I've posted a couple of times the past few weeks. I'm a novice smoker... caught the bug by watching Season 1 of BBQ Pitmasters. And I've been trying to learn how, before spending a lot of money on a smoker. I had always used propane to grill steaks, and a couple of years back my wife gave me a Weber OTG 22.5, which was used exactly 1 time.
So I started smoking... after a few attempts on the propane grill I moved to the Weber (based on some suggestions here.) And while not bad, the Weber just wasn't right either: the food was too close to the charcoal, so cooking/smoking was uneven.
Money is tight, and whatever I bought would be "it" for a long time. I was going back and forth between the Masterbuilt XL propane smoker and the Weber WSM. Then from reading this site, I found a link to the Cajun Bandit and found an answer that didn’t cost an arm and a leg to try.
I looked at the Cajun Bandit conversion kit, but to be honest, its price was high for my immediate budget. Then I saw their BBQ Stacker product, and the numbers started to make sense. I ordered it last week, and it arrived a couple of days ago.
The BBQ Stacker is exactly what it says it is: a steel tube to extend the cooking rack higher up. It would work with the Weber OTG I have today, and again with a WSM later on. It would solve my immediate problem of the meat being too close to the charcoal. So I ordered it, plus a charcoal ring, heat deflector and grommets.
When I unpacked it, the quality of construction impressed me. Good, strong steel! And of course I had to change it, so I drilled two 3/8 inch holes: one for the thermometer wire grommet, the other for a plug-in thermometer.
First the grommet: after thinking about it, I decided to put the grommet above the cooking grate so the wires would not be going through the grill. First I used some painter’s tape to mark where the grommet should be.
Then I used a series of drill bits to drill a hole and widen it.
Then I installed the grommet (brass side in).
Next I installed a plug-in thermometer I bought at Academy Sports. For ease of assembly I wanted the plug to be immediately under the grate. I followed the same procedure as for the grommet.
BTW, as I mentioned, this is steel. I wore out my 1/8 inch drill bit!
And now here it is assembled. My sons are teasing me by yelling “DANGER! WILL ROBINSON!” jokes. (If I had some spare dryer vent hose, I’d dress it up as the Robot from Lost in Space just to freak out my kids.)
Tomorrow morning I plan to burn in the BBQ Stacker and monitor the temps all day. I’ll update here as I go.
So I started smoking... after a few attempts on the propane grill I moved to the Weber (based on some suggestions here.) And while not bad, the Weber just wasn't right either: the food was too close to the charcoal, so cooking/smoking was uneven.
Money is tight, and whatever I bought would be "it" for a long time. I was going back and forth between the Masterbuilt XL propane smoker and the Weber WSM. Then from reading this site, I found a link to the Cajun Bandit and found an answer that didn’t cost an arm and a leg to try.
I looked at the Cajun Bandit conversion kit, but to be honest, its price was high for my immediate budget. Then I saw their BBQ Stacker product, and the numbers started to make sense. I ordered it last week, and it arrived a couple of days ago.
The BBQ Stacker is exactly what it says it is: a steel tube to extend the cooking rack higher up. It would work with the Weber OTG I have today, and again with a WSM later on. It would solve my immediate problem of the meat being too close to the charcoal. So I ordered it, plus a charcoal ring, heat deflector and grommets.
When I unpacked it, the quality of construction impressed me. Good, strong steel! And of course I had to change it, so I drilled two 3/8 inch holes: one for the thermometer wire grommet, the other for a plug-in thermometer.
First the grommet: after thinking about it, I decided to put the grommet above the cooking grate so the wires would not be going through the grill. First I used some painter’s tape to mark where the grommet should be.
Then I used a series of drill bits to drill a hole and widen it.
Then I installed the grommet (brass side in).
Next I installed a plug-in thermometer I bought at Academy Sports. For ease of assembly I wanted the plug to be immediately under the grate. I followed the same procedure as for the grommet.
BTW, as I mentioned, this is steel. I wore out my 1/8 inch drill bit!
And now here it is assembled. My sons are teasing me by yelling “DANGER! WILL ROBINSON!” jokes. (If I had some spare dryer vent hose, I’d dress it up as the Robot from Lost in Space just to freak out my kids.)
Tomorrow morning I plan to burn in the BBQ Stacker and monitor the temps all day. I’ll update here as I go.
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