I need your advice

Big Griz · 11-26-2012, 12:24 PM

OK….I am new to the forum (this is my first post)and could use your advice. I have a horizontal grill with an offset smoker box (I think you guys call them stick burners) that I tried using this past weekend to do some smoking and found a couple of issues.

Most importantly, the door for the fire box is mounted upside down so that the air intake is at the top of the box rather than the bottom. I was smoking a couple of 5 lb bologna chubs because I wanted to start slow while I get the hang of things. I decided to try smoking it by placing all of the charcoal at one end of the grill and the bologna at the other and using the vent on the fire box to go control the air intake since it is in line with the intake on the side of the grill. The temp was coming up nicely so I decided to start closing the vent to regulate the temp before it got to hot (something I learned from you guys) when I found my second problem. Since the fire box is only bolted on to the grill and not welded on, it didn’t seal well and even with the vent closed on the fire box, it was drawing enough air through the gaps that I had real problems with keeping the temp right.

I said all of that to ask this. I am not a welder so even though I can use a grinder to remove the door brackets, I would have to pay someone to weld them back on so that the door is right. I would also either have to pay someone to weld the firebox onto the grill or purchase some bolts and fender washers to suck up firmly enough against the grill body to restrict air. While I enjoy grilling with what I have, I am wondering it would be better to invest the money I would spend fixing my rig and spend that making a new UDS to smoke on. I have read the UDS thread and think I could do it, but wanted to get your thoughts. (sorry this is so long!)

aawa · 11-26-2012, 12:27 PM

I am not an offset smoker genius but one thing you can do to seal the fire box to the smoke chamber is use the high temperature silicon to prevent any leaking from there.

grantw · 11-26-2012, 12:53 PM

You used too much wood, cut back on the wood and don't worry so much about the air. They are hard to work with. One of the easiest cookers in the world is a wsm. If you cut back on the air in your set up you will end up with off tasting food. It has to be a small clean fire

mnmikew · 11-26-2012, 01:03 PM

Do you know the brand of your smoker? Brinkman? Char-griller?

Lake Dogs · 11-26-2012, 01:30 PM

Sounds like a P.O.S. homemade job to me. Not all stickburners are "hard to work with" as grant said above. However, the cheap ones are. I've seen folks spend twice what one is worth trying to "fix" these things, some with some success, others just wasted money, time, effort, hope.

A good/inexpensive smoker would be a WSM (aka. Weber Smokey Mountain). I love my stickburner, but it's a GOOD one.

grantw · 11-26-2012, 01:53 PM

I just took it for granted he was using a cheaper one, and they are hard but not impossible. I wouldn't put money into it

qnbiker · 11-26-2012, 02:32 PM

You will get more useful feedback if you post what brand it is. There is plenty of info online about modifying cheap offset smokers, and most of the mods are inexpensive.

As for the firebox door, I've never seen one mounted "upside down" before. The manufacturer should fix it if it's a defect. If not or if it's homemade, just keep the existing air intake closed and put a couple of cheap ball valves on the bottom of the door. Don't put a lot of money into it.

plakers · 11-26-2012, 05:19 PM

As a cheap offset owner myself, I would advise the UDS route or the WSM if you got the money. My UDS got built for about 75bucks and that counts the new grills and the very used Weber lid, but it did include a ton of my free labor.

Since then the offset has remained a very good grill but I have yet to smoke anything else on it. The UDS will pay for itself within a summer if you used to use charcoal to fuel your offset and you want to smoke stuff weekly(or three times per week in my case)

Big Griz · 11-26-2012, 06:06 PM

It's the older model of this Char-Griller:

http://www.chargriller.com/index.php...emart&Itemid=2

The firebox they sell now is completely different than the one mine come with, but I got mine about 15-20 years ago.

I have just about decided that rather than spend much money on it, I am going to just build a UDS and keep this for grilling. It still does good at that. I wish I could go out and buy a new smoker, but with 2 kids in college, thats not going to happen for a couple more years.

Pyle's BBQ · 11-26-2012, 08:47 PM

Did you check to see if you could unbolt the firebox? If it is not welded on, it has to be attached some how. Even if you have to cut the bolts off, you can get new one and bolt the firebox into the correct position. Sounds like you need to turn the box 180 degrees to get it into the correct position. When you put the firebox back on is when you should put the high temp silicon to seal the gap if there is still one.

