BBQ Smokers

NS Gearhead · Aug 10, 2015

Test burn #3... this time I built a carcoal basket out of expanded steel. Same diam as the coal bowl and 4" tall. This way I can fit more and re-claim the 2nd cooking grate. I used a 1/2" stove gasket to seal the lid. I just put the lid in place and centered it as best I could... ran a bead of stove cement on the lid and set the gasket in place. Once that was dry I ran another bead on the top and bottom of the gasket. I also made a little 4" draft for the lid. 4- 1/2" holes.

Started at 2:30
275 at 3:00 draft closed
235 at 4:00 threw 3 sausage on
200 at 5:00 1/2 draft and added 6 briquets
220 at 5:30 3/4 draft
190 at 6:00 full draft and added 6 more briquets
190 at 7:30 full draft and added 6 more briquets

Getting there, but still not there. LOL So far it's only cost me $10 for the gasket plus a full bag of charcoal. I am happy that it seems to be going the right direction. The sausages were on there for about 4 hours and were really good... although I was pretty tipsy at that point so anything would have been good. LOL The gasket didn't seal the lid 100%. I added a hand full of wood chips twice and could see some wispers of smoke coming out in spots and around the feed door. Next is to seal the bottom.

IslandTractor · Aug 10, 2015

Gearhead, if you can maintain 190-210 then you don't really need to worry about leaks anymore. There has to be some exhaust or the fire will go out. Very few things are smoked at less than 190 and only electric smokers are easily controlled below that level.

NS Gearhead · Aug 10, 2015

I thought 225-250 was ideal for most things.... so in saying that it seemed that I was still having too fast of a burn at the start using up too much fuel, not giving me long enough of a burn time and falling temperature. I could just keep adding coals, but it seems in-efficient.

Sealing up the bottom should be relatively easy. I plan to cut out a flange from light steel and weld it to the charcoal bowl. Basically extending the lip around the top of the bowl to where it will contact the smoker's body. Then I'll drill some holes in the bowl just below that lip for intake air. I'm thinking 4... starting at 1/4", then seeing what kind of temperature I can maintain. I can just drill the holes bigger until I get the results I want. I'll use the exhaust vent to regulate.

PS; sorry for the lack of pictures. My home computer's down, and I can't seem to be able to at work either. I'm pretty lacking in the IT department... I'll get some up soon... just might need help from the neighbor. LOL

IslandTractor · Aug 10, 2015

NS Gearhead said:
I thought 225-250 was ideal for most things.... so in saying that it seemed that I was still having too fast of a burn at the start using up too much fuel, not giving me long enough of a burn time and falling temperature. I could just keep adding coals, but it seems in-efficient.

Sealing up the bottom should be relatively easy. I plan to cut out a flange from light steel and weld it to the charcoal bowl. Basically extending the lip around the top of the bowl to where it will contact the smoker's body. Then I'll drill some holes in the bowl just below that lip for intake air. I'm thinking 4... starting at 1/4", then seeing what kind of temperature I can maintain. I can just drill the holes bigger until I get the results I want. I'll use the exhaust vent to regulate.

PS; sorry for the lack of pictures. My home computer's down, and I can't seem to be able to at work either. I'm pretty lacking in the IT department... I'll get some up soon... just might need help from the neighbor. LOL

Indeed there are many meats that are smoked at 225 or so but I thought you were focused on getting control so you could lower the temp to under 200 which is needed for fish and some meats and fowl. "Low and slow" generally means using cooking temps of less than 225. Remember that basically anything will eventually equilibrate with the temperature of the oven so if you are cooking for 10-12hrs you can pretty much get the meat to close to whatever temp the oven is averaging. Even pulled pork doesn't require more than 210-220 to reach an internal temp of 200 in 10 hrs or so. For those occasions when you want higher heat, getting it up above 225 shouldn't require more than a bit more charcoal and fiddling with intake and exhaust drafts. The difficulty/challenge with most smokers is keeping the temp below 200 when necessary. I'm sure the boys with the BGEs or electronically controlled pellet smokers can manage a wider range of temps consistently but FWIW, I use my electric when aiming for temps in the lower smoker range and use charcoal in a Cajun Grill when higher smoking temps are possible. I find it tough to keep consistent 190-200 temps with charcoal in my dual purpose Cajun Grill. Then again I am still on the steep part of the learning curve so YMMV.

MossRoad · Aug 10, 2015

NS Gearhead said:
Well I didn't get my Weber, but I was in Home Depot for something else when I spotted this;

Brinkmann Smoke 'N Grill Charcoal Smoker and Grill-810-5302-S - The Home Depot

$90 canadian. Figured I couldn't go wrong. Found some interesting mods on youtube such as putting in a real thermometer, putting the legs on backwards for easier access to the coal pan as well as drilling air vents in the pan for more air & heat. If it works out and I use it enough to make yummy meals it'll be easier to convince momma to get a nicer one.

My next door neighbor just gave me one of those today. He got it for $40 barely used a couple months ago, liked smoking so much, he went and got a larger propane smoker a couple weeks ago and today asked me if I'd like to try it, and if I liked it, I could have it. :thumbsup: So, I'm cleaning it up a bit and will give smoking a try in the near future. :licking:

IslandTractor · Aug 10, 2015

MossRoad said:
My next door neighbor just gave me one of those today. He got it for $40 barely used a couple months ago, liked smoking so much, he went and got a larger propane smoker a couple weeks ago and today asked me if I'd like to try it, and if I liked it, I could have it. :thumbsup: So, I'm cleaning it up a bit and will give smoking a try in the near future. :licking:

Watch out, it's addictive and far more time consuming than grilling!!!

MossRoad · Aug 10, 2015

I got time. :laughing:

I saw an electric element kit that slips in and out for use instead of charcoal. It costs about $40. Someone said to put a router speed control on it to dial it down if needed. I'll give it a try with charcoal a few times and see how it goes first. I have some ribs in the freezer that I can experiment with.

NS Gearhead · Aug 11, 2015

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/343026-el-cheapo-brinkmann-smoker.html#post4214382

Figured it was project worthy.

polkwrangler · Aug 11, 2015

has anyone ever used the weber ranch kettle ...looking into it but expensive

/pine · Aug 11, 2015

FWIW...for anyone interested in smoking some meat or seafood etc...a fancy smoker is not mandatory ...

...All you need is something to hold the fire/wood chips and a rack for the meat etc...AND...a big enough cardboard box to cover everything...just cut a few vents where you want the smoke to escape and set it so it gets enough air under the bottom edges...