Costa Rica grill mods

[texas redneck]

Hey everyone.  A couple of months ago I bought a grill here in Costa Rica.  I have started some grill mods with the hope of being able to smoke with it.  I only have a few hand tools so I have to borrow the rest.  I have cut open a door in one of the sides that I will use as a vent and also to add charcoal.  I have also added a flexible dryer vent that I was able to extend down to grate level.  I am hoping to get some sort of seal for the lid, but I haven't worked that part out yet.  At this point I am trying to figure out how long my exhaust should be. I have read that having a longer exhaust helps pull a better draft through, and yet if it is too long the exhaust cools down too low and you loose some of your draft effect.  Anyone have a suggestion on how much I should cut my vent down?  It is about 20 inches from the top to the bottom of the bend.

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• texas redneck
• Jan 12, 2013

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• texas redneck
• Jan 12, 2013

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• texas redneck
• Jan 12, 2013

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• texas redneck
• Jan 12, 2013

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• texas redneck
• Jan 12, 2013

 

[daveomak]

Troy, morning.....  If the stack is too tall, it pulls too much air through the smoker that may be more than the briquettes can handle.... meaning they can't make heat fast enough to overcome the cold air entering the smoker.... I would fire it up and start chopping off length until it seems all is balanced.... you can watch the air flow out the stack and maybe use a therm to monitor the temp of the stack...  Also, at the open end of the smoker where you put wood in, there should be little or no smoke coming out....  Experiment some... all smokers work differently...  

Dave

 

[texas redneck]

Thanks for the reply Dave. I had not thought about monitoring the stack temp. Should the exhaust temp be about the same as the chamber air temp?

 

[daveomak]

As the stack temp rises, it will let you know when the heat is not being diluted with too much incoming cold air...  Just some way to gauge the amount to reduce the length....  Dave

 

[texas redneck]

Hey Dave,
Just wanted to send you an update. I ended up cutting it about in half. However after using it some it didn't seem to have a real good draft, so I pulled it up a couple of inches. I also had a friend bring me down some woodstove gasket to help seal it up. It seems to be drafting better now. However, I have another question for you. I originally had the extension inside the cc extend down to the grate. That took up too much of my grill space, so I bent it bacwards to go back to the back corner. However, I was afraid that may have been one of the reasons for my draft not being as good. So now I just have it bent down slightly so that I can still fit food under it. Do you think two bends (the bend backwards & down to the grate, plus the bend going up) is too many bends?

Troy

 

[daveomak]

Troy, looks like you could use a little more air inlet to the fire... Extending the flex to the grate, the grate will stop some of the air flow..  the corrugations will cause friction also...  It is going to be a balancing act to get it all adjusted for the optimum temperature and air flow....  once you get that perfect balance, you will be happy...    Dave