ECB Burn Time

W

wlfpkrcn

Guest
What kind of burn times is everybody typically getting on an ECB ( stock or modified? lump or briquette?). I know everybody with a WSM sems to get decent times. I've been thinking of a new toy. I dont want to spend the money on a WSM. I know, I know spend it once.... I don't need a new smoker. I wouldn't mind having something smaller for doing just a single butt or couple racks of ribs. An ECB would fit the budget I'm willing to spend, and I can do a couple mods to help it out. Any thoughts?

Eric
 
I only got about 45 min to 1 hr. then I have to add more coal and chunks to keep my temps up. Very much like my Bandera actually, except it will go longer and hotter due to the fact that you can burn logs in it.
 
Same here. About an hour between refuelings. Problem is, that ash has nowhere to go either. That makes things tougher on really long cooks.
 
Using minion method, I get about 3 hours of good heat before I have to touch anything. Maybe add alittle extra wood to keep the smoke going.

Dude, you gotta make the mods(ie, drilling holes in the bottom AND sides, AND placing a grate for the charcoal to sit on) to the bottom charcoal bowl.
I also drilled a series of smaller holes in a 3x5' area in the lid to let smoke escape(kinda like an exhaust pipe). Air comes in, smoke comes out.

I sit mine on a 20 X 40 inch tray and let the charcoal ash fall thru the bottom holes and collect there.

Things I smoke in the ECB:
Racks of ribs, fatties, ABT's, whole beer in the rear chickens, or wings breasts legs & thighs etc.

Things I wouldn't smoke(due to lack of control of the heat temp): Butts and Briskets.

Side note: I rescued mine from a nieghbors trash. Its bent up, burnt up, belches smoke all over the the place, and ugly as chit. I love her.
 
Last edited:
I can get up to four hours from my modded ECB. I've cooked it all on that little cooker, and it's generally turned out pretty well. The mods, as Single Fin points out, are key. I basically did all the mods on this page:
http://www.randyq.addr.com/ecb/ecbmods.html
and never looked back. I think I'm gonna rebuild and remod this summer.
 
I'm guessing that for about the same money, and a little work, you could build an Ugly Drum Smoker. Do a search at the top of the page and I guarantee you that you will find more info than you could ever want.
 
Single Fin Smoker said:
Using minion method, I get about 3 hours of good heat before I have to touch anything. Maybe add alittle extra wood to keep the smoke going.

Dude, you gotta make the mods(ie, drilling holes in the bottom AND sides, AND placing a grate for the charcoal to sit on) to the bottom charcoal bowl.
I also drilled a series of smaller holes in a 3x5' area in the lid to let smoke escape(kinda like an exhaust pipe). Air comes in, smoke comes out.

I sit mine on a 20 X 40 inch tray and let the charcoal ash fall thru the bottom holes and collect there.

Things I smoke in the ECB:
Racks of ribs, fatties, ABT's, whole beer in the rear chickens, or wings breasts legs & thighs etc.

Things I wouldn't smoke(due to lack of control of the heat temp): Butts and Briskets.

Side note: I rescued mine from a nieghbors trash. Its bent up, burnt up, belches smoke all over the the place, and ugly as chit. I love her.
Click to expand...

Even with the mods you wouldn't do a butt? What is the average temp it runs?
 
Have no clue. The temperature gauge is fried like the rest of it. Who cares, as long as theres water in the bowl, and no flare ups burning the chit out of everything, I only check the enternal temp of the meat.

I might able to a butt in it, its gotta be a small one cheap one though.
 
I've done some butts in mine, and they turned out well. I use a probe therm to monitor coooker temps.
 
Say Vitamin, is that the thingamagig with the wire coming out the side of the lid?
How do them things work? How much do they cost? Do they work? Will the wire get singed and not work properly?
 
I did great butts and briskets in my ECB when I had it. I sure want another one. Wound not give up my WSM, but would like another ECB
 
ECB? I been off the net since November, glad to be back but a little rusty on the lingo...
 
Single Fin-

That wire is most likely the temp probe wire. I paid about 20 bucks for mine at Lowes, and it's seems to work pretty well. They're made to be used in ovens, so the probe wire is shielded pretty well. Mine's dirty as sin, but it still works just fine.
You can find probes of different brands on the net- try Amazon and eBay.
 
ibcleary said:
Eric,
I am able to run 90 min at a pretty constant 250 ish in my ECB. http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25352&highlight=long+ecb . The mods run about $16 and I find kingsford briquettes work the best. I have done everything from 10 hr pork butts to 2 whole turkeys. These little smokers are a great way to get into it.
Click to expand...

Is that 90 minutes with the mods? I have an Oklahoma Joes offset that I use currently. I just hate firing it up for a couple racks of ribs or one butt. Plus I'm getting the itch for a new toy, and the wife won't let me get what I want:frown:

Thanks for all the info guys. I appreciate it
 
Yep.

I use a dual probe digital. One for smoker temp and one for meat temp. It is also wireless so I can monitor from in the house. The 2 probes plug into a transmitter that stays with the smoker
 
LDOJYD said:
ECB? I been off the net since November, glad to be back but a little rusty on the lingo...
Click to expand...

I'm pretty new to this too, but I think ECB stands for El Cheapo Brinkmann.

There are two versions. One is the cheapest (my neighborhood hardware store has them for $34.99 right now) and it uses charcoal or wood or some other source of fuel. The other is a little less cheap ($69.95 boys, give 'er a try!) and it has an electrical element in the bottom instead of the charcoal pan.

Hope this helps! (And that it's fairly accurate. :-D )
 
Yes, 90 min with the mods. You control the fire with the fuel. Minion to start, about 12-15 coals lit to 3/4 chimney unlit. Then scrape the used coals to the center and circle the lit with 1/2 to 3/4 of a chimney of new coals.
 
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