Help Dyna Glo not getting to temp with baffle

[RockyTop84]

Greetings brethren: this is my first post. I normally do all my smoking on an Akorn Chargriller. I now have a new smoker I picked up to handle larger volume cooks. It is a wide body dyna glo offset vertical smoker. During my first seasoning I was able to get up to temp 270+, but after that I welded a metal plate at 45 degree angle in the pit right above the two holes to the firebox. I had read on some reviews this would help reduce the hotspot on the bottom rack. My first cook after weld job would not allow me to climb over 170 degrees I even connect my barbecue guru cyberQ for my Akorn and still could not get past 170. I was using Cowboy Lump and apple wood.

After a couple of frustrating hours I cracked the top of the smoker door, and the temp shot up to 280 degrees.

Does this mean with the baffle I have installed that the chimney is not sufficient enough to pull the heat? Do I need to enlarge chimney or add another one? I could remove the installed baffle but would like to solve without doing that. Any suggestions?

Thanks gentleman

 

[smoke ninja]

Ok i have a buddy who bought that pit. I have helped him run it some. She's a fickle beast and chews through fuel. How are you fueling it? A combination of coals and wood works well. Sometimes you even have to crack the door. Instead of a baffle i would just put a water pan on the bottom grate or better in the bottom of the chamber. Honestly id recommend to just not use the bottom grate.

Frankly speaking this is not a great smoker. I could make 4 cinder blocks and a cardboard box into a more effective smoker than the dynaglo.

Good luck

 

[SmittyJonz]

Let's see a pic of baffle and holes. May need to enlarge holes for better flow.

 

[SmittyJonz]

May need bigger intakes to flow well......?

[ame]https://youtu.be/38H8OKlNA9g[/ame]

 

[SmittyJonz]

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=243494

 

[RockyTop84]

Good Call

Ok i have a buddy who bought that pit. I have helped him run it some. She's a fickle beast and chews through fuel. How are you fueling it? A combination of coals and wood works well. Sometimes you even have to crack the door. Instead of a baffle i would just put a water pan on the bottom grate or better in the bottom of the chamber. Honestly id recommend to just not use the bottom grate.

Frankly speaking this is not a great smoker. I could make 4 cinder blocks and a cardboard box into a more effective smoker than the dynaglo.

Good luck

Cardboard... This made me smile! I went ahead and removed the baffle and enlarged the chimney hole by 2". Temp shot up to 250 and stayed there for two hours+.

Thanks man!