Camp Chef Sear Box on Rec Tec Trailblazer?

[pbft]

Quick background: My old faithful Weber Genesis is getting tired and my little bullet smoker is pretty much done. I just got a Rec Tec Trailblazer - just the right size for me, and it does a nice job with both smoking and grilling. It's *almost* perfect for my needs, but....

• Sometimes I just need to sear something - a sous vide roast tonight, for instance.
• I sometimes just quick grill a couple of salmon burgers or something simple.

Firing up the Trailblazer (or the Genesis) seems a big production for these tasks. I usually cook for only two people, and very rarely more than four.

I'm thinking about adding a Camp Chef Sear Box to my Rec Tec, but no one here has one that I can look at. Has anyone tried this? How quickly does the sear box get up to temperature? Any thoughts about whether this is a good idea?

Thanks - looking forward to the collective wisdom of the forum.

 

[retfr8flyr]

I don't think it can be done with the side exhaust on the Rec Tec. Have you thought about getting a small griddle for searing?

 

[pbft]

If I can't make it work I'll probably try the Grillgrates sear plates for the Trailblazer, but I'd rather not fire up the Trailblazer every time I need a hot grill.

What I'm *really* hoping is that I can punch a hole in the side of the CC Sear Box so that the Rec Tec grease drain will empty into the Sear Box grease tray. No way I can assess that without some more details about the sear box.

 

[retfr8flyr]

I didn't read the full question. I was thinking about the 700 Bull, with the side exhaust. With your Trailblazer, as you have figured out, your biggest problem will be the grease drain.

 

[pbft]

Having a tough time getting actual dimensions. I did get a dimensioned drawing from Camp Chef showing the mounting hole pattern on the grill. I found an online picture of the right side of the sear box and scaled that as well as I could figure. Looks like it might actually work so that the Rec Tec grease will drain into the sear box grease tray. I'd love a picture of the left side of the sear box (inside and/or outside) if anyone has one. I need to make sure that the Rec Tec grease drain won't interfere with anything vital inside the sear box.

 

[retfr8flyr]

The only problem I can see with this setup is capacity. How much does the drain on the Sear Station hold? If you are doing something real greasy, like butts, in the Rec Tec, there will be a lot of grease produced.

 

[pbft]

Good point - something to watch out for. The cute little bucket on the Trailblazer doesn't hold much either, but it would be easy to simply use a bigger one or put a 5 gallon one underneath to catch overflow. That wouldn't be so easy with the sear box. Can any sear box owners give me the approximate dimensions of the grease tray?

 

[villybhakta]

I'm actually planning to do this. Bought the 340 and searbox, theyre sitting the garage and now just need to put them together. The drip tray in the sear box is 12 3/8 x 4 x 1 3/4 in, seems large enough.

 

[pbft]

I did it - see this thread. The sear box grease tray is quite a bit more capacity than the Rec Tec bucket.

 

[villybhakta]

Awesome work. I like how yours is pushed back a bit cause the sear box is long. I'm being lazy and just want to cut the hole out do you know the measurements of the green arrows?

 

[pbft]

Awesome work. I like how yours is pushed back a bit cause the sear box is long. I'm being lazy and just want to cut the hole out do you know the measurements of the green arrows?

Measurements are approximate - best I could do without unmounting it: The hole is 1 1/4" wide by 2" high. The front edge is 6 1/2" from the front of the sear box panel, and the top is 3" below the top edge of the sear box panel.

 

[villybhakta]

Awesome thank you. Again great work. I'm going to just estimate with you dimensions and should work out just fine. Great write up.

 

[Splicer15]

Just put a camp chef sear box on a rec tec bull 700

 

[Splicer15]

Camp chef sear box on a rec tec bull 700

 

[pbft]

Just put a camp chef sear box on a rec tec bull 700

Nice! How do you like it so far? I get a lot of use out of mine.

 

[Splicer15]

Haven't use it yet cannot wait

 

[pbft]

Looks like you mounted yours much farther forward. Did you do that to leave the Rec Tec grease drain accessible? I set mine up so the Rec Tec drains into the Camp Chef drip tray.

 

[Splicer15]

Yes I mounted that shelf and side in front of the smoke stack

 

[Splicer15]

Yes I mounted that shelf and side in front of the smoke stack

 

[pbft]

That makes sense. The Trailblazer doesn't have a smokestack on the end. I like the proximity of the grill and the gas jugs - life should have the possibility of excitement ;-)