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1st time smoker - temp problems with my Brinkman Smoke N Grill

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Is the grate supposed to rest almost on the bottom of the pan?  I can't find a size that seems to fit just right.  The smaller one sits almost on the floor on the pan and would that allow enough space for the ash to accumulate?  Thanks.
 
adiochiro3 said:
Those mods will make a big difference.  Temp control is all about air flow.  More oxygen = higher temps.  Use a combination of charcoal and chunk wood.  The wood burns hotter and gets temps up in the right range.  I add 4-6 coals and 1-2 lumps of fruit wood for smoke & higher heat about every 30 -40 minutes. Open the smoker as little as possible to keep temps up (avoid the temptation to "check" on progress).  If you're at temp, your cooking.  I believe the motto is "If you're looking you ain't cooking!"
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I'




I'm a new smoker and I keep hearing about mods what mods are there for grills I just have a brinkman smoker/ grill
 
Raising the charcoal grid will help. I have one of these Smoke and Pits, I love it. Using a couple of bricks under the charcoal grid works fine. using 100% lump charcoal burns hotter and produces less ash build up, also, along with some smoking wood. check out my baffle at www.kickassbbqsouth.com. with my baffle I can maintain an even temp across the smoke chamber. I can hold a 300 degree temp throughout on my smoke& pit which is perfect for Ribs.

And the guy above here is right. as you go along, you will learn just how long at whatever temp you are smoking at, when it is time to look.For ribs, I put them on, bone down, and look at 1 hour. the meat should be pulling away from the bones. I use this brief moment to spritz the ribs with a 50/50 mixture of Simply Apple Apple juice and bourbon. after another 2 hours, I double wrap them in aluminum foil and cook another hour. fall off the bone kick ass bbq.

Smoke ON!!!!
 
Everyone is right some simple mods to my ecb made a huge difference.  I simply attached the legs on the outside, drilled holes in the charcoal pan, built a stand  to hold it up, added a grate in the bottom and built a simple "damper" on the bottom of the charcoal pan to control air to my drilled holes, and let me tell you that made a heck of a difference!!!  I may dig it out this weekend and take  some pics
 
Just picked up a ECB Sunday off the yard sale page.  Paid $20 and came with the cover.  Guy said he only used it once and I'd believe him.  Going to try give it a try this evening smoking some hamburgers for supper.  Guess I'll be drilling a few holes in the charcoal pan this evening and possibly swapping the legs around so I can lift the can off the charcoal pan.  
 
Hey TerryD!

Looks like you are off to a good start, maybe a little too much smoke, it really should be little more than a wisp of smoke and looks like it is all escaping from around the lid. The pan looks solid. I recognize that ECB but I don't recall the name of it. Better than the standard Brinkman ECB. 
 
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Thanks for the tip! It appears to be the Brinkmann Gourmet. I tried the minion method and temps stayed right at 225-250, even through a moderate downpour. It is that smokey because one of my apple chunks was lighting off. There isn't any way at all to control the air flow so I'm not sure how to cut the fire box temperature down any. It had the water pan at a rolling boil and I assume that is what was controlling the temperature.

Burgers turned out great and I'm looking forward to getting some more use out of this thing. Maybe some ribs and pork loin in a few weeks. Wife is in school and we're taking a boiler down for a month at work so having good already cooked for a couple days is nice.
 
well I don't know if  its a vertical had same problem raised the coal pan up put another set air holes on other side of base air inlet also raised up water pan to next level were a grate would be my brinkman just doesn't like lump charcoal went back to kingsford use a lot less start with half chiemmeny with a little in coal pan goes about 3-4 hrs tryed to rasie  smoke stack only thing I got top damper was almost cloesed  temp stayed 250-275  mine is called trail master special edition the name say's it all I to am frist timer its fun to try and figure out ...Zeke
 
FriarTuck said:
Hello,

I'm new to the forum and new to smoking. I've read BBQ forums for a while and just purchased a Brinkman Smoke N Grill. Today I used it for the first time and smoked 2 racks of ribs and 2 chickens. I had some temp control issues that I was hoping to find some help about.

Through most of the smoking time I had a really hard time keeping the temp above 220. I could get the temp up around 215 to 220 and then any time I'd open the lid to turn the ribs or add the chicken the temp would drop to around 150 and I would only get back up to around 195 or so, very slowly. The only way I could get the temp back up to 225 range was to add more charcoal. Through 6 hours of smoking today I used an entire 10 lb bag of oak lump charcoal and a few briquettes I had. This was my first time, but that doesn't seem like it should be normal.

My temp readings came from an Acurite probe I laid through the top rack. I haven't made any of the mods to my ECB. Will the air holes in the charcoal pan really make that much difference as far as helping it stay at temp? I'd like to do a brisket but I'm worried that I'll have to use 30 lbs of charcoal for that :-).

Thanks!
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Wish I was here back then. I missed out on all the ECB mods fun.
 
I had the brinkman smoker for 2 years and preformed many Mods on it and the best thing I ever did was to switch to the Weber Smokey mountain ! I know it isn't cheap, but the lack of frustration with the Brinkman will do your heart good ! 

I riveted sheet metal around the bottom, I cobbled a sliding air vent in it and basically it made me work harder and spend more money on fuel then it was worth !

Please don't take this personal, the best thing about me and my Brinkman smoker was my friend at the transfer station letting me drive over it with the back hoe before putting it in the metal dumpster ! 

Brinkman used to put out some nice equipment years ago, but that has all changed ! 

JMHO

Surf
 
update raised coal pan with 2 inch bolts fits right in air holes in pan what change now if I want high heat its there ran a test run heated to 500 in no time runs steady at 250 with just half  chimney of coal then put in wood chunks   like night/day had my doubts but with the help of this forum its working out this weekend looks like country style rib's and cut up chicken  also did turkey breast w/bone  even the boss (wife) wanted see how it was done ......thanks for all the help and ( jeff phillips) recipe work great can't wait to try his rub...zeke
 
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