Backwoods water pan help

[frosty91]

Hey guys, I acquired a backwoods smoker a few months ago and just getting a few cooks on it. Now before I got it I was used to my brinkman trail master offset. And I learned to turn out quality Q after using it for many years.

Now with the backwoods, it has 5 racks and a water pan. And I usually keep the food in the top racks, but it seems like I almost burn my food even up there. Like I said the whole waterpan is new to me. I fill it a little above half way for cooks and it always ends up boiling the water thru the cook. I'm also still learning this unit to keep it down in the 225 range but it has been getting to the 250-275 range. But it will hold the heat for 6-10 hours.

I know these are great units, and I probably just need to play with it more, but any tips are appreciated. I've been thinking about getting a guru of some sort for it also but can't pull the trigger. Doesn't feel right using one for comps, I've always enjoyed tending the fire and controlling the heat myself but maybe that's the route to go with this one.

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• frosty91
• Apr 24, 2017

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• frosty91
• Apr 24, 2017

 

[daveomak]

Looks as if someone ran a super hot fire in the fire box...   Looks as if the gasket needs replacing around the FB door to stop the air leakage....  

Do you run it with the exhaust wide open and the air inlet to the FB closed down to about 1/8-1/4 open.... 

What are you doing.... that would help....  You should not need a water pan to be able to operate at <200 deg. F.....

 

[frosty91]

The rope gasket seems to be in good shape around the door, maybe just a little yellow. And I put about 3/4 of the expanded metal drawer with unlit charcoal and put a full chimney of lit in front of that.probably 6 pounds total. When starting it I have both FB vents 1/4 open and chimney fully open. Once I get to the 200 range I shut one vent completely and leave the other

 

[daveomak]

Put a dollar bill where the FB door closes....  close it and see how easy the bill pulls out...   do that ALL AROUND the FB door...   It sure looks like it is leaking air to me...  Seal all the air leaks....

Use less lit charcoal...  about 1/4 chimney...   when the smoker body temp get to 140, close down 1 inlet and have the other 1/8 open...   Those things have sooooooooo much thermal mass and insulation, you can't get the temp down once it is above where you want....   

You should be able to cook all day on 2#'s of charcoal...

Got a picture of the air inlets...   are they 1 1/4" ball valves....

 

[frosty91]

Put a dollar bill where the FB door closes....  close it and see how easy the bill pulls out...   do that ALL AROUND the FB door...   It sure looks like it is leaking air to me...  Seal all the air leaks....

Use less lit charcoal...  about 1/4 chimney...   when the smoker body temp get to 140, close down 1 inlet and have the other 1/8 open...   Those things have sooooooooo much thermal mass and insulation, you can't get the temp down once it is above where you want....   

You should be able to cook all day on 2#'s of charcoal...

Got a picture of the air inlets...   are they 1 1/4" ball valves....

Once I get home for the week I will but they are just like a metal plate that slides. Not the best type of vents

 

[daveomak]

 

[bbqwillie]

For starters, the Backwoods smoker is a reverse flow cooker. The top racks will always be hotter than the lower racks, that's why your burning your food on the top rack (that and the fact that you are only filling the water pan to a half). All the heat is coming into the CC from a slot near the top of the cooker and flowing down to the bottom for exhaust. That stack in the picture connects to the CC near the center (maybe a little lower) of the back of the unit. The water pan is an ABSOLUTE necessity in the Backwoods. It's designed that way. You should fill the water pan to just below the lip. The Backwoods uses the water to help regulate the temp in the CC.

The Backwoods is a great smoker once you learn how to use it properly. It turns out some great Q but it does have a steep learning curve. I believe the unit you have is the "Party" model. It's an older model (Gen 1) but a good one. I have it's little brother (Patio) and it makes some tasty Q. Good Luck, stay with it, it's a good unit once you figure it out.

P.S. you don't need a guru for it. Once you figure out what you're doing it'll sit at 225 - 235 all day long. I'm not bashing the Guru, I have one and I use it on my WSM all the time and love it. It's just that the Backwoods will hold a constant temp on it's on when you do it right.

 

[frosty91]

For starters, the Backwoods smoker is a reverse flow cooker. The top racks will always be hotter than the lower racks, that's why your burning your food on the top rack (that and the fact that you are only filling the water pan to a half). All the heat is coming into the CC from a slot near the top of the cooker and flowing down to the bottom for exhaust. That stack in the picture connects to the CC near the center (maybe a little lower) of the back of the unit. The water pan is an ABSOLUTE necessity in the Backwoods. It's designed that way. You should fill the water pan to just below the lip. The Backwoods uses the water to help regulate the temp in the CC.

The Backwoods is a great smoker once you learn how to use it properly. It turns out some great Q but it does have a steep learning curve. I believe the unit you have is the "Party" model. It's an older model (Gen 1) but a good one. I have it's little brother (Patio) and it makes some tasty Q. Good Luck, stay with it, it's a good unit once you figure it out.

