Getting high temps in the Brinkman Smoke n Pit

[cliffcarter]

... CAN ANYONE HELP..?
Roy

Probably.

First- you will be wise if you repost your first response to this thread in its own thread so more people will see it, this thread is over 3 years old, none of these guys are still around to help.

20 lbs of charcoal is a lot, was it lump or briquettes?  If it was briquettes then ash build up most likely hampered your efforts, try using a good quality lump  such as Royal Oak.

Second get rid of the fire brick, I have no idea why you have them in there but all they will do is soak up heat.

Third either post a picture of the baffles so we can see their position or better yet get rid of them,too, until you can get a better handle on how this pit operates.

Fourth-and this is a shot in the dark- was it windy? Wind will limit temps in offsets if the intake vents on the fire box are not facing into the wind.

I cook on a CharGriller offset(similar to yours, but the firebox is on the right) without any modifications and it works just fine. What I get is essentially 3 zone cooking with  temps around 300° nearest the firebox, 250° in the middle of the cooking chamber and a bit lower on the far end. IMHO you should take the time to learn how this pit cooks before you get too caught up in making "improvements" that may or may not be needed.

Here is a thread that you may find helpful, I posted to it as well, Good Luck

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...ibs-and-temp-wont-stay-up-help/20#post_849612

 

[roypw]

Only problem is I put deflector and baffles in the bottom in place of charcoal rack. I could put them on baffles but doesn't sound like they woul provide heat for 6 or more hours it takes for a lot of thinks like shoulders and brisket?

You didn't say do you light the charcoal first.

Roy

 

[piaconis]

Roy, I do two things to even the temps from left to right in my smoker.  First, use some dryer vent or other material (non-galvanized, of course) to extend the smokestack down to the level of your cooking grate.  Believe me, it will make a HUGE difference.

Second, I add additional thermal mass to my smoker.  Since my firebox is on the right and my smokestack is on the left, the metal on the right stays warmer with the conducted heat energy from my firebox.  If I open the chamber, no matter how even my temp is, it takes a nose dive on the stack side while the other side "recovers" quicker.  My solution was to pile lava rock on the bottom of my smoker.  I distribute a heavy pile next to the stack, and taper it down toward the firebox side.  It will take a little longer to get the smoker up to temperature initially, since there is more mass to heat, but from then on, that mass acts like a heat capacitor, allowing you to recover quicker, should you have to open the cooking chamber door.  Also, it smoothes out the temperature variations a bit, because the additional mass takes extra time to warm or cool, meaning that your temperature will fluctuate less, even if the fire is a little more difficult to control.

Hope this helps.

 

[roypw]

Thanks cliffcarter.

Ash build up, if you mean in the bottom of the fire pit I cleaned it out once and in between I used tongs to be sure the air path was clear under the charcoal box. Do you mean ash around the charcoal in the box? I shook it several times to try to keep the ash off the briquettes. Yes I am using briquettes, I will try .

Fire brick, I see a lot of posts about firebrick to help stabilize temps when opening the lid to turn meat etc. also prevents some heat loss through the thin metal.I plan to take the fire brick out this morning and try one more run. Probably won't have time to get lump charcoal unless this run shows some better results then I wil use is from now on.

I will try to figure out how to post pictures and get some of the baffles. They are just 4in by 14 in quarter inch steel. four of laid across the bottom of the cooking chamber. The Deflector plate is quarter inch steel trapezoid 16.5 in by 14 in and 10 in long

I had these low temp problems with no mods. I thought this would really especially sealing the door with stove rope.

was not windy

Thanks for the help and I will start a new thread

Roy

 

[cliffcarter]

Only problem is I put deflector and baffles in the bottom in place of charcoal rack. I could put them on baffles but doesn't sound like they woul provide heat for 6 or more hours it takes for a lot of thinks like shoulders and brisket?
You didn't say do you light the charcoal first.
Roy

 This is a problem only if you made them permanent in some way, if not take them out, the charcoal pan is not needed either unless you are grilling.

You are not going to get cooking temps for 6 or more hours with this pit no matter how many mods you make IMHO, you will need to add fuel and tend to the fire to control cooking temps.

I recommend that you start with 2 fully lit chimneys of a good lump charcoal and see what kind of temps you get.

A detailed post describing what you have done and your procedure for lighting the fire and maintaining it will be helpful. Why do you need 350° temps?

 

[cliffcarter]

Looks like you hit send before I did on the last post

.

Ash build up will occur in the fire box and the charcoal basket.

To post a picture look on the function bar at the top of the reply box, to the left of the paper clip are the functions that allow you to upload pics or video, pics on the far left of that box, you can upload directly from your computer.

If you have baffles(AKA tuning plates) you may not need your deflector, if you are using 1/4 inch steel you do not need firebrick IMHO, the steel should retain plenty of heat.

 

[aland]

Open Question- I am refurbishing an old Weber 22.5 kettle grill and I was wondering if the best place to put a thermometer would be at the grill grate level or more towards the top of the lid. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Aland

 

[cliffcarter]

Open Question- I am refurbishing an old Weber 22.5 kettle grill and I was wondering if the best place to put a thermometer would be at the grill grate level or more towards the top of the lid. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Aland

The search function is your friend- 

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/121932/installing-a-thermometer-on-a-weber-kettle-22-5-otg