some better insulation...such as wrapping in ceramic fiber blanket. Of course leave the areas that have the "vents" uncovered. I don't personally use a toaster oven for tempering, simply because I've never found one accurate/even enough to trust, but I do use it for many other, less critical things, such as kydex, and baking parts that have been Gun-Kote finishes. I found a significant difference when I wrapped mine in Kawool.

Your an electrical engineer??? Do you mind if I PM you to ask some questions? Or... I don't mind posting in on the open forums either....but I need someone who is far more savvy in electrical wiring then me. I have one that is driving me bonkers. :)
 
EdCaffreyMS said:
Something that will help greatly is to give your oven some better insulation...such as wrapping in ceramic fiber blanket. Of course leave the areas that have the "vents" uncovered. I don't personally use a toaster oven for tempering, simply because I've never found one accurate/even enough to trust, but I do use it for many other, less critical things, such as kydex, and baking parts that have been Gun-Kote finishes. I found a significant difference when I wrapped mine in Kawool.

Your an electrical engineer??? Do you mind if I PM you to ask some questions? Or... I don't mind posting in on the open forums either....but I need someone who is far more savvy in electrical wiring then me. I have one that is driving me bonkers. :)
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Sure you can PM me
 
Hi diverdale. Not sure if this is OK (Mods, feel free to delete if cross-posting is frowned upon), but here's a link to a good thread that might help answer any questions you might have.

Wiring a PID for Your Tempering Toaster - Full Walk Through

This guide is a direct result of the help I received in this thread: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/pid-toaster-preliminary-questions.1647527/ As with most of my DIY knife projects, I like to post a summery / tutorial when I'm finished so someone else looking to do the same thing can find...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
Did the same thing with Toaster oven. PID then insulated it with 1" Kao-Wool. I removed the case and wrapped oven with Kao wool. Then made a Kao-wool blanket for the inside of the oven for the bottom and back of oven, and sprayed it with rigidizer to seal the fibers. I kept the timer switch but am looking to replace it, only runs for 60 minutes. Other than the inconvenience of the 60 minute timer it works fantastic! Holds temps good. The one other thing I may do is get rid of the window and insulate the door also?
 
billyO said:
Hi diverdale. Not sure if this is OK (Mods, feel free to delete if cross-posting is frowned upon), but here's a link to a good thread that might help answer any questions you might have.

Wiring a PID for Your Tempering Toaster - Full Walk Through

This guide is a direct result of the help I received in this thread: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/pid-toaster-preliminary-questions.1647527/ As with most of my DIY knife projects, I like to post a summery / tutorial when I'm finished so someone else looking to do the same thing can find...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
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Way ahead of you my friend .... got a lot of info from you on the settings
 
A decent toaster oven with PID should hold a toaster oven to ±1°F without too much trouble once the oven is settled down. That's close enough for tempering in my mind.
 
Ken..... I have just never had any luck at all, with any toaster oven, holding even +/-25.....even the one I have wrapped with kawool still drifts more then 50F up and down..... and that's with a fire brick slip in the bottom. I must just be back luck Schleprock when it comes to the toaster ovens.... that's the reason I never recommend them for tempering. :) If I could get one to hold even a 10-15 degree swing, I'd be using it for tempering myself. You guys that can get that....I am envious.
 
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EdCaffreyMS said:
Ken..... I have just never had any luck at all, with any toaster oven, holding even +/-25.....even the one I have wrapped with kawool still drifts more then 50F up and down..... and that's with a fire brick slip in the bottom. I must just be back luck Schleprock when it comes to the toaster ovens.... that's the reason I never recommend them for tempering. :) If I could get one to hold even a 10-15 degree swing, I'd be using it for tempering myself. You guys that can get that....I am envious.
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I did some preliminary tuning today and was getting consistent +/- 10 ... I do think there’s more tweaking I can do but I was impressed. Right now it switches off at the set temp and drifts upwards then switches back on at .1 below set temp and drifts downward .. if that’s adjustable (I think it is) I should be able to get it within a few degrees.
 
also worth noting ... after adding the wool wrap .. at 350 F the outside it the oven on the controller side was reading 95 F with a point and shoot thermometer ... prior to that it was too hot to touch .. that wool is good stuff
 
Not sure what the problem Ed is having with a toaster oven being controlled by PID. I didn't do anything special to any of the 3 toaster ovens I've done. Once the PID is tuned (only used internal autotune function), with a single firebrick placed on rack, TC probe inserted from rear of oven with tip extending to mid oven space I've not had any problem with toaster oven holding decent temps. I have the PID setup in separate box with a recept and plug toaster oven plugged into external recept.

Oct 2022 update to post:
I've now got what looks like the same toaster oven as OP, put a panel is side with PID mounted. I wrapped the oven with ceramic Fiber Blanket inside the cover. I mounted a fan to have forced air cooling around the PID. I no longer use the fire brick, just an empty oven. Still holds an easy +/- 1 degree F once the temp is stabilized, takes about 15 or so minutes.

Understand, without a PID controller I've not had a toaster oven that would control better than 25 to 50F either.
 
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KenH said:
Not sure what the problem Ed is having with a toaster oven being controlled by PID. I didn't do anything special to any of the 3 toaster ovens I've done. Once the PID is tuned (only used internal autotune function), with a single firebrick placed on rack, TC probe inserted from rear of oven with tip extending to mid oven space I've not had any problem with toaster oven holding decent temps. I have the PID setup in separate box with a recept and plug toaster oven plugged into external recept.
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I did the integrated PID but it shouldn’t matter ... I think I can get it tweaked to within a few degrees ... however before converting ... setting the temp to around 330 F was swinging between 303 and 468 ... so I’m way better off at this point
 
I bought a Super Cheap PID. Installed it and it holds Temps + or - , 2 Degrees Celsius. Gets better everytime i use it too.
 
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