- Mar 29, 2021
- 9
- 0
I scored an older Masterbuilt electric smoker 30" for $10 at a yard sale. It's in amazing condition other than the broken thermometer. I made & installed a copper thermowell in place of the thermometer hole. I connected to my PID controller and fired it up for the first time. It was relatively cold and a bit windy. I could not get the temp up to save my life. I didn't feel comfortable covering it with anything and I didn't want whatever I might cover it to reek of smoke. My first smoked whole chicken turned out really great and just finished it in the oven.
I took a close look at this smoker and it appears I can drill out the rivets, remove the top entirely and I assume this would expose the hollow walls. This is just an assumption, haven't confirmed yet. I'm considering doing this and pouring vermiculite into the hollow walls. I presumably could pour vermiculite on the top of the smoker as well then reinstall the top with new rivets. The door is easily removed and I should be able to fill the front door with vermiculite also.
My first concern is that vermiculite doesn't really have a super high R value, but I don't know of any suitable material that really does at this thickness. Any reason why doing this shouldn't make a significant improvement?
I took a close look at this smoker and it appears I can drill out the rivets, remove the top entirely and I assume this would expose the hollow walls. This is just an assumption, haven't confirmed yet. I'm considering doing this and pouring vermiculite into the hollow walls. I presumably could pour vermiculite on the top of the smoker as well then reinstall the top with new rivets. The door is easily removed and I should be able to fill the front door with vermiculite also.
My first concern is that vermiculite doesn't really have a super high R value, but I don't know of any suitable material that really does at this thickness. Any reason why doing this shouldn't make a significant improvement?
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