Where put fan for Vertical RF

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Hi Dave,  Well finished temp run today and I have quite a change.  Top and bottom settle about 10 degrees delta.   With upper firebox vents closed I could get to 180 with my little BBQ Side Burner and it would adjust down plus when I opened the upper firebox vents I dropped about 20 degrees but temp was stable.    Mind you I did not have any wood or lump in the pan.    I did gain about 5 degrees when I closed the flue vent down by 50 %.    I am planning some ribs tomorrow and the Mesquite and lump typically give me plenty of heat but I do think the little propane burner is probably next to go.  I was concerned about its capability when I built it.  Norther tool has a nice burner that I think i will order.

Firebox gas flames were great even down on low.  I coul dget the temp down to 120 and stable which is great for some cold smoking.

I am pleased so far with the changes.   When you get a chance take a look at the side channel Smoke exhaust openings in the CC.    ANy suggestions??

Thanks

Bob in AZ
 
The side channel openings looked OK the way they were.... smoke/heat enter and curl downward toward the exhaust opening...

I would fire it up with everything wide open... get the heat/smoke drawing through the entire smoker.... as the temp rises in the CC, cut down on the lower FB intake to cut the air to the fire... if using briquettes or what ever...

When you add wood chunks, the temperature will go a lot higher.... stick with what you have and test it.... then decide... BE VERY CAREFUL closing down the exhaust.... it will stop the incoming air and put out the flame in the burner.... You could have an explosion that would kill you or your kids...
 
Hi Dave 

I am very sensitive to the propane.   I don't plan on shutting the exhaust as it did not make much difference at 50 %    not worth it.  Will do some ribs tomorrow so will know how temp does with wood.  Hope I can just shut the propane off after the wood kicks in.  I did that before.  I use a mix of Lump and Mesquite wood.   Again I want to thank you for the help.   

Wishing you the best of New Years

Bob
 
Hi Dave

I am very sensitive to the propane. I don't plan on shutting the exhaust as it did not make much difference at 50 % not worth it. Will do some ribs tomorrow so will know how temp does with wood. Hope I can just shut the propane off after the wood kicks in. I did that before. I use a mix of Lump and Mesquite wood. Again I want to thank you for the help.

Wishing you the best of New Years

Bob
Hello, Been awhile so I thought I would give you some update. Last mods helped a bunch and have been successful smoking most everything. Getting bottom of box to same temp as top is a chore and takes forever to heat with this much mass. So I did add a pipe burner a few months back which has in itself been a challenge as I initially did not have a pilot or thermostat, just gas valve. Found an old RV oven and now can better control firebox. Also started using a Smoke box on my cast Iron Pan over the burner for the wood as the burner would push the wood to flame too quick. The Box now comes up to temp much quicker but the temp difference top to bottom is more of an issue. About 20 Degrees which limits the area I can use for sausage.

Considering a couple changes and would like your thoughts.

1 Just add a fan at the top. Slow speed
2 Add some ports on the Vert Chambers from the fire box about half way or maybe 1/3, 1/3.

I want to do some fish and my old Oregon Coast smoker with a pit outside was great as I could run it at 100 degrees using Vine Maple. (The Best for Fish) Just get temp up to kill bugs and then back down. Anyway the AZ wood is pretty hot for the most part and even soaked it doesn't last too long. Mesquite is OK but have to be careful as a long smoke will overpower the meat. I've use Citrus wood as a mix which helps. Thus I need to see if I can get the box to run at 100-120 for a few hours.

Cheers and thanks again - I have shared your previous wisdom several times with success.

Thanks

Bob
 
It's darn tough to get even temps in any oven or smoker... To solve your problem of sausage cooking evenly, you can always smoke it at 140 ish until you get the smoke you want, then finish in a steamer or water bath.. I finish cooking stuff in my oven all the time...
Ribs and such, rotating the meat is about all you can do .... OR foil/butcher paper wrap and finish in the oven... The Peach Paper that's designed for BBQ works very well..
Upper inlets on the FB wide open and fire control inlets adjusted should get you 100ish degrees no problem...
If the upper air inlets seem to add air and stoke the fire, a deflector to keep the air away from the fire might be necessary... Tubes welded to the door will work for that... Muffler pipe or some thin wall tubing will work...
If you can get a small fan with a long shaft... Install it through the smoker body wall and put the fan blade on the inside to circulate the heat inside the smoker body... I've seen that work...
 
It's darn tough to get even temps in any oven or smoker... To solve your problem of sausage cooking evenly, you can always smoke it at 140 ish until you get the smoke you want, then finish in a steamer or water bath.. I finish cooking stuff in my oven all the time...
Ribs and such, rotating the meat is about all you can do .... OR foil/butcher paper wrap and finish in the oven... The Peach Paper that's designed for BBQ works very well..
Upper inlets on the FB wide open and fire control inlets adjusted should get you 100ish degrees no problem...
If the upper air inlets seem to add air and stoke the fire, a deflector to keep the air away from the fire might be necessary... Tubes welded to the door will work for that... Muffler pipe or some thin wall tubing will work...
If you can get a small fan with a long shaft... Install it through the smoker body wall and put the fan blade on the inside to circulate the heat inside the smoker body... I've seen that work...

Did the deflector thing early on and it helped quite a bit. That fan approach is what I had in mind and with the thermostat regulator the gas a bit I am hoping it will be better. Starting to use the smoke box more and more and find it has helped as well. Also may look at the upper FB vents more to see if I can direct the air better. Currently just have deflector up top. While your around is there any special way to mount a thermo probe for the FB Heat. I'm planning to use the old oven probe in the FB to regulate the gas. current thought is 1" away from back and top - center of FB. Spring Clip attachment. Probably not to picky as I will need to calibrate anyway.

Cheers and thanks
 
I would mount the FB/CC temp probe where the heat enters the smoker body... Then, any adjustment you make to the upper or lower inlets will be displayed quickly....
 
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