Limp Brisket · 11-26-2012, 10:00 PM

It's time for a UDS.

Daggs · 11-26-2012, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Limp Brisket

It's time for a UDS.

This indeed!

Bigdog · 11-26-2012, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Griz

It's the older model of this Char-Griller:

http://www.chargriller.com/index.php...emart&Itemid=2

The firebox they sell now is completely different than the one mine come with, but I got mine about 15-20 years ago.

I have just about decided that rather than spend much money on it, I am going to just build a UDS and keep this for grilling. It still does good at that. I wish I could go out and buy a new smoker, but with 2 kids in college, thats not going to happen for a couple more years.

Those make good grills and lousy smokers unless you're name is BigMista and you are cooking on a small porch in California with no firebox.

Tonybel · 11-26-2012, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Limp Brisket

It's time for a UDS.

I agree.

Big Griz · 11-26-2012, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyle's BBQ

Did you check to see if you could unbolt the firebox? If it is not welded on, it has to be attached some how. Even if you have to cut the bolts off, you can get new one and bolt the firebox into the correct position. Sounds like you need to turn the box 180 degrees to get it into the correct position. When you put the firebox back on is when you should put the high temp silicon to seal the gap if there is still one.

I wondered about that, but the vent hole between the box and he grill match up correctly. If I unbolt it and turn the whole thing over, they won't. In theory the vent between the box and grill would be at the top of the firebox and the intake would be at the bottom right?

The way it is now, both the intake and the vent between the grill and the box are the top. I think I would have to grind of the hinge brackets that hold the door on, turn it upside down and then weld them back on. That way the intake would be at the bottom so the airflow would go across the coals/wood.

Rather than paying someone to do all that welding for me, I may drill 2 or 3 holes across the bottom and use the same type ball valve set up as a UDS and see how that works. I am going to build a UDS as well, so then I'll have two smokers to add to my signature when I create one. lol

11-26-2012, 12:24 PM	#1
Big Griz Got Wood. Join Date: 09-03-12 Location: Broken Arrow, OK	I need your advice OK….I am new to the forum (this is my first post)and could use your advice. I have a horizontal grill with an offset smoker box (I think you guys call them stick burners) that I tried using this past weekend to do some smoking and found a couple of issues. Most importantly, the door for the fire box is mounted upside down so that the air intake is at the top of the box rather than the bottom. I was smoking a couple of 5 lb bologna chubs because I wanted to start slow while I get the hang of things. I decided to try smoking it by placing all of the charcoal at one end of the grill and the bologna at the other and using the vent on the fire box to go control the air intake since it is in line with the intake on the side of the grill. The temp was coming up nicely so I decided to start closing the vent to regulate the temp before it got to hot (something I learned from you guys) when I found my second problem. Since the fire box is only bolted on to the grill and not welded on, it didn’t seal well and even with the vent closed on the fire box, it was drawing enough air through the gaps that I had real problems with keeping the temp right. I said all of that to ask this. I am not a welder so even though I can use a grinder to remove the door brackets, I would have to pay someone to weld them back on so that the door is right. I would also either have to pay someone to weld the firebox onto the grill or purchase some bolts and fender washers to suck up firmly enough against the grill body to restrict air. While I enjoy grilling with what I have, I am wondering it would be better to invest the money I would spend fixing my rig and spend that making a new UDS to smoke on. I have read the UDS thread and think I could do it, but wanted to get your thoughts. (sorry this is so long!)

11-26-2012, 12:27 PM	#2
aawa Babbling Farker Join Date: 07-03-12 Location: Virginia Beach, VA	I am not an offset smoker genius but one thing you can do to seal the fire box to the smoke chamber is use the high temperature silicon to prevent any leaking from there. __________________ ~Ren~ Fat Kids Club Founding Member

11-26-2012, 12:53 PM	#3
grantw is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 09-13-12 Location: canada	You used too much wood, cut back on the wood and don't worry so much about the air. They are hard to work with. One of the easiest cookers in the world is a wsm. If you cut back on the air in your set up you will end up with off tasting food. It has to be a small clean fire __________________ Backwoods party,22.5 wsm,18.5 wsm,14.5 wsm, smokey joe, performer,22.5 kettle.

