Mod for Offset

[jeffboyette]

Does anyone know of a mod for this poor excuse for a pit?

Temps close to the firebox are too high. So much of my cooking space is wasted because i simply cant put food near the box. Its hot, and the smoke come straight up, travels across the top and out the exhaust.

The pan in the firebox is too small for the box, and your coals fall off it.

Smoke leaks from EVERYFUGGINWHERE!

Im looking at making a new coal pan, modifying the baffle between the chamber and the box, and im curious on reverse flow. Any descriptive advice would be appreciated.

For $160 i should have just made a UDS i know, but im trying to salvage my loss and make it usefull.

 

[WineMaster]

Get the fire up a bit so it has better airflow. Get the exaust down a bit ( to grate level ) so the heat cant escape as easy.

 

[CmdCtrl]

Hi Jeffboyette,

Check out this thread on a reverse flow on a pit similar to yours for ideas.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78123

I'd say more but for fear of getting yelled at in another thread :-(

 

[Smokin' D]

JeffJeffJeff, so much fun is in the future for you with this pit! I have a Silver Smoker which is similar but the fire box is on the left. Cheap and easy stuff first. Use a piece of rolled up flashing inside the stack and have it sit right down at grate level.That will lower the exit point for the smoke. Use a cake pan or a chunk of steel to make a short baffle at the fire box. 5" x the width should suffice. This supposedly moves some of the heat further into the chamber. Here is an interior shot of mine.

Raise up your charcoal grate so there is about 4" below it. Better air intake and a bigger space for ash to fall. Make a charcoal basket out of some expanded metal. Here is the new basket, about 6" tall.

And in the fire box

Tuning plates help a lot in these small smokers. I first used some aluminum flashing as test subjects and when I found they helped, had some 1/4" steel ones fabricated. Mine are 5" x 16".

one plate

Plates in the chamber. I've got five plates. They are all movable and I use as few as two on some cooks. Experimentation is necessary.

Use a loaf pan filled with water and place it on the grate in the smoke chamber tight to the fire box. This will help with the hot spot. No pic of that.

As a last resort since lowering the stack down to the grate takes up some real estate, weld on a 4" x 36" exhaust that vents from below the grate. Not only does this work exceptionally well, it looks cool doing it.

Here she is.

And a close up.

Hope that helps. Before all this was done this cooker was terrible. 80* plus temp difference end to end. Now there is but a 5* or so difference. Well worth the effort IHMO. Good luck with your journey.

Oh yeah. Reverse flow. I read some place that the convection plate should be about 1/3 up from the bottom of the chamber. Also been told that these cookers are too small to benefit from the reverse flow mod. Not sure about that as I have a wonderful little reverse flow whose smoke chamber is just 6" x 18".

Here is a pic of Cooper

 

[Westexbbq]

Well done Smokin' D.
That is an excellent reference for lots of folks out there with assorted versions of the original New Braunfels Silver smoker.
Great pics and text.
(Don't forget the gaskets around the inside edges for anti-leakage...)

 

[BigdogEMT]

Whats everyones feeling on useing ceramic tiles for the heat plates across the bottom? I was thinking that they would be good at holding heat and easy to remove and clean plus no rust. Just my mind and how it works!

Terry

 

[jeffboyette]

Thanks for the informative post. Please help me understand a couple things.

Use a piece of rolled up flashing inside the stack and have it sit right down at grate level.That will lower the exit point for the smoke.

Are you talking about extending my exhaust pipe down to my lower cooking grate? I have i cooking rack on my lid that i use for ribs when i do butts on the bottom. Cant extend the tube far. Do i need to fill the hole from my exhaust tube and fabricate a new exhaust like yours? Also i am confused on this technique as i understand you want the smoke out quick so it doesnt get stale. if the smoke is stuck in the top of my grill wont it get stagnent and ruin ribs sitting on my top grate?

Tuning plates help a lot in these small smokers. I first used some aluminum flashing as test subjects and when I found they helped, had some 1/4" steel ones fabricated. Mine are 5" x 16"..

