Need help or opinions after a couple mods.

[woodchuck55]

Not sure if this is the best place for this topic but. . . .

I made a couple mods to my chargriller SFB; sealed the cooking chamber with oven rope, extended smoke stack and flipped over my charcoal tray for better heat distribution. My problem. . . Smoked shrimp last night and couldn't get temp up to 225 until after I was done and then I flipped tray back over and removed stack extension.

Any ideas?

 

[jak757]

Do you have a basket in the SFB?  That's a pretty simple and effective mod.  I have a grilling basket from Lowes in mine.  Cut off the handle, hang it by a couple of bolts.  It get the fuel off the bottom of the box for better air flow.  That helped mine, along with a different baffle/tuning plate ) two actually.  I got lucky and a guy I knew who is a welder made mine out of some heavy steel.  Has holes in the plates, and a bend where it meets the SFB to deflect the heat.  I think that works better than the upside down tray.

If you do a search here you will find some great posts with pics.  Keep working at it, you will get it.  One more thing -- use good thermometers,  don't trust the one that came with the unit.  Get a good one, calibrate it, and have it at grate level.

Good luck -- let us know how it goes.

 

[woodchuck55]

This was my third attempt smoking. First was a pork butt that went really well, second was some cs ribs that it was impossible to keep temp down, (240-250) was lowest I could get it. Then I did the mods for the 3rd attempt.

I should note I used charcoal briquettes the first 2 times and natural charcoal the 3rd. I also used a grilling wok to put my coals in on top of charcoal grate in firebox. The first 2 times I just used the charcoal rack. For a long smoke to much ash builds up so I figured the wok might make a good charcoal box especially if I need to dump ash and continue smoking.

As far as thermometers go I have that covered, I knew the factory one wasn't good so I have multiple new one's plus I use probes.

I'm in process of fabricating an aluminum baffle for cooking chamber. And hoping to get it done cuz I have about 22lbs of pork butt I need to smoke Friday night.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Unless the Charcoal Tray was Drilled to act as a Tuning Plate, it may have cut the heat off too much.  The heat may have traveled to the opposite end and up the stack before it could heat the rest of the Smoke Chamber. The extended Stack can make a difference with a Baffle and Tunning Plate...JJ

 

[michael ark]