Smokin on the Kettle, but didn't have bricks so....
 

I have read about many on this forum who have smoked on their Weber Kettle, so being the recent new owner of one, I wanted to give it a try. Only problem was I didn't have any bricks the right size, or coal rails or baskets. So being a crummy snow and ice day, I had to improvise. I knew from the advice of others on this forum I would probably need a water source as well, so I found something that would block the heat, provide a water source to keep temps even, and didn't make me have to go out to acquire supplies at the same time. Pron follows:

Empty Kettle...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08741975_o.jpg

I had a cooking grate from a $5 disposable charcoal grill, that I bent to form a charcoal rail...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08741995_o.jpg

Fished these little friends out of the recycling bag under the workbench...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742005_o.jpg

Got out some wire and strapped 'em to the front of the homemade charcoal rail....

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742018_o.jpg

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742030_o.jpg

Finished baffle....

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742042_o.jpg

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742054_o.jpg

Placed in the kettle...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742066_o.jpg

Filled each can with water...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742080_o.jpg

Prepped coals for a Minion Method type of burn....

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742093_o.jpg

Hickory chips in the smoker box...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742327_o.jpg

Brown sugar and cheddar Fattie ready to smoke....

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742357_o.jpg

Adding heat...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742372_o.jpg

Smoker box on top...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742415_o.jpg

Grate on top...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742441_o.jpg

Preheating...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742457_o.jpg

Fattie goes on...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742484_o.jpg

Perfect temp for 3 hours...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742521_o.jpg

Perfect Fattie ready for the family...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/0/2...08742556_o.jpg

So because I was stuck in the house all day, and had emptied a few of these little buddies first, necessity became the mother of invention. The beauty of it was that it was a perfect fit from side to side, and top to bottom, and the sucker held a perfect temp the whole time (probably a testament to the quality of the Weber Kettle design more than my homebrew baffle). Not only that, it hardly burned any charcoal and probably could have gone another 3-4 hours on the load I had in there. Lastly, it didn't burn much water off either, so I think I could have gone 6 hours without touching it.

As stupid and generic as this "device" was, it gave me a reason to be in the garage (emptying more cans for the next revision of this design), and it worked well enough that I actually rinsed it off and kept it for future use.

Maybe I should get a patent on this before some starts mass producing these!

Brilliant!

That is incredible, man.
Very creative and very nice going.

I love it!!! Fantastic post!! Just goes to show you if there's a will there's a way!!! Very cool indeed!!! :wink::cool::cool:

Without a doubt. You win the MacGyver Award.

Great looking fattie. (Again, someone made only one!)

And I bet you poured the beer down the drain................NOT! Good thinkin' grasshopper!

great idea! however, i have recently discovered that the single fattie only leads to fattie envy. :icon_blush:

Yea, I cooked 2 other fatties with the chicken in the Brinkmann Vertical. This one was just a test for my drunken experiment, and it tasted the best!

Great idea!! You could leave beer in some of the cans to add to the flavor :-)

Cool idea nad it worked well. The fattie looks great. Man I love the mod8-)

Ummmmm....farkin brilliant!
With all that room and heat control I woulda thrown in some wangs or abts around the sides of that fatty.
Once again I am inspired by brethrens...

Looks like it worked great. good job man

way to go --If there is a will there is a way

Double what he said.

Simply amazing. Did the water boil over outta the cans?

Great! Before ya know it someone will figure out how to make a smoker out of an old oil drum.

:-D