Did first mods from 101 now have questions

[bamasmoker]

Mornin' guys. 8) I built the grate to raise my fire box. I just used expanded metal and some metal with holes in it for reinforcement. Looks like it may last a year or 2. :roll: Put fire bricks in the smoker box and got some pavers for the fire box. They are not fire pavers (the bricks are but were too big for the fire box) but if the pop or explode they will be under the ash pan in the fire box so I don't care. :shock: Might make a good story. I am thinking about using some fire pipe cut in half to channel the heat a little farther into the smoke box (like the baffle) and haven't made the fire basket yet but will soon. Question. :?: :?: In 101 you say to oil the hinges on the firebox and spray it with cookin oil on the hot spot. I've already scraped and painted the hot spot once and decided just to do it once a year. I understand cooking oil there but can I use motor oil or axle grease on the hinges? :?: Man I am ready to cook!

[BBQchef33]

I've used 90 weight Differential fluid on the firebox hinges, and also bearing grease. The bearing grease gets thick in the winter with a frozen cold firebox. But after cooking for a few hours, both were pretty much gone. The point in the 101 doc, is just to keep those hinges oiled in between uses so they dont sieze up. I had mine sieze up a few months after purchase and I torked it right off the firebox when i opened it. Same thing happened to greg. Now I hit them whenever I remember with cooking oil that I keep in a spray bottle.


Also.. dont rush on the basket yet... its the lazymans way for extended burns. Run stock for a while so you get to have all the fun of pinning a fire to 250 for 6 hours.. or at least trying to. How else ya gonna smell like smoke when ya go to bed.?

[bamasmoker]

Yeah, I'm doing that now and my wife loves it! My favorite part is BBQing on a Sat and making her mow the lawn because I can't leave the smoker. "Dang baby, I already told you how important maintaining constant temp is! You do it, you like the outdoors!".

[BigAl]

When I got my Bandera, I did a lot of reading on fire bricks and why they should be used. Fire bricks come in full size or "splits" which are about 1.5 thick and cut easy with a tile cutter blade on your power saw. The articles I read said that other type of bricks and maybe pavers release toxic gases when heated. So even if they are in the fire box, your food may get some unwanted stuff.

[bamasmoker]

Uh Oh!