fwismoker
Master of the Pit
Demo do you think he can get enough heat through those holes? Also do you think he'd still have the structural integrity of the bricks after drilling them?
Mind you, I'm not a mechanical, structural or thermal engineer. That said, I don't think drilling out those bricks would damage the structural integrity as the only part being drilled out are parts that aren't really doing much anyways. I'm pretty sure you could sheer the bricks off flush and not damage the structural integrity.Demo do you think he can get enough heat through those holes? Also do you think he'd still have the structural integrity of the bricks after drilling them?
This is the best idea yet to try first. It cant hurt anything and only help. Also thicken up the baffle w/ pavers or such.I'm thinking maybe cut notches (maybe 3 of them, each 3" long) in the brick ledgers... instead of trying to drill holes... would be easier to use a diamond cutting wheel on a 4" grinder and make the cuts in the brick and then use a hammer to knock the pieces of brick out.. just another thought..
I like your idea first to cut notches in the brick ledges...there is no worst case to it.Sitting here reading other post's and still thinking on this one... the simple fix may just be a fresh air vent at the bottom of the door.. it should help circulate the heat around the CC like a fan would.... just another thought
I like this idea, like you said as a last resort. Your not going to weaken the structure by taking brick out. Once cured, brick or block are self supporting.The 1 1/2in ledges might be a place to look. Staying with the hypercose idea, here's a very bad sketch. Mind you, this is an absolute "if nothing else works" type of solution as it's not exactly easy.Here is a clean shot of the chamber as it was being built. There is no ledge in the back. The racks are pushed all the way to the back wall. I have about 1 1/2 in. that I can pull the racks forward.
Edit: The first shelf is between the two doors hidden.
The ledges are 1 1/2 each side. The racks sit on them about half.
If you need a closer picture, let me know.
Love you all's thinking. I'm listening.
Red represents the inner walls of your smoker.
Blue represents sheet metal of some size that would need to be fabricated.
Green nubs represent new supports for your 2 lower shelves. Could be metal tabs, or even angle iron the full depth of the shelves.
Black arrows represent where holes would need to be drilled both in your 1 1/2 in brick "shelves", as well as in the upper sides of the fabricated insert, and the top of the insert.
Scale is way off. The chamber formed on top could be pretty small and shouldn't take away much headroom from the 2nd shelf up from the bottom. Two new lower shelves would have to be made as they would need to be a bit narrow.
You might want to flare out the bottom with the previously metioned shrouds to gather more heat.
In short, IF you can drill the holes along the depth of your lower shelves, you could retro fit the bottom to be double walled, sending the heat up through the holes in the shelves and out underneath the 2nd rack from the top.
As noted earlier, it's an extreme solution, and I'd definitely try other things first, but I think it would work.
Yeah, Demo, your drawing is exactly what I had in my head, only do it with a double firebrick wall. Of course, I'll never build another one, but maybe someone else can get it right from y'all ideas. I posted a link to this thread on my build thread.whatever it is that you try... just remember not to tear it up to bad so that you can put it back to original if need be
Wes, just want to say that I still really dig your smoker and can really appreciate the amount of time, effort and care that you put in to it. Would be great if you/we can find a retrofit solution to make it perform exactly how you want it to.Yeah, Demo, your drawing is exactly what I had in my head, only do it with a double firebrick wall. Of course, I'll never build another one, but maybe someone else can get it right from y'all ideas. I posted a link to this thread on my build thread.
JD, it really bothers me to do anything to it. I'm going to start with the firebrick on the baffle idea first. I can also set some brick up to help get the heat past the first shelf. I also like the fan idea. Only thing about the fan is your still pulling the same heat past the first to shelves.
Guys, thanks for putting your time into helping me with this. A lot of great ideas here. Thank you so much!
Thank you Demo. Like I said, for small runs I use the top two racks. Works perfect. I can deal with it on a full run. I set my therm on the bottom and work my way up. I'm going to play with the firebrick on the baffle first. See what effect it has. From there maybe cut 10in. section of bottom shelf out in the middle and divert the heat up secondly.Wes, just want to say that I still really dig your smoker and can really appreciate the amount of time, effort and care that you put in to it. Would be great if you/we can find a retrofit solution to make it perform exactly how you want it to.Yeah, Demo, your drawing is exactly what I had in my head, only do it with a double firebrick wall. Of course, I'll never build another one, but maybe someone else can get it right from y'all ideas. I posted a link to this thread on my build thread.
JD, it really bothers me to do anything to it. I'm going to start with the firebrick on the baffle idea first. I can also set some brick up to help get the heat past the first shelf. I also like the fan idea. Only thing about the fan is your still pulling the same heat past the first to shelves..
Guys, thanks for putting your time into helping me with this. A lot of great ideas here. Thank you so much!
I've seen them online and hadn't thought about that. Wonder if the smoke would have any effect on it. I'll look into it. Thanks for the idea.There are these things called EcoFans - I am not sure if they would work with the entire fan being in the hot environment though. I think they require the bottom of the fan to be hot while allowing the cooling fins to be in a cooler environment. But you might chat with the company and see what they say.
http://housewares.about.com/od/heatingwithwood/gr/ecofan.htm