Saturday, May 12, 2012

Ronco Showtime Rotisserie Oven Circuit Modification to Reduce Heat for Slow Cooking

Use a high power diode and switch to obtain a lower heat setting for your one-heat-setting-only electric rotisserie. For awhile I considered using varactors for adjustable heat control; ie adjustable voltage clipping, see for example the motor control for a treadmill. However, there really isn't enough room in this control box for much else than a diode and switch.* The single diode, which clips the current by half, is pretty easy to install and does a great job of giving you a lower heat setting for slower cooking. Unlike the usual how-to videos, this is not a step-by-step instruction guide, mostly because I am making it "after the fact" and I am not motivated to take it apart for a video as I don't anticipate much of an audience. Rather you get the idea and can provide your own solution once you get inside your oven, it isn't a difficult proceedure (depending on your skill set I guess). The point of this video is to convey the idea of a diode, which is a workable, cheap solution to the problem of not having any heat control on these classic cookers. I admit, it took me a little while to hit on this solution, having toyed with the idea of more sophisticated controls. Just for the record, the normal high heat setting is perfect for most of your cooking needs, obviously it was designed for poultry, which it does very well, but if you're like me and desire a lower heat setting for slower cooking (like ribs and non-precooked bratwurst), this mod does the job nicely. Notes: 1 ...

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