11-26-2012, 01:03 PM	#4
mnmikew On the road to being a farker Join Date: 09-12-11 Location: Blaine, MN	Do you know the brand of your smoker? Brinkman? Char-griller? __________________ Chargriller Pro w/SFB Weber kettle(s) Weber gasser 22" WSM 18" WSM Lyfe Tyme stickburner

11-26-2012, 01:30 PM	#5
Lake Dogs Quintessential Chatty Farker Join Date: 07-14-09 Location: Lake Sinclair, GA Name/Nickname : Hance	Sounds like a P.O.S. homemade job to me. Not all stickburners are "hard to work with" as grant said above. However, the cheap ones are. I've seen folks spend twice what one is worth trying to "fix" these things, some with some success, others just wasted money, time, effort, hope. A good/inexpensive smoker would be a WSM (aka. Weber Smokey Mountain). I love my stickburner, but it's a GOOD one. __________________ Hance - MiM/MBN/GBA CBJ and comp cook Lake Sinclair, GA (strategically about an hour from darn near anywhere) My competition daze are probably behind me now; I pretty much cook for family, friends, and frankly the peace and solitude I get from smokin' on an offset... Was Lang 84DX, now Bubba Grills 250R and many Weber grills

11-26-2012, 01:53 PM	#6
grantw is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 09-13-12 Location: canada	I just took it for granted he was using a cheaper one, and they are hard but not impossible. I wouldn't put money into it __________________ Backwoods party,22.5 wsm,18.5 wsm,14.5 wsm, smokey joe, performer,22.5 kettle.

11-26-2012, 02:32 PM	#7
qnbiker is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 05-05-10 Location: Marietta, GA Name/Nickname : Lew	You will get more useful feedback if you post what brand it is. There is plenty of info online about modifying cheap offset smokers, and most of the mods are inexpensive. As for the firebox door, I've never seen one mounted "upside down" before. The manufacturer should fix it if it's a defect. If not or if it's homemade, just keep the existing air intake closed and put a couple of cheap ball valves on the bottom of the door. Don't put a lot of money into it. __________________ A bunch of Webers, Smoke EZ, GMG Daniel Boone, and a WHITE Thermapen MK4

11-26-2012, 05:19 PM	#8
plakers Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 04-16-12 Location: New Albany, IN	As a cheap offset owner myself, I would advise the UDS route or the WSM if you got the money. My UDS got built for about 75bucks and that counts the new grills and the very used Weber lid, but it did include a ton of my free labor. Since then the offset has remained a very good grill but I have yet to smoke anything else on it. The UDS will pay for itself within a summer if you used to use charcoal to fuel your offset and you want to smoke stuff weekly(or three times per week in my case) __________________ Pete-SS UDS, wifes Weber Genesis gasser,a Lightening Fast RED Thermapen, Baby Traeger, moving sucks and I left my kettle behind

11-26-2012, 06:06 PM	#9
Big Griz Got Wood. Join Date: 09-03-12 Location: Broken Arrow, OK	It's the older model of this Char-Griller: http://www.chargriller.com/index.php...emart&Itemid=2 The firebox they sell now is completely different than the one mine come with, but I got mine about 15-20 years ago. I have just about decided that rather than spend much money on it, I am going to just build a UDS and keep this for grilling. It still does good at that. I wish I could go out and buy a new smoker, but with 2 kids in college, thats not going to happen for a couple more years.

11-26-2012, 08:47 PM	#10
Pyle's BBQ Babbling Farker Join Date: 10-25-06 Location: Madrid, IA	Did you check to see if you could unbolt the firebox? If it is not welded on, it has to be attached some how. Even if you have to cut the bolts off, you can get new one and bolt the firebox into the correct position. Sounds like you need to turn the box 180 degrees to get it into the correct position. When you put the firebox back on is when you should put the high temp silicon to seal the gap if there is still one. __________________ Bryan, Team: Pyle's BBQ Yoder YS640; Good-One "Trail Boss" 60T; Weber Kettle rotisserie ring; Big A$$ Rotisserie; New Braunfels offset smoker; Weber Smokey Mountain; Backyard Bombers BBQ HJM Μολὼν λαβέ

11-26-2012, 10:00 PM	#11
Limp Brisket Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 07-20-09 Location: Native Texan	It's time for a UDS. __________________ Custom Pig Rotisserie, KCBS CBJ, Ace Of Spades BBQ Team