# Hello ! New souther Pride Smoker is awesome!



## hiteksmoker (Jul 21, 2012)

I've been smoking the old fashioned way for a few years. Just bought a DH-65 Southern pride on Ebay. What an incredible unit. I paid $1000. I had to clean it good and hammer out a few dents.

If you are not familiar with these you should be. It is a fully electric unit "set it and forget it".....but wait you say...It cant make real BBQ because it has a "steam pan" and steams the meat...and it does not make a smoke ring.....you're right until I modified it.

The unit has 3 electric coils. One for convection heat, one for smoke and one that boils a big pan of water.

The SC-200 is considered a "Smoker Cooker" the DH in DH-65 stands for "Dinner House". The SC unit works like any other electric smoker other than it has perfect electronic programming control. The SC and the DH are the same unit less steam pan.

The DH has the same basic controller but the programming is different. If you add a switch to the proper leads in the unit you can shut off the steam pan and it works just like a sc200. Now I have the best of every world.

In the normal steam pan mode you can make ribs or BBQ chicken that will blow away a crowd. I say the masses like the ribs and chicken that come out of dh-65 better than most competition meats products. They may not have the smoke ring and the perfect chicken skin, but many have told me after eating the product that comes out of this unit, they will never be happy with restaurant ribs or chicken ever again. Anyone who competes knows that BBQ that competition BBQ does not always please the masses.

After strategically placing a simple toggle switch, I can shut off the steam and make dry smoke and have convection heating to make bacon or other semi low temp smoked products. 140° is the minimum. Because the unit is so easy to almost sterilize, the clean smoke flavor is hard to beat anywhere.

Bacon is in the brine  now. If you are interested in trading stories feel free to post away.


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## s2k9k (Jul 21, 2012)

Sounds like a pretty cool smoker!

Just wanted to let you know I moved your thread over to the "Electric Smokers" forum, I think you will get a lot more exposure to the topic at hand! "Roll Call" is pretty much just to introduce yourself to everybody here at SMF, so when you get a minute would you swing over there and tell us a little about yourself so we can get to know you, Thanks!


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## rstr hunter (Jul 21, 2012)

I played with one of their mobile units on a trailer about a month ago and I'd recommend reading the instruction book and following their times.  The unit we tried did well, but I didn't have the book and as it forces air through the unit convection cooks the food in less than half the time you'd expect.  It was all done before I ever even put a temp probe in to start tracking the temp.  Got to see the book a few days later and they were saying only an hour or two for ribs and similarly shorter times for other products.  With your model, I'm not saying that cook times will be different than you're used to but it's a possibility so check the book.  Good luck and post q-view.


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## hiteksmoker (Jul 22, 2012)

One great thing about southern pride is that all the instruction and recipe books are available online. If you follow their cook times exactly you cant go wrong. The only time i have come close to making a blunder is one of two ways.

1) Don't assume I know better. The cook times are almost perfect. You may have to adjust your cook time and vary from the recipe depending on the actual size of the meat...duh. They give you a range for the pound size of the meat chunks and you have to shoot for the short cook time or longer for larger pieces. Sounds obvious  but every time used my own judgement and deviated I made problems for myself.

2) The recipes are for a cold unit , not pre heated. If you run two different cycles back to back the second cycle will be shorter as it is already hot. I cooked chicken, then ribs. The ribs were done 20-30 min faster than recommended time.

Yes the convection function cooks very quickly. Ribs are 325° for 2 1/2 hours. No it's not a typing error.I can do 20 racks in start to finish in 3 hrs. This would be using the steam pan function. I have not yet done anything with the steam switched off yet. I got some bacon in the brine now...I will keep you posted.


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## shoneyboy (Jul 22, 2012)

hiteksmoker said:


> I've been smoking the old fashioned way for a few years. Just bought a DH-65 Southern pride on Ebay. What an incredible unit. I paid $1000. I had to clean it good and hammer out a few dents.
> 
> If you are not familiar with these you should be. It is a fully electric unit "set it and forget it".....but wait you say...It cant make real BBQ because it has a "steam pan" and steams the meat...and it does not make a smoke ring.....you're right until I modified it.
> 
> ...


