Insulating a Char-Griller??

Hi All.

I am having the same issues with my Chargriller. Really caught my attention when I tried to smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving and I just couldn't for the life of me get that last 15 degrees to finish off the turkey. I had to finish it in my oven. Boy I was really frickin pissed off about it and couldn't figure out what the issue was until I found this site and your thread. For now though I have been using the blanket method where I double fold four of them up and layering them on top of the cooking chamber. Believe it or not ( I tested it out yesterday before cooking in it ) I gained 40 degrees in the chamber by doing this. So anyways what do you all think about trying a commercial fire blanket. They are pretty thick and used to put out a fire on a cooktop so why couldn't we use it over the cooking chamber for that extra insulation. It should really hold the heat pretty darn good. I am in the process of researching the cost getting one but I have been out of work for a while and my funds are pretty low right now. 

Let me know what you guys think about it.

Kryton

Kryton, 

Insulation works real well.  I had some 3" Johns-Manville house fiberglass insulation left over and used it on my smoker.  Worked like a champ. The internal temperature difference went from 120 F down to about 30 F and the charcoal use dropped by 2/3.  The ash buildup also dropped by 2/3.  

The plastic coating melted, of course, but I learned from a job at the Johns-Manville lab near here that they use a binder to hold the fibers together. I painted the smoker with high temperature paint and made a covering out of scrap ducting.  Here is a picture.  


Worked_the_World

Kryton, 

Forgot to mention that people have used welding blankets too.  Also, a grill shop had a Traeger Grill they used for demonstration that had a fiberglass blanket around the outside, well smoked up, that had a Traeger logo on it.  You are on the right track.  

Worked_the_World

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Try and get those welding blankets that vdoss and I have.  You won't be sorry.

Rather than ordering online, try and find a welding shop who may order them cheaper for you.  That's what vdoss did.

I don't own a Chargriller specifically but Harbor Freight (if you have one nearby) is the absolute best for buying welding blankets.