Controlling the Flame with a PID or Thermostat
 

NOOB Question:

Not that I am considering it but I am curious, when using a thermostat or PID with a probe how does the thermostat "turn-off" and "turn-on" a flame to an MLT/HLT? Can it do this automatically like a gas oven?

You'd need a solenoid valve with a pilot light or a direct spark ignition setup.

You can get surplus furnace valves rated for NG or propane on eBay. They're pretty cheap. You'll need a 20VAC power supply to operate most of them, but those aren't hard to come by on eBay, either.

Simple way is to use a continous pilot light and solenoid valve to control burner gas flow, safer method is to use a direct spark ignition module that controls the solenoid valve. Here is typical direct spark ignition module on Ebay that uses the spark probe for flame sensing http://cgi.ebay.com/Honeywell-Direct-Spark-Ignition-Modules-S87J1034_W0QQitemZ260200757464QQihZ016QQcategoryZ2 0598QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

So where exactly does one of these valves sit in physical relation to the flame and legs of the turkey fryer? I would assume that the pilot light has a tube that sits near the output of the fryers jets but where would an electronic one sit?

The valve can be mounted on the legs of the burner stand, the ignitor for the electronic ignition needs to spark to the burner jets and have at least 1/2" of the metal rod in the flame. Might be easier to use a pilot burner with ignitor than try to build your own, here is an example http://cgi.ebay.com/HONEYWELL-PILOT-BURNER-NATURAL-GAS-ORIFICE-Q345A1313_W0QQitemZ200183793590QQihZ010QQcategoryZ 41987QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid =p1638.m118

Great!
 

Thank all of your for your responses. I have a very clear image of what would need to happen. I don't think I need to go down that road (for now) but it's nice that it can be done.