P.S. you don't need a guru for it. Once you figure out what you're doing it'll sit at 225 - 235 all day long. I'm not bashing the Guru, I have one and I use it on my WSM all the time and love it. It's just that the Backwoods will hold a constant temp on it's on when you do it right.

Thanks for all the info! That does make more sense why it would be burning food on the top. I had read they were reverse flow at one time but it slipped my mind. And I will try filling the water up more next time. It is such a pain to clean out though, it doesn't have any drain valves, and it is a big pan, so getting that out full of water turns into a mess, maybe I'll look into siphoning it out after cooks? Like you said though once I get it figured out I think it will put out quality Q

 

[bbqwillie]

Thanks for all the info! That does make more sense why it would be burning food on the top. I had read they were reverse flow at one time but it slipped my mind. And I will try filling the water up more next time. It is such a pain to clean out though, it doesn't have any drain valves, and it is a big pan, so getting that out full of water turns into a mess, maybe I'll look into siphoning it out after cooks? Like you said though once I get it figured out I think it will put out quality Q

If you fill the pan and the cook is of length (more than 4 hours) the water will boil in the pan and a lot of it will escape as steam through the exhaust with some rising into the CC. The pan will be about half  to a quarter full ( maybe less on a long cook) when the cook is done. It's not bad to get it out with that little water left in it. One of the things I do is put an inverted throwaway aluminum pan  (Turkey pan) over the top of the water pan. Punch some holes in the bottom of the throwaway so as to not inhibit the heat flow. That steam hits the pan and condenses then drops back into the water pan. It also blocks the steam from softening up the bark on your butt or brisket. Play with it to get the best results.

I really can't emphasis how important a role the water level plays in that cooker. You simply have to put water in it for the best results. Good Luck.

-Willie

P.S. Quick question, if you don't mind.  What did you pay for it? Brand new, that model sold for ~$800 around 2004 and a bit more after 2006. Today it's a $2000 cooker by the time you add all the things you should add to get a functional cooker. (base price is $1600). Yours, as pictured is a $2500+  cooker if bought new.

 

[bbqwillie]

One other thing I forgot to mention. In your picture you have the water pan sitting on a grate. That's wrong. The pan sits in the hole below that sixth grate and the grate goes over the top of the water pan. That pan seals off the FB from the CC. If your cooking with the water pan sitting on the grate that's where your 250-275 temp is coming from.

-Willie

 

[frosty91]

One other thing I forgot to mention. In your picture you have the water pan sitting on a grate. That's wrong. The pan sits in the hole below that sixth grate and the grate goes over the top of the water pan. That pan seals off the FB from the CC. If your cooking with the water pan sitting on the grate that's where your 250-275 temp is coming from.

-Willie

When I cook the pan is flush in the spot it's supppse to be, I think that was just when I first got it and snapped a quick picture while checking it out.
And I bought the smoker for $850, the gentleman had had the heavy duty casters added to it also. Also has the backyard cover which is a real heavy cover and had been garage kept. You can tell it's been used but it's still in great shape and should last a long time

 

[bbqwillie]

When I cook the pan is flush in the spot it's supppse to be, I think that was just when I first got it and snapped a quick picture while checking it out.
And I bought the smoker for $850, the gentleman had had the heavy duty casters added to it also. Also has the backyard cover which is a real heavy cover and had been garage kept. You can tell it's been used but it's still in great shape and should last a long time

 That's a hell of a deal for $850. The stainless steel doors, heat deflector, casters and cover are all extras. It's hard to tell from the picture but it may also have the commercial grade fire basket. I'd have to see it up close to tell. At any rate you got a great smoker for a very good price. Once you get a little experience with it you'll be turning out competition quality food. Enjoy it. I hope that the little bit of information I've given you gets you on the right track.

Best

-Willie

 

[frosty91]

 That's a hell of a deal for $850. The stainless steel doors, heat deflector, casters and cover are all extras. It's hard to tell from the picture but it may also have the commercial grade fire basket. I'd have to see it up close to tell. At any rate you got a great smoker for a very good price. Once you get a little experience with it you'll be turning out competition quality food. Enjoy it. I hope that the little bit of information I've given you gets you on the right track.

Best
-Willie

I appreciate all the info! I may have to message you for more sometime. And competition grade food is what I'm hoping to make on it. I do kcbs comps a few times a year and added this smoker to help with that.

 

[bbqwillie]

I appreciate all the info! I may have to message you for more sometime. And competition grade food is what I'm hoping to make on it. I do kcbs comps a few times a year and added this smoker to help with that.

Fell free to PM if you need to. As you can probably tell I don't get here that much (work and life get in the way) so be patient with respect to the time it takes me to respond. I will get back to you.