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I picked up this SNP to play around with butt it may have some issues. The steel plate that goes west to east is only 2.5 inches from the cookin grates. I'm thinking the plate could get too hot and cook the meat? The stack mod was done in good fashion butt the plate is not welded and I have a 1/8 inch clearance all the way around except for the 4 inch opening on the east end. I'm smoking a butt later this morning and some feedback could be very helpful and appreciated. OH, this Brinkmann SNP is 5 plus years old and has some good 1/8 steel with very little pitting.
The 1/8" gap would concern me a bit as it may allow too much heat to rise into the smoke chamber to allow even heating of the plate. Personally I'd try it and see how it cooks if need be I'm sure you could seal that gap. Monitor the amount of smoke coming through the gap as well and see how bad that is. The plate on my smoker is welded on the firebox end and down both sides but on the other end is open about 6-10" (never measured it) to allow the smoke/heat to rise up and come back over the grate. My bottom grate is only about an inch off the plate and that inch is actually the grate frame