Hello all,
I'm a new poster, but have lurked here and elsewhere for some time to study technique, recipes, etc. Very helpful stuff.
I picked up a used SJS on craigslist recently for quick dinners and quickly decided to build a mini wsm as well. Fortunately, I was able to locate a 32qt Imusa pot at a local Walmart that fit the SJS lid well after some light crimping. I really wanted to attach the lid to the bottom, but it was a very poor fit. I opted to cut an 11" hole in the bottom instead of drilling holes. Additionally, I built a charcoal basket out of expanded steel and added a handle to the bottom vent.
For the most part, it's a pretty standard build:
I'm only working with a single rack for now, supported by 3 1/4"x3/4 stainless hex bolts. I did purchase a second rack, and will either use that or the steamer insert to accommodate a 10" pizza pan diffuser. Again, standard stuff.
Where mine differs is the addition of a bowl to catch the ashes for easy disposal. Even when using the SJS as a grill, having to dump the kettle bowl is kind of a pain. The idea was to add a 5qt stainless steel mixing bowl under the charcoal grate so ash could be collected and dumped with ease:
The screws and wingnuts that attach the legs to the bowl were reversed to accommodate the bowl. I made two cuts on the bowl rim and bent a piece upwards to serve as a handle. To avoid blocked vents I cut off the bottom of a coffee can and ended up with a 4"x2" vent cover with 4 holes. I also cut off the top of a coffee can, leaving 8 tabs to attach to the bowl. The coffee can rim fits the vent cover perfectly. The center of the ss bowl was removed, with slots cut for the tabs:
Bottom detail:
This all worked conceptually, but I ran into a problem quickly. When taking measurements before buying a bowl, I failed to consider the height of the charcoal basket when sitting in the bowl. Because of the slope of the inside of the bowl, the grate sat nearly an inch higher than normal. This was good in that it allows more space for ash collection, but bad in that my charcoal bowl now extended beyond the rim where the tamale pot sits. It wouldn't fit into the kettle bowl, partly because I also bent out the edges of the basket to serve as a handle.
I went and measured the next size larger mixing bowl, 8qt, but found that the charcoal grate would actually sit much lower than I wanted. Instead, I increased the size of the tamale pot hole to 12", and it now fits. However, the top of the charcoal basket now extends into the pot a bit:
I still have plenty of room to use a grate or steamer insert on the rim near the bottom, but do any of you foresee any problems related to the basket reaching into the pot?
Unrelated to the build question, is oiling the inside of the pot necessary when doing an initial burn-in?
Thanks!
KM
I'm a new poster, but have lurked here and elsewhere for some time to study technique, recipes, etc. Very helpful stuff.
I picked up a used SJS on craigslist recently for quick dinners and quickly decided to build a mini wsm as well. Fortunately, I was able to locate a 32qt Imusa pot at a local Walmart that fit the SJS lid well after some light crimping. I really wanted to attach the lid to the bottom, but it was a very poor fit. I opted to cut an 11" hole in the bottom instead of drilling holes. Additionally, I built a charcoal basket out of expanded steel and added a handle to the bottom vent.
For the most part, it's a pretty standard build:
I'm only working with a single rack for now, supported by 3 1/4"x3/4 stainless hex bolts. I did purchase a second rack, and will either use that or the steamer insert to accommodate a 10" pizza pan diffuser. Again, standard stuff.
Where mine differs is the addition of a bowl to catch the ashes for easy disposal. Even when using the SJS as a grill, having to dump the kettle bowl is kind of a pain. The idea was to add a 5qt stainless steel mixing bowl under the charcoal grate so ash could be collected and dumped with ease:
The screws and wingnuts that attach the legs to the bowl were reversed to accommodate the bowl. I made two cuts on the bowl rim and bent a piece upwards to serve as a handle. To avoid blocked vents I cut off the bottom of a coffee can and ended up with a 4"x2" vent cover with 4 holes. I also cut off the top of a coffee can, leaving 8 tabs to attach to the bowl. The coffee can rim fits the vent cover perfectly. The center of the ss bowl was removed, with slots cut for the tabs:
Bottom detail:
This all worked conceptually, but I ran into a problem quickly. When taking measurements before buying a bowl, I failed to consider the height of the charcoal basket when sitting in the bowl. Because of the slope of the inside of the bowl, the grate sat nearly an inch higher than normal. This was good in that it allows more space for ash collection, but bad in that my charcoal bowl now extended beyond the rim where the tamale pot sits. It wouldn't fit into the kettle bowl, partly because I also bent out the edges of the basket to serve as a handle.
I went and measured the next size larger mixing bowl, 8qt, but found that the charcoal grate would actually sit much lower than I wanted. Instead, I increased the size of the tamale pot hole to 12", and it now fits. However, the top of the charcoal basket now extends into the pot a bit:
I still have plenty of room to use a grate or steamer insert on the rim near the bottom, but do any of you foresee any problems related to the basket reaching into the pot?
Unrelated to the build question, is oiling the inside of the pot necessary when doing an initial burn-in?
Thanks!
KM
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