How To Fab a Charcoal Basket For Your SnP

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Duff,

 That is actually a charcoal basket or a wood basket if you use wood in your sfb.

  Using the basket gets the coals up off the bottom of your fire box and closer to the intake . It allso gets them up out of the ashes . Also you can grab the basket every now and then and give it a shake so that the ashes fall down.  This all pomotes a cleaner more steady burn.
 
Oops,

 I missed that pic ,

 If you use a seperate chip box .It keeps them from flaring up  You can move the box around so that the chips / chunks get enough heat to smoke but not so much that they just burn up.
 
I tried using a metal wok and setting it on the grilling grates this weekend. I couldn't seem to keep the temperature hot enough after the first hour. I was wondering if the basket just wasn't big enough to hold enough charcoal or is setting it on the grilling grates was to high abouve the vent. When I took the basket and the grill grates out and built a fire on the provided charcoal grate it seemed to heat back up pretty fast but since I was almost done with the smoke I didn't see how long it lasted. Any ideas?
 
I just built one last weekend. I had these 2 pieces of perforated metal I've had for about 20 years. I used the grates for the bottom. Quick. Easy. Free.

bfe182ed_01_charcoal_basket1.jpg


6a402ead_03_charcoal_basket_ready_for_charcoal.jpg
I finally found a use for it thanks to this forum.
 
Dumb beginner question here. Why do you have a separate basket for the wood? I have been throwing mine right on my coals.
 The chunk box keeps the wood from burning up so quickly. Large chunks will lay in there and smolder for a long time. The whole idea of the charcoal basket is to provide better airflow to the coals by raising them off the bottom of the firebox and keeping them contained in the basket. You get more air underneath and on all sides. You get a more even burn and better control of temps.
 
I don't have but a Dremel--which makes cutting X Metal very tedious. So I just took a piece of expanded metal 26" X 10 or 12", and bent 5" each end up, making more of a charcoal tray--no front or back. It is higher, and the #9 expanded metal is much more sturdy than the original/very old charcoal grates. Works very well, and hasn't weakened at all from the use. 'Course, I have a UDS, so the SnP rarely gets used anyway!

I had pics, but my original computer is down, and I haven't had the ransom to get it back.

Oh, wait--Flickr! I changed to photobucket, virtually no limit. 200 pics on flickr. Here's one of 'em...

eeb63e0a_Grate.jpg
 
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Hello all,

This is my first post on the forums here and I realize that this thread is almost a year old, but I thought I'd ask a question anyways.  I have the Char-Broil American Gourmet Smoker Deluxe and haven't made any modifications to it as of yet.  I have read this entire thread and haven't read anything about the original charcoal grates that come with the smoker brand new.  I have had my smoker for almost a month now and have used it quite a few times already.  Most recently I did 18lbs of ribs (8lbs baby backs, 10lbs spares).  My charcoal grate is looking very used already.  It bends in the middle and is discolored.  Also, this last time I used the smoker, I built my fire in the smoker box using the minion method and got it started.  When I needed to adjust the air intake, it was stuck.  The heat was too intense for it I guess and it seized up.  I managed to get it free only after I was done with the smoke and almost had to pry it apart from the door where you can add more chunks, charcoal, etc...I guess what I'm getting at is that I need to build a charcoal box!  Thank you for this thread and all that contributed to it!  More mods on the way, just trying to determine if I should sacrifice my "warming" rack for a exhaust extension down to grate level...

-Will W.
 
Hi All Where do you get the metal for the basket? Was in Home Depot didn't see any there? What kind of metal should I look for?
Thanks Dan
 
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Hi All Where do you get the metal for the basket? Was in Home Depot didn't see any there? What kind of metal should I look for?
Thanks Dan
Our HD doesn't carry any expanded metal either. However right next door at Lowes they do. It's been a while since I bought it but i think it's a 12"x24" piece, maybe 18"x24".
 
Hi Dirtsailor2003 Was at Lowe's today and saw 12x24 18ga 1/2 holes expanded metal. Would that work for a charcoal basket?
Thanks Dan
 
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I looked In our home depot and couldn't find expanded steel.  On the web site it says our Home Depot has it.  Where is it located in Home Depot ?  What is it near ?
 
For those who still might be wondering where to pick up expanded metal, check your local metal shops. I called one near my house, and they just happened to have a scrap piece that measures 24" x 28" (perfect for a charcoal box). The guy let me have it for $10.
 
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