First butts on modified el cheapo...pics and Q view

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jokensmoken

Master of the Pit
Original poster
Dec 7, 2016
1,072
343
Whitmore Lake Michigan
So, a good friend of mine son brought this little bullet smoker over about six weeks ago to replace a WSM 18 of mine he creamed with his pick up two summers ago.
Not knowing anything about smoking or the difference between smokers he did the best he could referencing his memory of what the old one looked like.
Well, it's not a WSM, but it's not a true El cheapo... somewhere in between.
 
I fired it up and burned it out and discovered I had pretty darn good temp control which pleased me but immediately realized I had an ash problem...
The ash collector was too small and the coal grate sat entirely too low in the dish...it filled with ash after only about three hours and I lost all control.
Raising the grate to create more room wasn't an issue...three small bolts run through the dish and a slightly larger grate (I had from an OLD ecb) solved that issue but the small can of the bottom was a ditterent issue.
All the larger replacements available would require longer legs and I'm not into putting that much more effort or money into it.
After thinking about it for a while I decided all I needed to do was stop the ash from collecting on the lower collector. So I raised the grate some more and made a chimney of sorts out of a pineapple can that covers the bottom most vent and rises about 3 inches...meaning that theoretically I can collect three inches of ash in the bowl before any gets into the lower collector to block the vents.
 
Gotcha...that occurred to me too AFTER I cut out both ends of the can...lol...I did drill six half inch holes in the side of the can that don't show in the pic.
 
So...everything is running smoothly...I put three eight.pound butts in this morning at 7:30 and my temp has settled right in at 238° F and is holding steady for over an hour now...the real goal here is to get a much longer burn without messing with the ash, so only time will tell if my mods really work.
 
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Yes, but I don't put water in mine...sand.
BUT, yeah for an inexpensive unit it has all the components to be a nice little smoker. It's got three sections; lid, bottom with charcoal dish, grate and vent and the center drum section that holds the two grates and water pan AND a much larger access door than the usual El cheap o...just needed some simple mods.
If they work I'll spend a little more time and do them right.
 
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