So I have been looking for an offset smoker to give my Egg some company....
Yesterday on Craigslist a guy posted a ~5 year old used 20x42 Klose smoker for $450, with ball valve and charcoal basket upgrades. I jumped all over it and drove 2 hours to get it, UHaul trailer and all. Looking at it closer when I got there, it definitely needed some TLC - good amount of rust on the firebox, caked ashes in the firebox and the smoke chamber (I guess he was using the smoker area as a grill too), and the grates also have a lot of rust on them. But I figured that's easy enough to handle with some elbow grease, grinder, sandpaper and paint.
So I went ahead and pulled the trigger, strapped the thing into the UHaul trailer (wow is it heavy) and brought it home. So I have a Klose smoker!!
Now....Checking it out tonight, there is an issue that I'm very concerned with. The smoker chamber door will barely open - requires some MAJOR effort, and then the same force to close it. Without that it just stays frozen where you leave it. Seems like the hinges are frozen, probably some rust in there although I can't see any. The same issue also applies to the firebox lid - it is tough to open and close.
My bigger concern is - I cannot get the smoker door or the firebox lid to close completely as a result of the frozen hinges. The smoker door almost seems warped, but it may just be the frozen hinges are keeping it from closing nicely. There is about a 1/2 inch gap between the bottom of the door and the smoker chamber. The firebox lid also stops about 1/2 inch from closing fully.
Any tips here? How can I get these hinges freed up? With the design of this Klose, it doesn't look like I can get the hinges off. Worse, is it possible the door was warped if he was grilling in the main smoking chamber?
I can't wait to get this thing up and running, just very concerned about how to fix this. I will post some pics for you guys tomorrow but any input in the meantime?
Yesterday on Craigslist a guy posted a ~5 year old used 20x42 Klose smoker for $450, with ball valve and charcoal basket upgrades. I jumped all over it and drove 2 hours to get it, UHaul trailer and all. Looking at it closer when I got there, it definitely needed some TLC - good amount of rust on the firebox, caked ashes in the firebox and the smoke chamber (I guess he was using the smoker area as a grill too), and the grates also have a lot of rust on them. But I figured that's easy enough to handle with some elbow grease, grinder, sandpaper and paint.
So I went ahead and pulled the trigger, strapped the thing into the UHaul trailer (wow is it heavy) and brought it home. So I have a Klose smoker!!
Now....Checking it out tonight, there is an issue that I'm very concerned with. The smoker chamber door will barely open - requires some MAJOR effort, and then the same force to close it. Without that it just stays frozen where you leave it. Seems like the hinges are frozen, probably some rust in there although I can't see any. The same issue also applies to the firebox lid - it is tough to open and close.
My bigger concern is - I cannot get the smoker door or the firebox lid to close completely as a result of the frozen hinges. The smoker door almost seems warped, but it may just be the frozen hinges are keeping it from closing nicely. There is about a 1/2 inch gap between the bottom of the door and the smoker chamber. The firebox lid also stops about 1/2 inch from closing fully.
Any tips here? How can I get these hinges freed up? With the design of this Klose, it doesn't look like I can get the hinges off. Worse, is it possible the door was warped if he was grilling in the main smoking chamber?
I can't wait to get this thing up and running, just very concerned about how to fix this. I will post some pics for you guys tomorrow but any input in the meantime?
