New Offset Q's: Surface Rust, Baffles, Thermometers

Wire wheel brush and high heat paint will take care of surface rust. I get it too when I have unpainted welds on my trailer.

I ordered tuning plates for my Chargriller offset a decade ago. I pretty much spent $60 on 11 gauge steel cut into strips. Cheaper if you can measure what you need and cut them yourself.

As mentioned a wire wheel and high temp temp paint will take care of the rust.

That thermometer is junk. It wont be anywhere near accurate. Ignore it and use a digital or replace it with a Tel Tru. But a digital will be the way to go cause you can move it around to different areas, use it as a meat probe, etc. That analog will just give you the temp of that one upper corner of the pit which is kinda useless unless you are just using that one upper corner to cook.

AKMIMNAK said:

Just picked up this used beauty on Craigslist - Texas Original Pits' Pearsall model. Got an awesome deal, but as this is my first offset, I need input on a few things I'll need to deal with:

Surface rust: how do I handle this?

Baffles: Do I need them? If so, can I have them made cheaper locally by a random welder than ordering them from a smoker company? Do you have creative alternative solutions?

Thermometers: Anyone ever heard of these before? How do they rate?

Click to expand...

Surface rust, wire wheel on a drill and some high heat paint.

Baffles, build a fire in first and see what you need. If you need baffles to even temperatures out, take tape measure measurements to a local metal fab shop if you don't get lucky and find what you need at Lowes or Home Depot plus a little elbow grease.

Thermometer, Tru-Temp first. Then add an electronic option if needed or, a Termoworks "smoke" or instant read like the 'thermo-pop'.

Congratulations, the tips above will take care of your needs.

I'd put 2 thermos - River Country adjustable or TelTru - one on each side of the handle of cook chamber- about 6" to either side of handle and 1 thermo lower in the vertical.
https://www.amazon.com/River-Countr...3075&sr=8-3&keywords=River+country+adjustable

https://www.amazon.com/Tel-Tru-BQ30...1512793111&sr=1-2&keywords=Teltru+thermometer

I'd eyeball convection plate pics from Horizon then make my own or get one made local out of 1/8" plate. or just order this one.....

http://www.horizonbbqsmokers.com/accessories-1/16-convection-plate

you may have to experiment with end gap size on firebox side and/or use another 4-6" wide plate on top of it to Tune It by covering holes......

Fireboxes always Rust, Sand and Repaint it 2 times a year. Sand it or Wire Wheel it , Hit it with Metal Treatment then Repaint.

https://www.amazon.com/Ospho-605-Me...&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=osptho+metal+treatment

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I owned that version of pearsall long ago. I went to bbqsmokermods.com and bought a heat management baffle plate. I think my version was the 16 inch cooker chamber and I bought one that fit perfectly. It had the progressively increasing sized rows of holes and was CNC cut

It made my temps go from 100 degrees hotter on right and made the difference 50 with the plate in place. It also gave me back more cook chamber since I wasn’t as worried about scorching food. A water pan on top of baffle closest to firebox also helped