Building the proper fire...

did you check under the fire to make sure you had good air-flow, because based on what you've described that's the first thing i'd check. even if you are using a low ash lump

^^^^^what he said!

toadhunter911 said:

I know this is pretty basic, but how do you guys build your fire for smoking? I have a chargrill with the offset fire box, and have had pretty good results in the past, but had a real problem last weekend. Got thru about 3-3.5 hours on the ribs ok, but then the temp dropped to 150 and I had a hard time bringing it back up. I used a lump charcoal and hickory chunks for smoke.

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Did you clean the ash out between the grate and the bottom of your side fire box? I've got a char griller off set that if you do not keep the area below the grate and the bottom of the fire box "clean" or "clear" your temps will drastically drop due to lack of airflow.

**Though you didn't ask I'll give you my unsolicited advice. If you're serious about getting into smoking meat, save up some money and buy a unit that is specifically built for smoking. I own a char griller offset and 'bout went nuts baby sitting it and dealing with the temp fluctuations. I now use it strictly for grilling and that's really what it does best.** Hope I didn't "get in yo business" too much just offering some advice based on experience.

do you have a charcoal basket? i used to be able to get about 4-5 hours on a basket. some fluctuations but not too bad

motley que said:

do you have a charcoal basket? i used to be able to get about 4-5 hours on a basket. some fluctuations but not too bad

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That is exactly what is needed in the SFB of your CharGriller.... a charcoal basket. Cuts down on the need to add charcoal every hour, better air flow because the ash doesn't suffocate the burning charcoal for oxygen... the ash simply falls through the basket onto the charcoal drawer thus allowing the charcoal to burn more efficiently for smoking purposes.

The CG still needs some tending to in maintaining long burn times. If the temp drops like it did on you, to raise the temps quicker, slightly open the SFB's charcoal drawer to allow more oxygen into it. Monitor your main chamber therm and when it gets to 225-250, close the SFB charcoal drawer and use the SFB's intake vent to stabilize the temp in your main chamber. Always worked for me if I wasn't paying attention and the temp dropped too much and I wanted to raise the temp quicker. Also, give a little shake to the charcoal basket to loosen any ash just in case, every couple of hours.

One other bit of advise, don't use the OEM therm on the upper lid of the main chamber. It sits too high and won't provide you an accurate temp at the food grate level. I placed a therm on my CG on the left side, as shown here:





Here is the charcoal basket I made quite a while ago when I used to do the smoking using my CG ---

I made my charcoal basket with expanded metal and it measures 12"x12"x6" deep.



Here's a closer view of my charcoal basket and angle iron pieces for its support:

Angle iron in the SFB for support of the basket. No drilling required and the charcoal drawer can be removed without needing to remove or mess with the charcoal basket:




Charcoal basket seated on the lips of the angle iron in the SFB:

What did y'all do about the heat being lost through the metal once it got in the cooking chamber? That was the problem I kept having when I exclusively smoked on my CG. The metal is 1/8" thick and I was having heat not only escape through the gaps in the chamber but through the metal. How do y'all remedy that?

Bamabuzzard said:

What did y'all do about the heat being lost through the metal once it got in the cooking chamber? That was the problem I kept having when I exclusively smoked on my CG. The metal is 1/8" thick and I was having heat not only escape through the gaps in the chamber but through the metal. How do y'all remedy that?

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I would pray for good mild weather. :wink: When the weather was right, I had no issues at all. But trying to smoke in 30 degree weather with some windy gusts?? Fugetaboutit !!!
Some folks would use stove gasket material to assist with the sealing.

Bamabuzzard said:

What did y'all do about the heat being lost through the metal once it got in the cooking chamber? That was the problem I kept having when I exclusively smoked on my CG. The metal is 1/8" thick and I was having heat not only escape through the gaps in the chamber but through the metal. How do y'all remedy that?

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Do you see the chargriller listed in my signature? Thats how I remedy it.

motley que said:

Do you see the chargriller listed in my signature? Thats how I remedy it.

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LOL!!!! You got rid of the SOB?! Is that what you're saying? :biggrin:

I still have my CG... I love it for grilling!! Nothing like grilling on nicely seasoned cast iron grates!!! I don't use it much now days for smoking.

jazzspot said:

I still have my CG... I love it for grilling!! Nothing like grilling on nicely seasoned cast iron grates!!! I don't use it much now days for smoking.

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I still got mine as well. Great for grilling. Like I said to the original poster to me that's what it does best.

Bamabuzzard said:

What did y'all do about the heat being lost through the metal once it got in the cooking chamber? That was the problem I kept having when I exclusively smoked on my CG. The metal is 1/8" thick and I was having heat not only escape through the gaps in the chamber but through the metal. How do y'all remedy that?

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add a baffle & drop in tuning plates. hawg heaven has some great pics of mods to his 3 cg's.drop him a pm. he's always willing to help.

Bamabuzzard said:

What did y'all do about the heat being lost through the metal once it got in the cooking chamber? That was the problem I kept having when I exclusively smoked on my CG. The metal is 1/8" thick and I was having heat not only escape through the gaps in the chamber but through the metal. How do y'all remedy that?

Click to expand...

a welding blanket over the smoking chamber is a great way to conserve heat. just don't let it touch the fire box :shock:

I placed a grate from an ECB inside the fire box of my similar to your New Braunfels offset, supported the grate by the curve of the firebox. Added another grate at 90 degrees to shrink the space between grate rails to get more buring time b4 the coals fall through. Took the fire ring out of my WSM and can get over 8 hours cooking time from a full basket started minion methed. Mix a few (3-4) chunks of wood at different depths and distances from center of ring to get some smoke throughout the cook, or add a small split every 60-90 minutes. Just my .02 worth...

There are lots of mods that can be done to a chargriller.

The ones that were most memorable to me were :

Charcoal basket
Extending exhaust to grate level
Sealing off the gap around the cooking chamber with an L-shaped pc of aluminum.
Baffle

These mods will pimp your CG to the max but you will still have to keep your hand on the wheel.

Once you have mastered the CG, everything else will be easy.

Once you build a charcoal basket and seal up all the holes then you will be able to use the Minion Method for fire mangement.