Qczar
03-28-2004, 06:52 AM
First off, ol`Greedy would like to thank all those that have responded to my past questions. All are a help and your future participation would be as well appreciated.
I just got my new 'CharBroil' labeled :-( Bandera smoker a few days ago. The box that came of the truck looked like hell. I was a bit concerned about damage and had to git the 22 oz hammer to straiten out a few things on the smoker box. But, it all lined up pretty well. The smoker door shut evenly, which was a concern, considering reading a few people having that problem.
Comments:
-It was an easy assembly. Not much to it. But what's up with those so called 'Pal Nuts'? To hold the wheels on as well as the chimney door and heat springs to the handles? What a stupid fastener. Seems as if IKEA came up with this idea? Easy fix with ½" stainless washers and drilled cotter pins in the axle.
-The 'Baffle' for the fire box was simple enough. I just found some 30 ga duct work at the Clone Depot that came as close to what I needed and cut, drilled and pop riveted it until I had a baffle sleeve that projected a good 5 inches into the smoker box.
-The factory Banera cover? ............... They sent one out with my smoker. I did`nt even take it out of the bag. Same cheap material as their other covers. It`s going back. Especially for my $50 refund. That`s something that should be mentioned here under the 'DONT`S' section. Is there one?
Questions:
-What were the differences between the older 'New Braunfels' Bandera`s and the newer 'CharBroil' versions?
-I started thinking while assembling. The depth, or height, of the fire box lid is a full 6". And add a additional 1" from the bottom of the fire box lid to the rectangular opening to the smoker box. That`s 7 inches of space that hot smoke would rise to and be trapped, not getting thru the rectangular opening to heat/smoke the smoker box.
Is this an issue that may have been addressed? Would a piece of metal or even heavy duty alum foil over the top rack of the Fire Box help in diverting more hot smoke thru to the smoker box? Or, is there enough draft into the smoker box that this 7 inches of space is not an issue? Seems it would be?
-Is there a determined depth of the 'Fire Box' baffle? I noticed that the mod that is described here has the baffle pointing down a bit. Is it necessary? Mine protrudes strait in and the water pan sits on top of it, bending the baffle down at the center a little bit.
-FIRE............. When smoking. Is using only wood and no charcoals better? Is that the preferred heat source?............ Some charcoal? ................. Charcoal to start with then only wood? I`ve been trying to find information on this here for apprentices with no luck. What would be a general rule for a beginner with this? Any help here ?
-Is there an issue with much grease, fire ambers or the such falling around the smoker while in use? I ask this becuase I plan on using the Bandera on a deck made of 'Trex'. I`m hoping my deck does`nt look like the bottom of a plastic ash tray after I start smoking. I noticed Clone Depot and Lowes have a fabric type and hard type mats available. Any experiances with these?
Again, any answers are much appreciated. I hope to get some experience under the belt and start Q`ing. I`m looking forward to experimenting with hot chili`so with my meats.
Greedy
I just got my new 'CharBroil' labeled :-( Bandera smoker a few days ago. The box that came of the truck looked like hell. I was a bit concerned about damage and had to git the 22 oz hammer to straiten out a few things on the smoker box. But, it all lined up pretty well. The smoker door shut evenly, which was a concern, considering reading a few people having that problem.
Comments:
-It was an easy assembly. Not much to it. But what's up with those so called 'Pal Nuts'? To hold the wheels on as well as the chimney door and heat springs to the handles? What a stupid fastener. Seems as if IKEA came up with this idea? Easy fix with ½" stainless washers and drilled cotter pins in the axle.
-The 'Baffle' for the fire box was simple enough. I just found some 30 ga duct work at the Clone Depot that came as close to what I needed and cut, drilled and pop riveted it until I had a baffle sleeve that projected a good 5 inches into the smoker box.
-The factory Banera cover? ............... They sent one out with my smoker. I did`nt even take it out of the bag. Same cheap material as their other covers. It`s going back. Especially for my $50 refund. That`s something that should be mentioned here under the 'DONT`S' section. Is there one?
Questions:
-What were the differences between the older 'New Braunfels' Bandera`s and the newer 'CharBroil' versions?
-I started thinking while assembling. The depth, or height, of the fire box lid is a full 6". And add a additional 1" from the bottom of the fire box lid to the rectangular opening to the smoker box. That`s 7 inches of space that hot smoke would rise to and be trapped, not getting thru the rectangular opening to heat/smoke the smoker box.
Is this an issue that may have been addressed? Would a piece of metal or even heavy duty alum foil over the top rack of the Fire Box help in diverting more hot smoke thru to the smoker box? Or, is there enough draft into the smoker box that this 7 inches of space is not an issue? Seems it would be?
-Is there a determined depth of the 'Fire Box' baffle? I noticed that the mod that is described here has the baffle pointing down a bit. Is it necessary? Mine protrudes strait in and the water pan sits on top of it, bending the baffle down at the center a little bit.
-FIRE............. When smoking. Is using only wood and no charcoals better? Is that the preferred heat source?............ Some charcoal? ................. Charcoal to start with then only wood? I`ve been trying to find information on this here for apprentices with no luck. What would be a general rule for a beginner with this? Any help here ?
-Is there an issue with much grease, fire ambers or the such falling around the smoker while in use? I ask this becuase I plan on using the Bandera on a deck made of 'Trex'. I`m hoping my deck does`nt look like the bottom of a plastic ash tray after I start smoking. I noticed Clone Depot and Lowes have a fabric type and hard type mats available. Any experiances with these?
Again, any answers are much appreciated. I hope to get some experience under the belt and start Q`ing. I`m looking forward to experimenting with hot chili`so with my meats.
Greedy