*Hiteksmoker, I looked at a unit on EBay….That is one nice unit and a great price from what I have seen….Can’t wait to see some of your work with it…..Good luck with it.....*


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## michael ark (Jul 22, 2012)

They are verry easy to work on too. I fixed one at coltons steak houe before.


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## hiteksmoker (Jul 22, 2012)

A unit was just sold for under $1000 on ebay. Probably because it was local pickup only. Occasionally a chain turns them over, I think my unit came from Chilis.


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## pjsbbq (Aug 6, 2013)

Just read your information on the DH65 conversion.  I too am a huge fan of the DH.  Our guests rave about the pulled pork, ribs and chicken but I would like to get a better smoke flavor in the brisket.  When you toggle off the steam pan what time/temp are you cooking them at?  Any help would be appreciated.  We cook ours right now for 5 hours and seem to lose a lot in purge and the while there is some smoke flavor, it is hard to compare to what a smoker without the water pan can do.  Maybe I am cooking them all wrong to begin with.  Any information anyone can provide on time/temp settings with the steam pan or without would be greatly appreciated.  Aaron


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## hiteksmoker (Sep 25, 2013)

Sorry I did not reply. I added a switch to shut off the steam pan. A good electrician can do it. the schematics are online. I cant yet say how to modify the cooking times but you can get a sc200 manual that has cook times and temps that work without the steam pan. The sc 200 it the same thing without steam...the programming is a little different. Just use the times and temps from the sc200. I did cook boneless prime rib per the sc200 directions and it was done much faster than the directions said. I think it was because the times they use assumes much more poundage in the cooker. The directions said 8 hrs and it was done in 5. In fact over cooked it.


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## shtrdave (Nov 18, 2013)

I just bought a DH65 off an auction, should be here by the end of the week, Interested how you did this switch, I may be able to figure it out once it is here. It is overkill for my home smoking but I wanted something I could hang sausage, trail bologna, summer sausage sticks and the likes. I hope this is high enough inside to do this. I can hardly wiat until it get s here.

Do you have a pics or threads on the stuff you have done in yours so far?


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## moejoe (Jan 23, 2015)

NEED TO FIND SCHEMATIC FOR CONVERTING DH65 TO TURN OFF STEAM PAN.


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## gregswoff (Apr 27, 2016)

Hello does anyone have any pictures of this conversion?  Thinking about buying one , just want to make sure I can have this done.


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## daveomak (May 15, 2016)

DH - 65 manual

https://www.southern-pride.com/_new/m/catalogs/DH-65  Owners Manual prior to 2009.pdf













DH - 65 wiring diagram 2.bmp



__ daveomak
__ May 15, 2016


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## hiteksmoker (May 15, 2016)

Its not that simple. That wont  work. It causes the wood smoke box not to work. This is correct.I actually have one of these converted.













152055.JPG



__ hiteksmoker
__ Feb 8, 2015


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## gregswoff (May 15, 2016)

Hi tech, thanks for your response and posting a photo.   I have a 2013 DH -65 and the wiring diagram appears a little different than the picture you post .   My 2009 plus manual shows two dotted wires going to terminal 3 and two wires going to terminal 4.  

Connect the two wires going to terminal 4, 25 amp relay to the input side of the 125V toggle switch.     Then connect a 16 awg wire from output side of toggle switch back to terminal  of the 25 amp relay.    Sorry for beating a dead horse.    Just don't want to fry anything or myself


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## daveomak (May 15, 2016)

hiteksmoker said:


> Its not that simple. That wont  work. It causes the wood smoke box not to work. This is correct.I actually have one of these converted.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Look at the electrical schematic in the link....    That is where the picture came from....   It may be a little clearer about which wires were hooked to the switch....


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## gregswoff (May 19, 2016)

Hello thank you all for all of your comments and help.   was able to do the modification today.   


Greg


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## smokinQM (Sep 13, 2018)

gregswolf, did you have the pre 2009 wiring in your dh65 or post 2009?


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## SonnyE (Sep 16, 2018)

daveomak said:


> DH - 65 manual
> 
> https://www.southern-pride.com/_new/m/catalogs/DH-65 Owners Manual prior to 2009.pdf
> 
> ...



Your advice made perfect sense to me Dave.

(You can lead a horse to water.... :rolleyes: )


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