Hey there fellow smokers, Jimi here greeting you from just South of the cheddar curtain (that would be far NW Illinois). First a happy New Year to all!
I am a new smoker after being introduced to the concept by a close friend. Sadly I only see him a few times a year and that was way too long to wait for delicious smoked treats. So I took the plunge and purchased a Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Charcoal Offset Smoker. On sale fortunately. I'd like to say that the customer service department at Dyna-Glo was for me, excellent. My first two fireboxes were mis-manufactured. One had the base backwards so the feet would be on the inside, the other simply would not line up. A cheerful attitude on my part got me replacements in less then 5 days. Each time. So I guess I have a bit of patience as well.
When everything fits you really can assemble this sucker in 15 minutes. I modded mine from comments by nomexing the doors and running a bead of hi-temp fireplace silicone along the outside seam between the firebox and smoker. I'm also going to add a screen between the firebox and smoker body to help keep ash out. At some point I'll build a cart of some kind this Winter so it's easier to trundle out.
I seasoned it for 4 or so hours the first time I ran it. Second run I smoked a chicken and some brats. Nothing fancy, just smoked it. I used lump charcoal and apple wood. It was 18 degrees when I started and 8 when I finished. No problem holding a temp around 250 once I nearly emptied the water/drip pan I placed on the bottom shelf. I can't wait for warmer temps as I expect/hope it to not be such a fuel hog. What do you expect with single digit temps, right? The brats were tremendous and the bird was good. Seems mopping might have made it even better, but baby steps.
I strongly expect that I'm going to spend a lot of time reading here as I barely know what I'm doing. Once I'm a little seasoned, maybe I'll chime in with some questions.
I'm looking forward to learning much and eating well.
Yours in eternal smokiness,
Jimijamflimflam
I am a new smoker after being introduced to the concept by a close friend. Sadly I only see him a few times a year and that was way too long to wait for delicious smoked treats. So I took the plunge and purchased a Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D Charcoal Offset Smoker. On sale fortunately. I'd like to say that the customer service department at Dyna-Glo was for me, excellent. My first two fireboxes were mis-manufactured. One had the base backwards so the feet would be on the inside, the other simply would not line up. A cheerful attitude on my part got me replacements in less then 5 days. Each time. So I guess I have a bit of patience as well.
When everything fits you really can assemble this sucker in 15 minutes. I modded mine from comments by nomexing the doors and running a bead of hi-temp fireplace silicone along the outside seam between the firebox and smoker. I'm also going to add a screen between the firebox and smoker body to help keep ash out. At some point I'll build a cart of some kind this Winter so it's easier to trundle out.
I seasoned it for 4 or so hours the first time I ran it. Second run I smoked a chicken and some brats. Nothing fancy, just smoked it. I used lump charcoal and apple wood. It was 18 degrees when I started and 8 when I finished. No problem holding a temp around 250 once I nearly emptied the water/drip pan I placed on the bottom shelf. I can't wait for warmer temps as I expect/hope it to not be such a fuel hog. What do you expect with single digit temps, right? The brats were tremendous and the bird was good. Seems mopping might have made it even better, but baby steps.
I strongly expect that I'm going to spend a lot of time reading here as I barely know what I'm doing. Once I'm a little seasoned, maybe I'll chime in with some questions.
I'm looking forward to learning much and eating well.
Yours in eternal smokiness,
Jimijamflimflam
