I am trying to get through the last couple hurdles building my horizontal drum smoker. Yesterday I made a baffle out of a sheet of aluminum and bolted it on using the existing bolts that connect the firebox to the main chamber, well great.
For ease of use I was going to use 18" pieces of various width steel for tuning plates (everybody sells them), but I didn't take that into account while making my heat baffle, so it will need to be redone and made so that it will seamlessly connect with the tuning plates. I made it rounded slightly.
This is where I am today after driving and thinking in the car a few hours. The entire reason I wanted to do tuning plates was so that I could get the most control of the temps across the pit, but also be able to get the most difference when I want it. This made me wonder, how big a difference in temps can you actually create? Is my original idea even plausible? Will the temp difference be usable, or do tuning plates just basically split hairs and even out the remaining temp difference that a baffle only setup would create???
My point is that if the tuning plates aren't creating a great improvement, why go through the hassle of $$ to do it, but I need to hear that from those that have done it. Maybe the heat baffle is enough the make me happy....I dunno, but this project is starting to frustrate me now
For ease of use I was going to use 18" pieces of various width steel for tuning plates (everybody sells them), but I didn't take that into account while making my heat baffle, so it will need to be redone and made so that it will seamlessly connect with the tuning plates. I made it rounded slightly.
This is where I am today after driving and thinking in the car a few hours. The entire reason I wanted to do tuning plates was so that I could get the most control of the temps across the pit, but also be able to get the most difference when I want it. This made me wonder, how big a difference in temps can you actually create? Is my original idea even plausible? Will the temp difference be usable, or do tuning plates just basically split hairs and even out the remaining temp difference that a baffle only setup would create???
My point is that if the tuning plates aren't creating a great improvement, why go through the hassle of $$ to do it, but I need to hear that from those that have done it. Maybe the heat baffle is enough the make me happy....I dunno, but this project is starting to frustrate me now