What is the function of the tuning plates? To absorb and evenly distribute heat under my meat... or to keep the smoke low in the chamber and distribute it between the slits?

Also do i need to make the opening from the firebox to the chamber smaller, and if so how much?
What do i use to seal the grill?
Why is your smoke stack so high?

 

[Smokin' D]

If you want to keep the upper shelf, use some flexible dryer vent, the metal kind. Hitch it into the stack and bend it down and around the shelf to the lower grate. Kind of an S shape. The reason for this mod is to lower the exit point of the heat and smoke, makes for an easier to control smoker. Smoke, IMHO, doesn't get stale. The problem of bad tasting smoke comes from incomplete combustion, so as long as you have a clean burning fire ie blue smoke out the stack, you will be fine with the smoke staying in the chamber a bit longer. Also heat rises and cool air sinks so the newer hotter air will displace the older cooler air and smoke. No need to make a stack like I did, I just have a tendency to be a little over the top and make big changes.

The tuning plates are primarily for heat management. With proper temperature control you get good smoke flow and flavor.

Do not make the opening from the fire box smaller. The pic of the baffle may be a bit confusing. The baffle is running almost horizontal in the chamber. In the pic it looks kinda vertical. I simply screwed the baffle to a small angled lip that was in the chamber just above the opening.

The last two questions I will answer like this. I don't know what type of sealant to use around the lid because I used none. My gigantic 4" x 36" smoke stack has such fantastic draw there is no smoke coming from anywhere except from where it should be. Out the top of the stack.

I think that some high heat silicone can be used as a sealant. Stay away from anything that has fiber glass in it.

 

[smoke-n-my-i's]

Jeff,
I have 2 of them. I have made a lot of mods, rather easy ones, and inexpensive that really helped out. Let me see if I can find my pics, and I will get them posted. If I can't find them, I will got get some and get them here for you, then I can explain what I did for you to understand easier.

Bill

 

[jeffboyette]

Use this pit primarily as my grill and purchased it for that purpose. It has seasoned cast iron grated and an adjustable fire deck. I thought I could mod It and get some functional use out of the fire box. But most mods will negatively effect my grill's use. Grilling! Just doesn't make good que.

I think I will start over with a purpose built, home grown, hand made, one of a kind pit. Thread evolved. Ill create a new one for my new build.

 

[smoke-n-my-i's]

Ok, I will try again. I went to preview, and then for some reason, it was gone.....

This is a rather lengthy post with lots of pics, hope you get something out of it. Please over look the newest pics as the pits are rusty, and very dirty. It is not quite time to give them their spring cleaning before they get their working out for this year.

First original CG, notice smooth side panel, these were thicker metal than the newer ones.




2nd one, notice fake louvered look, thinner metal.



sfb in newer one



sfb in original one



right after it was put in

close up,expanded metal right on top of the "cooking" grate

vent extension in newer one, flexible drier vent hose, with clamp to hold it at the top



vent extension in older one



aluminum water pan, be sure and had hot water

added cup hooks to hang tools on



changed out the wheels for easier moving around

here is what they looked like a couple of weeks ago

no smoke leaks

yes, they leak smoke, but what the heck, they are a smoker

loaded with chicken and brisket at a comp in FL last Nov

and yes, you can do ribs on them

notice water pan

These things are fuel hogs, and they will vary with how much they use depending on temp, wind, and amount of meat. They do a great job for what they are. I have been using my original one now going on 5 yrs, so they do hold up well if taken care of. Would I buy another one, I will let you know after I build my UDS.....

Hope this help some.

Bill

 

[Fat Woody]

I made a few simple mods to my NBBD using stuff I had around the house. I also lowered my stack by adding a roll of dryer vent (the heavy stuff that comes in rolls) to the inside. Before I added the bricks I was using a sheet metal heat deflector. I like the bricks better, FWIW. Good luck with your tuning!

Bricks lining the cooking chamber - bottom row supports water pan/heat deflector.

Heat diffusing bricks viewed from the firebox.

Full pan butts up against bricks and fits under cooking grates.