Chargriller STICKburner mods?

[Dave Russell]

Hi all. I've got all kind of wood to burn, and most of it was free. I'm not interested in mods to seal the firebox. I want lots of air so I'll get a cleaner fire. Also, I'm not too concerned with how even it cooks. I cooked three slabs of ribs last time, and they seemed to cook pretty dern evenly. I just leave the charcoal grate in place with it raised up on the firebox end.

Are there any mods to help stabilize temps in the smoking chamber, ie. firebricks? What size? and where do ya put 'em? and where do you buy 'em?

I'd appreciate any suggestions. I'm not having any problems unless I just let the fire burn out and some mass would help hold the temp a little.

Thanks,
Dave
wsm, Char-griller stickburner, otg, ots, uds, smokey joe

[markpmc]

THe 'best' mod I made to my OK jOe was extending the stack down to grate level. It really helped stabilize the temp.

[Oldschoolbbq]

I have 4 fire brick in my fire box,notice on the side of the box the brick:





I also have 5 more lying in the bottom of my smoker chamber. You're on th right track as far as heat sinksAs for where t get them,Lowe's.HD,etc.;but I did a little dumpster diving and asking around and got them free
I use a pit like yours as a back-up and to seal it (cheaply) I use wadded up foil around the edges.Does a decent job and with care re-useable






As you see, the baffle is the same , but with the foil, it does a bit better, or easier.
Have fun ,hope this helps and,

[Boshizzle]

Here is a pic I snapped of a CG at a comp. I don't see any mods.

[LTG]

3 simple mods that anyone can do:

-extend stack down to grate level with 3" dryer vent tubing
-flip charcoal tray over(that came with it) to use as a baffle. Mine is about 1" from the side cutout for the SFB
-made a charcoal basket out of expanded metal(absolutely necessary for me because I use lump)

[Captain P.J.]

I extended the stack and put a waterbath inside the main cooking chamber and then ran some ceramic blocks (the ones that are used in gas grills) on the otherside of the water... Now I am not having to tend the fire as often and it holds temps a lot longer! and it only cost about $13.

[Boshizzle]

I have a CG w/SFB and the mods that made the most improvement was a charcoal basket that raised the fuel above the air inlet vent and extending the chimney down to grate level. A diffuser of some kind is helpful too.

But, I'm only using charcoal. I would think that a big enough fire made with oak would give plenty of heat. With charcoal, I'm lucky to get 250 F max and that is with lots of TLC to keep it steady.

[Soapm]

Originally Posted by Boshizzle

I have a CG w/SFB and the mods that made the most improvement was a charcoal basket that raised the fuel above the air inlet vent and extending the chimney down to grate level. A diffuser of some kind is helpful too.

But, I'm only using charcoal. I would think that a big enough fire made with oak would give plenty of heat. With charcoal, I'm lucky to get 250 F max and that is with lots of TLC to keep it steady.

Not that you need it but you can get higher than that if you pull the drawer on the firebox a bit. I got mine well over 350° doing that.

[Dave Russell]

I've found that two things give me a litte trouble: variable winds that cause flame fluctuation, and having such a small fire that is prone to dying out.

I thought that having the mass of the firebricks in the bottom of the smoking chamber might help a little. The firebox is small enough as it is, though.

I've thought about a water pan, but that would boil out pretty often as I'm finding that 275 is about what the smoker wants to run with a clean burning wood fire.

Not gonna mess with the smokestack since I like having my warming rack in place most of the time and don't want to lose grill space. It's cooking pretty evenly alread, anyway, and this doesn't address either of my two issues.

Thanks for the replies.
Dave

[Dave Russell]

Originally Posted by Boshizzle

Here is a pic I snapped of a CG at a comp. I don't see any mods.

Yep, that could be mine. Vents wide open, and I'd guess they've been smoking with hi heat going by that and the covered pans.

[91vw03]

The smoke stack extension looks like this:


I have the same thing and keep the upper warming rack in place all the time.

[Dave Russell]

Originally Posted by 91vw03

The smoke stack extension looks like this:


I have the same thing and keep the upper warming rack in place all the time.

Cool, Andy. I'll try that. I already have some dryer vent.

Obviously, this is to even out the temp a bit, but by reducing draft (?), does this lower the overall temp any at all? That would be a good thing since I'm just burning wood.

Thanks,
Dave

[Dave Russell]

Oops! I just noticed the "I need to take a breath", and I've never noticed that before, so I get the point! Gotta get back on the hedges anyway.

[LTG]

Originally Posted by Dave Russell

Cool, Andy. I'll try that. I already have some dryer vent.

Obviously, this is to even out the temp a bit, but by reducing draft (?), does this lower the overall temp any at all? That would be a good thing since I'm just burning wood.

Thanks,
Dave

Hasn't really in my case. As for fuel I use lump(40 lb bags of frontier from sams @ $15 a bag) and large chunks of apple and hickory. Sometimes whole smaller logs depending on my supply @ the time/if they will fit etc.