Extending stack on OC Brazos

[Smokin Okie]

I'm considering an experiment to raise the height of the stack on my Old Country Brazos. The stack is 5 1/2" wide with about 5 1/8 Inside Diameter. I found this galvanized steel duct pipe at Home Depot , 5" X 2 ft.

I would like to add this to the stack temporarily, just to see if it improves the draw on my smoker. Its only $5 , a cheap experiment. But I've heard that galvanized steel should not be used on a smoker. Would it matter if its on top of the stack ?

Master Flow 5 in. x 2 ft. Round Metal Duct Pipe BCP5X24 - The Home Depot

Master Flow - 5 in. x 2 ft. Round Metal Duct Pipe - Make your next HVAC project a success with the help of this pipe, featuring galvanized steel and a simple design for quick and secure installation. - THD SKU# 540579

www.homedepot.com

 

[fivetricks]

No, you'll be more than fine

 

[daveomak]

The galvanized section is outside and down wind... not a problem....

 

[fowldarr]

Do you have issues with the draw on your Brazos? Just ordered mine, any other issues I should look out for?

 

[Smokin Okie]

Do you have issues with the draw on your Brazos? Just ordered mine, any other issues I should look out for?

No, I don't have any problem with the draw, just trying to improve it. I'm always trying to tweak things and make them better.

And I'm intrigued by some backyard offset smokers that have tall stacks, like the Aaron Franklin smoker and the one that Mill Scale is building. I think having a manifold or collector or whatever ya wanna call it would be a good addition also, but I'm not sure its worth the trouble.

Brazos is a good smoker. Obviously, there's more expensive , larger, and better but the Brazos will smoke meat just fine.

 

[fowldarr]

Seemed like a good value. Heavy metal, good features. I don’t expect it to be a $2500 smoker so I think it will serve me well

 

[Smokin Okie]

I found mine nearly new on Craigslist . Got it for $600. I had no experience with a stick burner but was intrigued. I figured I could buy this one, and if I did not like it I could sell it for what I paid. If I did like smoking with a stick burner then at some point I could trade up.

And I'm really pretty satisfied with the Brazos. Yeah, I'd like to buy one of Aaron Franklin's new backyard smoker or a similar smoke by Mill Scale , but those are $4500. Will I get better barbecue with those ? Maybe but not $4,000 better. I'm sure they would make it easier to manage the fire but at the end of the day, its about how my food tastes.

There's a bunch of 24 X 48 offsets in the $2800 range and I might make that jump some day, but again, the Brazos will due fine until then.

I've had my Brazos about a year and a half. I've learned a lot on it. I just ended my tuning plate experiment by taking them out for the last cook. I think they're more trouble than they're worth. I don't worry too much about end to end temps.

Size of split makes a big difference. My Brazos does best with 8" long and maybe a bit smaller round than a beer can. Yeah, you've got to sit with it during the cook. But I enjoy that.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Here's what I've done. I could not make the 5" work, so I found a 6" at Lowes and made it fit. This is just a temporary experiment. I'm gonna do a biscuit test with the stack on and another with the stack off. After a few cooks, if I like this, I might go to a welder and get it done permanent.



the stack cap attachment was a small problem , so I used tin snips to trim some of the duct away. I did not do a great job of that, but I can fill the gaps with aluminum foil and it really doesn't matter if I get small leaks

 

[Fromobile]

How does it work? My brazos is coMing next week. I was considering adding a few inches and seeing how the draw seems

 

[Smokin Okie]

I've only fired it up once and I've not yet done the biscuit test. Hard to tell how much , if any, that it increased air flow. Also it was a windy day and I had a lot of currents blowing around the FB. I'll need to do more cooks before I conclude anything.

but I smoked a brisket and the bark was great. If air flow improves bark, then that was a win.

 

[Fromobile]

Yeah, convection creates more browning and faster cooking at lower temps in ovens, so more convection should help the bark. I’m pretty sure that’s the crispy bark secret!!

 

[daveman92789]

Did you get chance to test it again? I have a pecos & I'm curious if extending the stack helped.

Thanks,

 

[Smokin Okie]

Did you get chance to test it again? I have a pecos & I'm curious if extending the stack helped.

Thanks,

Regretfully no. I smoked a spiral cut ham around Christmas but I've not done any smokes on the Brazos since. The weather has just not cooperated with spending the day on the patio. And our freezer was filled with smoked meats, we needed to do some eating before I added to it

I still plan on doing the biscuit thing and I'm planning a spare rib cook here soon.

But I know I'm gonna leave the extension on the stack. It does not hurt anything and it was cheap.

I've also found, that even though the stack itself is 6" diameter, the exhaust port on the end of the cook chamber is only 4.5" . Not sure I understand why Old Country did that, but its there. I'm also not sure what that does to air flow.

I believe your Pecos has a 5" stack and I would bet that your port will also be 4.5" .

 

[daveman92789]

Regretfully no. I smoked a spiral cut ham around Christmas but I've not done any smokes on the Brazos since. The weather has just not cooperated with spending the day on the patio. And our freezer was filled with smoked meats, we needed to do some eating before I added to it

I still plan on doing the biscuit thing and I'm planning a spare rib cook here soon.

But I know I'm gonna leave the extension on the stack. It does not hurt anything and it was cheap.

I've also found, that even though the stack itself is 6" diameter, the exhaust port on the end of the cook chamber is only 4.5" . Not sure I understand why Old Country did that, but its there. I'm also not sure what that does to air flow.

I believe your Pecos has a 5" stack and I would bet that your port will also be 4.5" .

Yes mine has a 5" stack with 4.5" port. I posted something about that here on the forum... I want to cut that lip out. I did cut the heat deflector out & made a different one. Instead of directing heat down I direct heat up. Got close to even temps & better air flow...

 

[Smokin Okie]

I've thought about cutting that baffle out, but don't have the guts to do that. If the cook chamber was a little longer I might do it.

 

[daveman92789]

I've thought about cutting that baffle out, but don't have the guts to do that. If the cook chamber was a little longer I might do it.

Here's a prototype that I ran for 6hrs yesterday while cooking ribs. Stayed constant the whole time. No temperature spikes & the wood burned more efficiently. I plan on building a plate & making it permanent. I ran a second prototype that extended the plate 2" above the cooking grate & the temps came even closer.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Well, I think I'll sell my Brazos and buy a better smoker, before I take an angle grinder to it.

I'm ready to make that move, anyway.

 

[daveman92789]

I understand. I was a little hesitant to cut mine out as well. I have a welder so i knew i could easily put it back in. Before going this route i did build a convection plate. It was 14" x 24". It worked good i just needed to open the holes up a little bigger so it would be easier to hit 275. Other than that it made cooking with the pecos much more enjoyable. I could walk away from it for ~45min before needing to put another log on it. I attached a picture of one however its not mine. I can always this afternoon when i get home take a picture of the one i made with dimensions if your interested. I believe i got the metal for around $35.