Roll Call

[agent75]

Thanks for the response guys.

It's called a Deuba, can't find a website, purchased on Amazon. There's no bottom air vent, there is a significant gap around the bottom. I'm not sure how this will affect temp control, will need to butn it a few times to see. If I were to fit an air vent, would I need to seal this gap up?

Hopefully these pictures will give you an idea of what I mean. There is a water pan.

IMG_6855.JPG

• agent75
• Feb 14, 2017

IMG_6854.JPG

• agent75
• Feb 14, 2017

Cheers

Keith

 

[agent75]

Having checked out some of the youtube mod videos, here are my thoughts.

For better access to the coal pan, I would need to mount this on it's own legs and turn the existing legs on the body to the outside, in order to be able to lift the whole smoker away from the coal pan. However, as the main body is in two parts, and only the upper body part has handles, I would need to source and fit another two handles to the lower body part.

For improved airflow, I should drill holes or fit an airflow controller to the coal pan. Having not used the smoker yet, I may hold off on this mod until I've run a few loads of charcoal in it and also wait until my digi thermometer is here to take an accurate grate reading.

Sounds right?

Keith.

 

[smokin monkey]

Hi Keith, the one I have has a large gap around the charcoal pan.

Give it a couple of runs and see how it controls.

 

[agent75]

Thanks Steve

I'll start a new thread where I can mebbes pick your brain some more?

Cheers

Keith.

 

[smokin monkey]

Starting a new thread is a good idea.

That way you will have your answers in one place.

 

[smokin monkey]

HI Keith, cooked a chicken today on smoker similar to yours. Running @ 200'C.

image.jpeg

• smokin monkey
• Feb 19, 2017

 

[joel75]

Hi,I'm jo, I from the south of England just outside of sunny Bognor Regis!..totally new to smoking but have had a keen interest for along time. I work in the NHS..so nothing to do with food or smoking!..I have lots of questions to ask and advice to soak up,I have purchased a callow vertical smoker on seeing wades review on YouTube , thought it would make a good smoker for the family!..jo..

 

[smokin monkey]

Once again Jo, welcome to the forum and the UK Group.

 

[joel75]

So, a question , I think I'm going to start with some ribs,wings, something small to start?..what's a good all round rub for ribs and wings?..

 

[smokin monkey]

Ribs can be labour intensive for your first cook.
Go chicken, whole chicken or parts, wing legs, drums etc.
Chicken is cheaper to practice on than ribs.
As for rubs, commercial bought rubs are a good start. Rubs are a personal thing, some like them sweet, some like them hot.

Don't worry, we will have you on Ribs and more soon!!!

 

[joel75]

Thank you, I'm collecting rub recipes!.

 

[wade]

Hi,I'm jo, I from the south of England just outside of sunny Bognor Regis!..totally new to smoking but have had a keen interest for along time. I work in the NHS..so nothing to do with food or smoking!..I have lots of questions to ask and advice to soak up,I have purchased a callow vertical smoker on seeing wades review on YouTube , thought it would make a good smoker for the family!..jo..

I used to commute from Ashford to Bognor most days in a previous job 

 

[joel75]

That's a long old commute!..what's a good make of briquette wade?..

 

[wade]

Luckily I was in a fully expensed company car then - those were the days 

I only use Heat Bead briquettes but the Nature, Coco and Weber premium briquettes are fine too. These are easily sourced online, often with free next day delivery. Avoid the cheap supermarket/DIY store brands.

 

[joel75]

Cheers wade!..

 

[bigsoftmoose]

Hi Folks

I'm Pete , as i said on the main forum roll call, I'm just starting smoking because its a confluence of my various other interests, work - I'm a ranger team leader with the National Trust and have access to lots of wood and charcoal from coppice burns, I'm a turner - gives me lots of shavings and off cuts, plus a workshop to build stuff, and i'm just about to start small holding - lots of meat, cheese, and other stuff to smoke

I'm just about to embark on a UDS, a mini WSM, and a  Venturi gun and cabinet for cold smoking.  As you may gather from this building stuff, especially from recycled materials, is also a major hobby

I'll look forward to sharing some builds and recipes and stuff

 

[steve johnson]

Welcome Pete there's a wealth oh knowledge on here, looking forward to seeing some of your builds and smokes :grilling_smilie:

 

[smokin monkey]

Once again, welcome Pete.

 

[wade]

Hi Pete - Welcome to the forum and also the UK Group

It sounds as if you do very similar things to the Forest Schools. I am from Kent and I have helped them out out with cooking and food smoking as part of some of their courses.

The biscuit tin on the hot plate was a good place to begin but I can see why you want to develop further. There are a number of inexpensive options for hot and cold smoking moving forward depending on what and how much you are looking to smoke. The WSM and ProQ bullet smokers can seem quite expensive when you are first looking and I can see why you are looking at something cheaper. Most of the "cheap" smokers that are advertised leave a lot to be desired there is one that has just been released that comes in at about £85 which is great for people starting out. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/259901/callow-smoker-review. This gives you a full featured bullet smoker for only about £20 more than the standard Smokey Joe.

Callow 2.JPG

• wade
• Mar 24, 2017

Cabinets work well as cold smokers and I adapted a commercial upright freezer carcass for mine. What has made you settle on the venturi smoke generator? These can be a little temprimental sometimes and I gave up on them fairly early on. One of the most reliable cold smoke generators is the "mailbox mod" which you can find a lot of information about on here. Mine I just bolted to the outside of the smoker cabinet but many connect it using a length of flexible tubing

Smoker with smoke box.jpg

• wade
• Jan 9, 2016

Below I am using an AMNPS generator - ~ 12 hours of smoke per charge

AMNPS burn small.jpg

• wade
• Dec 22, 2016

And here I am using a tube smoke generator - <£3 from Ebay and ~ 6 hours of smoke per charge

Tubes compare 6.jpg

• wade
• Feb 22, 2017

Whatever you decide to go don't forget to keep us updated and that we love photos here 

 

 

[bigsoftmoose]

thanks for the welcome wade - I love building stuff so the ready made options aren't really my thing - I just scored a second hand smokey joe on ebay for about 30 notes, so I'm definitely going the Mini route first ... although i suspect it could be the first of many ... i just need to find a suitable pot or other option

WRT the venturi gun - i really want to be able to burn shavings from my wood turning, so it seemed like a better bet than the APNS types which seem to need finer chip ... also the venturi looks like a cool build and something i can  tinker with.  that said i may well look at mail box mods etc as well.