I am looking for an inexpensive oven style thermostat to make a meat
smoker with settable temperature. Range of 150-300 degrees F would be
fine. The thermostat would have to have a sensor inside an enclosure,
and control an electric range style heating element. The lowest prices
that I have seen is about $55 or so. Is there anything cheaper that
I missed?

I like to barbeque (real barbeque, not grilling), and built a
"cracker-style" two-barrel cooker -- fire in the bottom, meat in the top.

Since a 40 or 50lb shoat takes 24 hours or longer to cook, I wanted to stop
tending the fire all night. Even beer and books get kinda wearisome at 3am,
unless you have four or five guys stokin'.

So I visited Habitat and bought an old gas stove for ten bucks. Stripped
out the thermostat and gas valve, and set a burner in the flame pipe between
the top and bottom barrels.

Now we smoke with real fire for about six to eight hours, then put on the
gas flame, and let it maintain at about 200F for the remaining cooking time.

GREAT addition to real barbeque.

LLoyd