Well, the mod is nearing completion and it's far enough along to get some comments or ideas from all of you. This has been a fun build, and so far I've done 5 test cooks. The characteristics of this cooker have really changed for the better. Because I also will be using this for my camping/fishing trips I'm thinking a canvas stuff sack would be the ticket for transporting. I still need to install a thermometer, and maybe a larger ash pan.
The plant stand I used when this was still a grill does not work now that it's a smoker. The original legs are much more stable considering the height of the Tall Boy.
I'm still using the clips for the grate, I made two sets for different heights. Right now I'm cooking about 9" from the charcoal.
My first charcoal basket will work fine for short or low temp cooks, but I've made a larger basket. The mini-basket is loose and can just sit inside the larger one when needed.
I For my drip pan/heat shield, I built a rack to sit in the lower ledge, but added some risers to split the distance between the charcoal basket and the cooking grate. I am using a standard pie pan (this one is stainless) for this. It sits 5" from the charcoal basket, and 4" below my cooking grate.
I did document all of the steps in the build with about 10 photos, mostly involving the layout and cutting of the tamale pot, and will most likely devote an entire page on my cookin' site to this build.
The plant stand I used when this was still a grill does not work now that it's a smoker. The original legs are much more stable considering the height of the Tall Boy.
I'm still using the clips for the grate, I made two sets for different heights. Right now I'm cooking about 9" from the charcoal.
My first charcoal basket will work fine for short or low temp cooks, but I've made a larger basket. The mini-basket is loose and can just sit inside the larger one when needed.
I For my drip pan/heat shield, I built a rack to sit in the lower ledge, but added some risers to split the distance between the charcoal basket and the cooking grate. I am using a standard pie pan (this one is stainless) for this. It sits 5" from the charcoal basket, and 4" below my cooking grate.
I did document all of the steps in the build with about 10 photos, mostly involving the layout and cutting of the tamale pot, and will most likely devote an entire page on my cookin' site to this build.