Brinkman Trailmaster - Lava Rocks vs Tuning Plates

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bigbear77

Newbie
Original poster
Sep 12, 2015
20
10
Saukville, WI
Hey all,

I am VERY new to this hobby, and I am looking at purchasing a Brinkmann Trailmaster offset smoker.  In reading about the various mods and what not I have a few questions:

1) People talk about using lava rocks to distribute heat and evening out the temperature.  Is that in place of a tuning plates?  Or used in conjunction with tuning plates?

2) Does anyone have any experience or feedback on the baffle/plate from BBQ Smoker Mod?  Does do a good job?

http://www.bbqsmokermods.com/product-p/br-hor-tune.htm

I appreciate any feedback.
 
I made a deflector plate, 12" total length, use lava rock and a water pan and still get temps 30-40 deg different side to side. So basically nothing I've got going on is helping much, lol!
Now the ONE person that I know of that has the BBQ mods plate is really happy with it with no other mods. But it's hard for me to part with the cash with only one testimonial. Hopefully others will chime in.
 
Thanks for the feedback!  I would imagine that if you couldn't make a positive seal along the length of the cooking chamber, it would be difficult to manage the heat flow.  I appreciate you feedback!
 
Don't put lava rock -- or anything else -- on the bottom of the smoker. You'll just mess up draft/flow. Check out my gallery of pics. I made a deflector from a cookie baking tray I got from Target for $12. Works great. I've written about it several places here.
 
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