Master Forge Mods

R

rmontananyc

Guest
Hi, I am in the middle of modifying the Master Forge Green vertical smoker from Lowes. This is my first smoker and I didnt want to spend the money unless I got the techniques down first. I added multiple air dampers, green egg felt around the lid for air retention, new grill racks, new thermometers, and leveraged coal rack... now i want to raise the smoker off the ground by adding legs to it.. is this a bad idea? how high should the optimum height be for the legs? does it matter if the legs are about 1 ft long? please give your tips advice etc. thank you
 
I have 2 of those. I did some of the mods on the first one, on the second I did not. I found that it did not need any of the other mods with the ATC on it.

After adding an Auber ATC all I did was put a charcoal grate in the bottom and it works fantastic.

I dont know about adding height to the legs, I dont think it would do any harm, but I dont think its needed. The thermo is very accurate

why did you change the grill racks? I added u bolts to mine for handles, other than that they are nice I think

Here is a pic of one of mine
 
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i added a charcoal grate on top of the pan so the ash wouldnt dampen the fire.. sorry if i was unclear.. what does the ATC do? also do you have any trouble bringing it to around 250? i had trouble getting it to stay at 225 and then after my mods the thing is ripping hot 275+ have any suggetions.. im using lump charcoal and 2-3 chunks of hardwood/fruit wood every 2 hours
 
rmontananyc said:
i added a charcoal grate on top of the pan so the ash wouldnt dampen the fire.. sorry if i was unclear.. what does the ATC do? also do you have any trouble bringing it to around 250? i had trouble getting it to stay at 225 and then after my mods the thing is ripping hot 275+ have any suggetions.. im using lump charcoal and 2-3 chunks of hardwood/fruit wood every 2 hours
Click to expand...

with the atc I can go as low as 160 for smoking sausages and bacon to 375 for chicken and such.

the atc controls the temp with a blower. It controls airflow to the coals with a PID controller.

I pack the coal pan with lump, pour some lit coals on top, set the temp on the controller, close it up and let it fly. It really works great, just as good as those high dollar cookers. I have yet to use up 1 load of lump for a cook, my longest cook was about 12 hours, I still had enough left that it would have gone another few

I liked it so much I bought another one to use at my cabin
 
what model#, price etc.? It sounds like a great device... i have dime sized holes around the bottom of my smoker will that effect the ATC? i closed off the bottom hole to prevent too0 muc hair from coming in and right now the only air holes i have are the tiny dime sized holes i have about every 8 inches going around the bottom green part?
 
Thank you for all of your help. Im going to give this thing a shot. If anyone else has advice please post.
 
One of the best things you can make for a ECB is a UDS style fire basket. Along with an adjustable intake, and proper exhaust, these things will operate just as well as a WSM or UDS.
 
How can i make one of the fire baskets? what supplies should i use?
 
also going back to buttburner.. what kind of coal pan did you have on your smokers? do you raise the coal with a poan? do you have holes in your coal pan? thanks
 
rmontananyc said:
How can i make one of the fire baskets? what supplies should i use?
Click to expand...

this cooker does not need a basket.

See my pics. All I did was use a piece of expanded metal the shape of the bottom of the coal pan and elevate it a few inches to make room for ashes.

do not make this more complicated than it needs to be. Like I said I have two of these exact smokers.

here is a better pic. this was after a 10 hour smoke. This one was not made from expanded metal but its the same idea.
 
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also buttburner is there a space where the ATC has room to blow the air? sorry for all the questions but before i chop up my smoker i want to be thorough lol
 
rmontananyc said:
also buttburner is there a space where the ATC has room to blow the air? sorry for all the questions but before i chop up my smoker i want to be thorough lol
Click to expand...

yes

the ATC just blows air into that space between the pan and the outer body. From there it gets to the coals through the exsisting holes in the pan. On the first pan I drilled extra holes, but did not on the second smoker, it works just fine without the extra holes so that is not needed
 
I agree with El Ropo about the fire basket. I had a lot of issues with my modified Brinkmann before adding the basket. The problem might go away with an ATC but expanded metal from Home Depot will surely be a lot cheaper.
 
IrondeQuer said:
I agree with El Ropo about the fire basket. I had a lot of issues with my modified Brinkmann before adding the basket. The problem might go away with an ATC but expanded metal from Home Depot will surely be a lot cheaper.
Click to expand...

suit yourself

dont take the advice from a guy with 2 of them. I did run them without the ATC with no issues

but whatever...
 
I already added the much needed holes in the coal pan.. i am going to buy the atc for overnight smokes where i can be constantly up monitoring the fire dur to my work schedule... im going to post pics of all of my mods this weekend to show you guys what ive done.. let me know what you think
 
For the people thinking a UDS style basket isn't necessary, I had more consistent temps, and far less hassle using the basket. It makes clean up a breeze, allows oxygen to reach fire from everywhere, and the basket sits on top of the bolts that most people have already installed for their raised grate. All you do is attach a 6" wide strip of expanded metal to the outer edge of the raised grate you may already have. This doesn't need to be welded or anything, I used bailing wire. Then I grabbed an old clothes hanger and fashioned a handle for the basket. It all still fits under the water pan. An ATC is the thing that's not needed, if you fashion a proper damper cover for the intake hole, and create a proper exhaust, that is all you need to lock in at any temp from 230 to 350+.

Some people like an ATC for peace of mind, even with cookers like WSMs, BGEs etc. I just don't see why they are needed if the cooker is breathing right and has the built in ATC... The ability to adjust oxygen to the fire.

Spend that extra $$ on some good meat. Or beer!
 
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