bandera firebox question

billm

billm

is Blowin Smoke!
Joined
Mar 8, 2006
Location
Roselle Il
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Head
ok guys ..what can i do with the firebox on my bandera? it seems more heat just goes straight up into the hollow cover instead of into the cook chamber..i wanted to try putting the piece of sheet metal inside the lid per the mods section on here but if i do my charcoal basket wont fit..
any ideas???
 
Can you trim the basket down so it'll be flush with the top?

I have thought of doing that too but just never got around to it. Mine seems to run well at temps so Ive never farked with it too much. My thought was: the farkers who invented it probably made it that way for a reason. You mainly want the smoke and some of the heat going into the cooking chamber. Not all of the heat. We just need 225* worth of heat once the unit warms up.

I had thought of a sliding/adjustable plate that I could adjust while cooking. When you are trying to get the unit up to speed, direct more heat into the cooking chamber. Once you're hot, pull the plate out to the normal (the way it is now) config.
 
just seems like im losing way too much heat out the top of the firebox and its taking too long to get the cook chamber up to temp
to be honest I havent messed with the bandera all that much since i got a WSM and an NBBD offset but i would like to take advantage of it more this summer because of the amount of food I can put on it
Its always an adventure everytime i use it though
 
I've explaind the concept of heat shields before try to look up the details. But basically you want to get some non-galvinized sheet metal (I use stainless) and fabricate an arch to fit in the top , sides and a front (where the firebox joins the smoke box.).
 
thanks Mark-yea i should have done a search..didnt even think of arching the metal
 
U R welcome. At least you are observant enuf to realize the need.
 
I'm not sure if Mark is talking about a heat shield for the opening into the smoke chamber, or something to do with the lid. I just got rid of my Bandera, mainly b/c of the effort to do long cooks on it.

I had to get a pretty good fire going in mine to keep temp in the smoke chamber. And, even with gaskets added, it leaked so much air around the fire box that it'd keep burning for 24 hours after I finished up cooking.

A long time ago, I saw where someone had replaced their lid with a flat piece of plate steel. That might help direct the heat into the smoke chamber better.
 
thull said:
I'm not sure if Mark is talking about a heat shield for the opening into the smoke chamber, or something to do with the lid. I just got rid of my Bandera, mainly b/c of the effort to do long cooks on it.

I had to get a pretty good fire going in mine to keep temp in the smoke chamber. And, even with gaskets added, it leaked so much air around the fire box that it'd keep burning for 24 hours after I finished up cooking.

A long time ago, I saw where someone had replaced their lid with a flat piece of plate steel. That might help direct the heat into the smoke chamber better.
Click to expand...

Mark is talking about taking a sheet of stainless and placing it in the lid of the firebox. The stainless is cut to size and pressed into the lid, with the edges resting on the lip of the lid. Simple mod, mod.
 
Jorge said:
Mark is talking about taking a sheet of stainless and placing it in the lid of the firebox. The stainless is cut to size and pressed into the lid, with the edges resting on the lip of the lid. Simple mod, mod.
Click to expand...

Actually, I put in 2 arches. 1 from front to back and the other from end to end. I also pop riveted them in place. I also cut 2 rectangles for the sides and keep them from falling in by a smaller rectangle under where the smoke enters the smoke box. The sides also have a lip that helps them stand up straightish.
 
thull:

How'd you "get rid" of your BD?

As far as lid leakage, it doesn't matter if it's leaking in. Just compensate by decreasing the sliding vent.
 
thull said:
I had to get a pretty good fire going in mine to keep temp in the smoke chamber. And, even with gaskets added, it leaked so much air around the fire box that it'd keep burning for 24 hours after I finished up cooking.
Click to expand...
if you were getting 24 hr burns out of the coal in your firebox i would say thats damn good
 
I use a SpiceWine box in my modded BSKD. I also use two sheets of steel layed on top of the firebox in the channel where the grill grate usually sits. I slide the two peices in under the flap of the firebox so they overlap in the middle. I slide the front piece up under the flap in the box next to the smoke chamber and that seals the space a little better than without. The other piece fits under the flap close to the intake side of the box. I'll have to look at my Bandera and see how the firebox is designed on it and if there's any differences in the general form.

I would try trimming down the basket you're using so it at least sits flush with the top of the firebox itself instead of sitting above it into the lid area.
 
Here are a couple pictures of my Firebox in place

basket7.jpg



basket8.jpg


I Hope this helps You !
 
Who made the box you got there Bob?
 
Mark- I sold it via Craigslist, though I listed it here, too.

And the 24 hr. burn was *after* I closed the darn thing up when I was done cooking. It would just sit there chugging along, with all of its dampers and doors closed, until all the fuel had burned up completely.

I have a toddler, so staying up late (or all night) to cook a brisket on the Bandera doesn't work any longer for me. She doesn't get up any later in the morning, no matter how late I stay up.

Anyway, there are a lot of creative and slick mods for the Bandera. I'd put gaskets on all of the doors, put in a heat baffle, and made a charcoal basket, all of which helped some. I was just tired of having to modify it to get some control over it.
 
thull:

What you're talking about (I think) is hot coals smoldering for a long time because they're insulated by a lot of fluffy ash. Yeah, they can remain hot 24 hours. Not hot enuf to do any real smoking though. Or even safe warming.

If, by some outside chance, you could build and maintain a decent fire in a Bandera that lasted 24 hours, you might be eligible for the Nobel Prize.
 
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