# Another post about the Sentry gas control valve



## brandx (May 6, 2006)

Well, after getting and installing my Sentry gas valve from that Lousianna turkey fryer supply place I find out the thing doesn't work. All I can get is a half inch flame out of it which hardly gives me a 150 degree temperature. Very disappointing. I'm glad I didn't hack up the original manual valve when I did the conversion. So, I email the company 3 times so far. Not a single response. So I email the other address, the one supposedly for the owner of the company. That message comes back "user unknown". Three times I tried calling the number yesterday,,, no answer!! Folks,, my personnel opinion on this product,,, hopefully you'll get one that works because if not, it looks like your stuck with another chinese manufactured POS.


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## daveyhunter (May 6, 2006)

Thanks for the warning I will remember that always

Daveyhunter


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## Dutch (May 7, 2006)

One of the members here had purchased the TCV and after having the same problems (low flames, low temp. output) he had a hole drilled and tapped to fit the valve thus by-passing the main control knob altogether. By adding the additonal orfice, he is able to get a higher flame and increase his temp. output.  I'm going to have my son take my burner to his machinest friend and have this mod to my burner.

(I was going to post his emule to me here in the forum, by the wife cleaned out my emule box and dumped the trash so I couldn't recover it  :(  )


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## brandx (May 7, 2006)

All well and good Earl but that kinda defeats the purpose of having the control valve in the first place doesn't it? I was hoping to tweak that valve right down to a cold smoke temperature but still be able to use it in the slow cook range of 250 and up. By drilling out the oriface it doesn't help the fact that the valve won't modulate the flame like it's supposed to.
BTW, you don't have to take it to a machinest. If you have the old manual gas valve that came with the GOSM originally you'll notice that a #56 drill bit fits in that oriface so you can drill out the TCV with that bit. But again,, if the valve doesn't modulate through the entire temp range its designed for, it just don't work.


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## Dutch (May 7, 2006)

Maybe I should have been more clear in  my post-nothing on the Sentry valve was drill out-that was someone else's post. In the emule I received, the sender drilled a new hole in the burner leaving the original setup from the control knob to the burner intact. A new hole was drilled and tapped into the burner so that the brass fitting that came with the TCV could be installed.  The line from the propane tank to the control unit on the GOSM was cut and fittings installed so that the user could switch the propane line between the TCV and the GOSM control.


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## brandx (May 7, 2006)

Thats what I did with my set up. All I have to do is undo the whole burner and turn it 90 degrees to line up with the TCV. Thats how I found out the darn valve is NFG.


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## reflect (May 9, 2006)

I'll admit it. I ordered one, installed it with the knowledgeable people at a small hardware store. I get the same results as others here, the flame is not high enough to get to 225-250 degrees. I really am not handy enough to drill out or modify it (I can see a flaming Brian running down the road  :lol: ). Give me a diss assembled computer and 15 minutes, I can deal with that no problems.

At this point I am out the purchase pice plus around $15 in additional parts. Not a biggie as it is pretty easy to mantain the tempature.

Bummer, but worth the try.

Take care,

Brian


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## cajunsmoker (May 22, 2006)

could someone give me some link info on this product so i check the tech specs on it.  Sounds like you guys are having a pressure problem. That probably means that your regulator and burner types don't match up.


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## brandx (May 22, 2006)

I've got 10.5"WC at the burner. Right on the money. I checked that long ago. My valve just doesn't work like it's supposed to. I finally got in touch with the company. Talked to some nitwit who said she's been with the company for 5 years so she knows what she's talking about. I told her I've been doing commercial/industrial HVAC for over 30 years IN THE HEATING DOMINANT NORTHEAST and she didn't know her butt from a hole in the ground about LP. CLICK,,,,BUZZZZZZZ. Conversation over. Oh well, I can use it for cold smoking anyway which I do quite often.


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## cajunsmoker (May 23, 2006)

the reason I asked was that when I built my smoker I was scrounging parts.  I had a wall furnace valve that I wanted to use that was a 750mv  coil and 11" wc.  I had a pilot generator to provide my 750mv and a thermostat from an electric oven to provide my control.  Now all I needed was a burner.  I used a fish cooker burner I had laying around and got about the same results as you guys.

Turned out the burner was 10psi not 10" wc.

Replaced the burner with a burner out of an LP water heater and everything works great now.


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## cajunsmoker (May 24, 2006)

I finally located the manufacturer of that valve.  It is a valve for a turkey cooker.  Turkey cooker's run on high pressures (10psi and up).  Smokers run on low pressure 10.5" water column or approx 1/2psi.  

It is almost a certainty that your problems are because of incompatable parts.

If you have a turkey pot sitting around, try your sentry gas valve with it.

I bet it works perfectly on that pressure.

If not I have all the parts to build yourself a pot that I had to pull off my smoker to make it work.  Welcome to it.


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## snowman (May 25, 2006)

Cajun.... Thanks for the follow up.... I am looking at building a smokehouse this summer and was looking to use propane.  I will buy a turkey burner and the TCV......

Mike


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## tsulcoski (Aug 4, 2006)

I m not sure I got this straight, If you buy a turkey cooker and the century vavle, they will work together??

I the century valve a low pressure valve or high pressure?

What in the way of btu will this turkey cooker put out?

Thanks for the education........feeling a little uneducated after reading these posts.

Trevor


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## cajunsmoker (Aug 4, 2006)

Hey Trevor,

It's me again :D .

The sentry gas control valve is made to work with a turkey cooker. :!: 
\
Turkey cookers work on high pressure LP gas.  10 pounds per square inch.

Smokers work on low pressure. :!:   the amount of pressure required to push 10.5 inches of water straight up a cylinder from the spot it would normally be at atmospheric pressure (adj to sea level). AKA 10.5 WC (water column).

If you buy a burner made for a outside cooker (cajun cooker, turkey cooker, etc) then the sentry valve should be ok.  It is not made to work with low pressure applications.  

The only other problem I see is that the probe is made to be inserted in oil.  Liquid's conduct heat much better that gases, so I don't know how effective the probe will be.


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## tsulcoski (Aug 4, 2006)

Rodger,

Thanks again, getting a pretty good grasp of this now.

What do you think about dimantling an old oven to use the part for a smoke house.
burner, temp comtrol etc....

Trevor


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## cajunsmoker (Aug 7, 2006)

I think that would probably be OK.  If you got everything it takes to keep pilot light lit and all that.


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## tsulcoski (Oct 14, 2006)

Rodger,

Finally got all the parts for the burner, sentry valve etc.....

Bought a 30 psi banjo cooker and the sentry valve, they work great together. I can bring my 5x5x6 block smoke house to 225 degrees in about 15 mins
and the valve works great. I secured the temp tube to the wall by the door of the smokehouse     ( coolest place) and no water or oil was needed.
Thanks for your explaination on the valve and turkey burners.

Trevor


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## cajunsmoker (Oct 14, 2006)

Glad to hear it worked.  I thought it would be fine, but until someone actually did it, I couldn't be sure.

It's starting to cool down in Louisiana and I am having more trouble keeping my temps up, so I may redo my smoker with a turkey burner and Sentry valve also.

Thanks for the update.


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