Finished my mods to the CG

[ma?tley ca 1/4 e]

Yesterday I finished the mods to my new CG. First I did the dryer vent on the smoke stack. Second, I made a charcoal basket out of expanded metal. I bought a 24" X 24" sheet at Home Depot and cut 6 x 6 squares off each corner then bent the sides up. (Saw that in another thread here) I then cut out another piece to make a grate for it to sit on. I made it just wide enough to sit on top of the guides that the ash pan goes under. I then set the original charcoal grate on top of that with the ends pointing down for a little extra lift. The charcoal basket sits niceley on top of that and has just enough room for the door to close. This way I have enough room for a large basket, but can still dump the ash pan if I need to. It should have plenty of air flow underneath now.

The only problem with the vent mod was when I closed the lid it kinda crushed up aginst the warming rack. I had it turned along with the lid, but there's just not quite enough room. I think I'll probably just ditch the warming rack. I would like to keep it. It could hold a slab of ribs or two, but it may not be worth it.

 

[crownovercoke]

I would definitly keep the warming rack... You always can use more space in the smoker...

 

[ba_loko]

Did you use the 3" dryer extension type hose? That's what I did. Yes, it does crush down just a bit, but it doesn't make the mod extension unusable. Mine is routed in such a way that it comes down the grill closest to where the lid opens. It does seem to help. If you used the 4" and it collapsed a bit, it should still work just fine. You do lose a bit of grill space though.

 

[bbqlovinpackerbacker]

I just bent mine in such a way to follow the curve of the lid. It kinda crinkled a bit in the middle, but I think it works great.

The first pic shows the extension put on the lip of the top lid. It keeps it from moving around. The second pic is from the second smoke I did on the chargriller. The third is from my b-day in June. I did 10 slabs, 6 on the main rack, and 4 in a vert stand on the top rack. I'm glad I had the extra room, as there were many hungery bellies that showed up

.

I personally think it's handy to have the extra room to work with. Now If I ever do turkey's or something taller like that, I guess I'll take the top rack out.

 

[deejaydebi]

I wouldn't get rid of the warming rack either. Looks like a great place for fattys and other small things. Taters, corn, stuffed peppers ...

Did you try bending it around like PackerBacker?

 

[ma?tley ca 1/4 e]

I used the 3". It looks just like that. A little crinkled in the middle. What are using as a baffle Packer? I couldn't quite tell from the pics. I smoked a pork loin this weekend on it. Turned out great. Gonna try a long smoke this weekend. If I can find a decent brisket, I'll do that. Never done a whole brisket, only flats. Maybe some ribs and a fatty or two. I have only had the little 16 x 16 GOSM, so this will give me much more room.

 

[ma?tley ca 1/4 e]

Duh, never mind. I just noticed its the charcoal tray.

 

[gypsyseagod]

you could prolly fit in a meatloaf or 2 also. btw - last month we passed a place in north carolina(the western side)called believe it or not....motley's que- way out in some small nowhere town. just hadda think it was you until i saw where yer from.

 

[ma?tley ca 1/4 e]

Good name. I always told the wife if I ever decide to (or get good enough to) compete, that the name would be Mötley Cüe's Generation Swine. Or some variation there of.

 

[gypsyseagod]

i hate to show you this but... http://www.motleyque.com/index.php?pr=Home_Page i googled the name trying to find that bbq place & this was the top hit.

 

[ma?tley ca 1/4 e]

Oh well. I'll probably never compete anyway. Maybe my next tat will inspire another name. LOL.

 

[gypsyseagod]

here's a thought motley- i have done it a few times & last 1 i did cost $120 for the rights- but hit the trademark site.trademark the name & collect the royalties- lol

 

[bbqlovinpackerbacker]

I used the charcoal pan a couple times, but found the temp diff from side to side was 30-40 deg. I got four 6x18 inch sheets of steel at home depot...someone posted about the idea once before (18 or 22 gauge...can't remember, but needed a little umpff to bend them) bent them into a slight curve. One is pushed up right next to the fire box, and the rest are spaced out toward the other end.

I've had to move them around a bit (push some closer together and move others further apart. I now get a temp dif of less that 10 deg. when measured at the firebox end, middle, and chimney end. They're more like tuning plates. I have thought about adding a baffle, but the plates seem to work quite well for now. I'll post pics of them soon, gotta go fight crime and surpress evil right now (aka work).

 

[kosmo]

Why do you run the dryer hose like that......to retain more smoke ??????

 

[bbqlovinpackerbacker]

It seems to help keep the heat in, with the chimney on the top of the lid, the smoke, and related heat would just go up to the top, and fly on out the chimney. With the extention down to the grate. the heat goes up, gets trapped, and then slowely goes out through the longer, lower chimney.

That's my theory anyway. I'm sure there is someone here who has a much more scientific analysis...aka actual reason for lowering the stack. Peer preasure caused me to modify it, and after doing so, I did notice the temp was easier to keep steady.

 

[deejaydebi]

When the chiney is in line with the grate it pulls the smoke across the grate so all you food gets smoked. If the chimney is just on top the far corner doesn't get as much smoke. Here's a few illustrations to help you visualize what I'm trying (badly) to say.