Inlet Fan Location on Cabinet Smoker Controller

[HogFan]

I must admit I haven't logged into this forum for a long time but this is where I learned to smoke on my UDS and I've made lots of good briskets and pork butt since.

I found a used stainless, double walled, insulated gas smoker in great shape and bought it planning to convert it to use charcoal, not gas. I have no experience with a cabinet smoker.

On my UDS I've wondered what percentage of the air blown inside the drum by the controller fan actually feeds the fire in the charcoal basket heating the drum vs what percentage bypasses the charcoal basket so actually cools the drum? Blowing ambient temperature air into the 250F drum would cool it, no? If a significant percentage of the inlet air is cooling instead of heating the drum, there is a lot of room for improvement.

Considering this, on the cabinet smoker I'm converting, could it be an improvement to run an air inlet pipe from the fan all the way under the charcoal basket and add a 90 degree fitting to direct air upwards into the charcoal basket? Maybe with this configuration a higher percentage of the air from the fan would feed the burning charcoal and less air would bypass the charcoal basket actually cooling the smoke chamber. Thoughts?

 

[HogFan]

No one has tried extending the fresh air inlet pointing it directly at the charcoal basket on a UDS? The results should be the same in a cabinet smoker as in a drum. Maybe I should try it and report the results. Who knows, it might improve ash management...or cause ash to drift into the smoke chamber (yikes!).

 

[thirdeye]

I have an older BBQ Guru I use on my BGEs and the adaptor fits right into the track on the lower vent. So basically it just assists the natural draw of the cooker. I can adjust the damper on the fan housing itself to keep everything in check. A few years later I bought an adaptor for my drum, but they run so well on their own I've never installed it.

To answer your first question, why not take a couple of photos of the cabinet smoker and send them to BBQ Guru, and ask them for placement advice.

To answer your second question, it might be worth an experiment to direct the incoming air toward the charcoal basket. Who knows, you might be on to something.

 

[Pife]

My Humphrey cabinet has a side inlet for air. I occasionally use the snake charcoal method. Usually I just fill the basket, though.

My UDS...I did extend the air inlet (via a steel pipe) to under the charcoal basket. For what it's worth, I also have a heat shield that surrounds the charcoal basket. I use the inlet pipe when using the BBQ guru, but just use adjustable valves that are not piped under the charcoal when not forcing air via guru.

 

[HogFan]

My UDS...I did extend the air inlet (via a steel pipe) to under the charcoal basket. For what it's worth, I also have a heat shield that surrounds the charcoal basket. I use the inlet pipe when using the BBQ guru, but just use adjustable valves that are not piped under the charcoal when not forcing air via guru.

That's interesting Pife. I like the idea of surrounding the charcoal basket with a heat shield as well. Sort of forces the air to go thru or at least stay near the burning charcoal. Curious if you used the BBQ Guru without the pipe extending under the charcoal basket as you describe? If so, did you see any noticeable reduction in charcoal usage after adding the pipe to vent fresh air under the charcoal basket?

 

[HogFan]

To answer your second question, it might be worth an experiment to direct the incoming air toward the charcoal basket. Who knows, you might be on to something.

Agree, and I'll probably try this Thirdeye. I was curious if anyone else had tried this and if so, did they see any benefit to doing this (reduced charcoal usage being the primary potential benefit).

 

[thirdeye]

One thing I did do on both my drums, was to build a taller charcoal basket. Not only do I get extended burn times, but after 5 or 6 hours the coals have such a good core burning, I can actually close my vents down a bit.

This was my original charcoal basket.

 

[HogFan]

Thanks for that info ThirdEye. I too have a tall charcoal basket and prefer that option. I will likely need to reduce the height by 3/4” - 1” for the basket to fit inside this cabinet smoker.

I need to post pics after I’ve made a bit more progress. Would likely generate more interest and comments.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Hey HF. I think we joined about the same time. I'm a retired HVAC guy and might be able to help with a couple of photos.

 

[HogFan]

After considering options for the air inlet, I saw that the Bronco drum has an air inlet that feeds into the drum directly under the charcoal basket. This was appealing for the reasons mentioned above and the price wasn't bad so I ordered their air inlet and I'll try to fit it on the cabinet smoker. I'm hoping this provides better efficiency than just letting the air vent into the cabinet thru a side vent. It makes sense that air bypassing the charcoal basket cools the smoke chamber so you burn additional charcoal to maintain the pit temp.

 

[HogFan]

I'll post pictures when I have it worked out.