Turkey fryer burner shutoff with new kettle

Hey folks, I just got a brinkmann turkey fryer that has this automatic temperature shutoff switch. There is a button (resistor I think) that the stock kettle sits on that is supposed to measure the heat of the kettle and turn off the flame if it gets too hot. The odd thing is that I can use the stock kettle (aluminum) all day long at whatever flame I want with no shutoff, but when I put my stainless kettle on the burner it turns off after about 5-10 minutes. I've tried turning down the burner way low with the stainless kettle and it still turns off. It should be noted that the stainless kettle does not sit "inside" the allotted kettle area, but sort-of sits on top of it (ie its diameter is larger than the burner's diameter).

Anybody else experience this or know what the issue is? I'd really like to use my nice stainless kettle with ball valve.

Aluminum dissipates heat quicker than stainless, that could be the reason. Can you modify it and move the thermistor so that it does not touch the pot?

I had one like that... had a little black box on the outside with the igniter. If i remember correctly it had a mechanical relay of sorts wired to the thermocouple and all I did was cut out the thermocouple and force the relay to stay open so that gas kept flowing. If yours is anything like mine was, open that little box and it should be self explanatory as to what you need to remove.

RiverCityBrewer said:

I had one like that...

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Was this like the one you had??? There is a probe by the burner and two wires hooked up to that silver button at the top. Can I just solder the two wires from the button together? If not, I'm thinking I could fashion something to hold the red starter button down and achieve the same thing, but something less ghetto would be better

Unfortunately I misunderstood your original post and I thought you only had the thermocouple to the burner... thats what I had. I have never seen one like that though that senses the temp of the bottom of the vessel. Is it all mechanical or is there a power source somewhere? It would appear that the sensor can somehow disable the gas flow if it gets too hot, so see if you can remove the whole temp assembly from the frame and get it out of the way and see if it stays lit. The thermocouple isn't a bad thing but it makes you use both hands to light the burner which I thought was a pain. Can you get me a few more pictures from underneath and a closeup of the gas manifold (under the black shroud)? That would give me a better idea of what this thing actually is.

RiverCityBrewer said:

Can you get me a few more pictures from underneath and a closeup of the gas manifold (under the black shroud)?

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This is the fryer turned upside down. The two wires are going to the button that the kettle presses.

Hmm, I would think there would be a battery somewhere but I certainly don't see one... those clips should slide right off those terminals on the temp sensor, just grab it with a pair of needle nose pliers and gently pull one off. With one terminal loose see if it will light and stay lit. If it won't, disconnect the other and pinch them together and see if it goes. One or the other should make it work.

RiverCityBrewer said:

Hmm, I would think there would be a battery somewhere but I certainly don't see one...

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I think I figured this one out. My theory is that the probe from the very first picture is a thermocouple that is used to generate the voltage. The button is a resistor which fails (breaks the circuit) when it gets too hot, then the gas shuts off. So I am going to try removing the wires from the resistor and just hooking them together like you said. If that doesn't work I'm going to just move the button far away from the pot.

It's a klixon type temp switch that opens when it gets too hot. Pulling the leads off and hooking them together should take care of the switch and leave you able to reattach it if using it a a real turkey fryer.

WPStrassburg said:

Pulling the leads off and hooking them together should take care of the switch and leave you able to reattach it if using it a a real turkey fryer.

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Thats exactly what I did. Tested it last night and works like a charm.

Thanks for the help guys.

I have been using the stock pot it came with. Was wondering why people were having problems. I am going to go ahead and do this mod as I will be upgrading the pot soon.

my buddies and i were just trying to get a nice batch of IPA going on a Brinkmann turkey fryer and encountered every problem possible due to the temp sensor. Clipped the wires, taped 'em together, and we have fire.

Thanks so much for easing our troubled minds!

see below

bertmurphy said:

This is the fryer turned upside down. The two wires are going to the button that the kettle presses.

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Take off the top of the thermocouple. There is a spring loaded "circuit breaker" for the red button. It comes out easily. Remove the bottom rubber gasket, the spring and the brass washer. Put the breaker back in and screw the cap back on. That's it. Sounds like it's hard to do but it is not.

I just take some scrap pieces of lumber and force the button on, works great will eventually fix it as done here.

MikeW33 said:

Take off the top of the thermocouple. There is a spring loaded "circuit breaker" for the red button. It comes out easily. Remove the bottom rubber gasket, the spring and the brass washer. Put the breaker back in and screw the cap back on. That's it. Sounds like it's hard to do but it is not.

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@MikeW
Do you mind elaborating your procedure? I'm really ignorant to burner parts .

I've been screwing around with a Brinkmann Turkey Fryer for about 1.5 years, living with the shutoffs, but I'm sick of it. Thank you!

This thread has a little more detail about how to do this mod. I did it and it works flawlessly...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/turkey-fryer-burner-timer-interlock-mod-123043/

Perfect. This is exactly what I was searching for.

Cheers.