I've read a lot on mods people have done to the Brinkmann vertical smoker (the "ECB") and I'm leaning towards doing some on mine versus buying something else -- mainly because it was a gift from my wife so she would be heartbroken if I tossed it.
Right now, mine is covered in high temp tape to stop leaks and drives me nuts! I keep forgetting to order the Big Green Egg felt on Amazon until Friday afternoon, so I was going to try to use the stove gasket rope kit for the doors. However, the problem lies in that I do not have locking handles on mine, but rather just magnets to keep the doors close; the top opens when it gets around 300ish and the metal bends.
Here is the "OEM" model
So far, I have done:
1) Wok basket for coals with "L" bracket to attached to hooks
2) Bolted unit down to large paver to prevent further metal distortion
So the plan is to do the following:
1) Add gasket rope along bottom and top doors
2) Add on handle or create locking mechanism on doors to keep from opening
3) Fix vents to be more secure
4) Add better thermometer to unit
Now time for the crazyness...
1) Exterior Water Adder Thingy: Adding water to this unit removes a LOT of heat when you open the door and I seem to go through a lot of water. So I'm looking to drill a hole and add in a metal tube to be able to add water from the outside withOUT opening the door. I'll just have to eyeball the water level through the vents to ensure it's not over spilling
2) Attach Burner: The biggest gripe I have is pulling out the coal wok, I always seem to burn myself or coals fall on the ground and I step on them. So, to get things start and maintain heat, I wanted to add an external burner to the BOTTOM of the unit. To do this, I would cut open a slot, most likely a square and attach a propane burner similar to this:
So this would be held to the bottom via metal brackets and connected to a propane source (I have a 100 gallon tank). This way, I can do one of two things -- a) use it like a charcoal chimney to light coals and prepare smoker and b) keep things warm while waiting on other foods.
Is this a good idea or bad idea?
I think it's neat but my wife says otherwise... then I would just have a metal sliding door that would cover the hole when not in use to keep air flow going good (would have a small air leak, but nothing much to worry about.
That's about it for the crazy mods right now, any thoughts, especially on the door handles/locking?
Right now, mine is covered in high temp tape to stop leaks and drives me nuts! I keep forgetting to order the Big Green Egg felt on Amazon until Friday afternoon, so I was going to try to use the stove gasket rope kit for the doors. However, the problem lies in that I do not have locking handles on mine, but rather just magnets to keep the doors close; the top opens when it gets around 300ish and the metal bends.
Here is the "OEM" model
So far, I have done:
1) Wok basket for coals with "L" bracket to attached to hooks
2) Bolted unit down to large paver to prevent further metal distortion
So the plan is to do the following:
1) Add gasket rope along bottom and top doors
2) Add on handle or create locking mechanism on doors to keep from opening
3) Fix vents to be more secure
4) Add better thermometer to unit
Now time for the crazyness...
1) Exterior Water Adder Thingy: Adding water to this unit removes a LOT of heat when you open the door and I seem to go through a lot of water. So I'm looking to drill a hole and add in a metal tube to be able to add water from the outside withOUT opening the door. I'll just have to eyeball the water level through the vents to ensure it's not over spilling
2) Attach Burner: The biggest gripe I have is pulling out the coal wok, I always seem to burn myself or coals fall on the ground and I step on them. So, to get things start and maintain heat, I wanted to add an external burner to the BOTTOM of the unit. To do this, I would cut open a slot, most likely a square and attach a propane burner similar to this:
So this would be held to the bottom via metal brackets and connected to a propane source (I have a 100 gallon tank). This way, I can do one of two things -- a) use it like a charcoal chimney to light coals and prepare smoker and b) keep things warm while waiting on other foods.
Is this a good idea or bad idea?
I think it's neat but my wife says otherwise... then I would just have a metal sliding door that would cover the hole when not in use to keep air flow going good (would have a small air leak, but nothing much to worry about.
That's about it for the crazy mods right now, any thoughts, especially on the door handles/locking?
