Masterbuilt Gravity Fed 800 & 1050: can interior space be heated more efficiently for smaller meals?

[MikeyJ]

I'm soon going to pull the trigger and get a Masterbuilt 800 or 1050. I need a larger size because I'll be regularly entertaining larger groups.

But, a lot of the time, it'll be just my wife and I who I'll be cooking for and we won't need to heat all that space, and we'll burn a lot of charcoal for nothing. Is there a way to heat less of it?

For example, when grilling over higher heat, I imagine something like a half griddle might redirect the heat rising from the manifold to only half cast-iron grill which might help (increase the amount of direct heat, I guess). It might not need to be a half griddle, but maybe a slab of stainless steel, aluminum, or ceramic. Thoughts?

I don't think I'll be as lucky about when smoking over lower temperatures, but would appreciate any feedback here too. :)

 

[JLeonard]

Have you thought about like a Weber Jumbo Joe or a small kettle like that if you have the space for it? Still using charcoal but Smaller cook area for just you and the wife.

Jim

 

[Smokin Okie]

I own a MB560. I love it as a smoker but don't use it as a grill. I use a Weber Kettle to grill, both a 22 and a 26. A Kettle is hard to beat.

 

[MikeyJ]

Have you thought about like a Weber Jumbo Joe or a small kettle like that if you have the space for it? Still using charcoal but Smaller cook area for just you and the wife.

Jim

Good advice. I hadn't thought of it that way. I'd thought maybe I'd also get a small gas grill, but your suggestion may be a much more affordable way to have a second grill while also still being able to use charcoal. :)

 

[MikeyJ]

I own a MB560. I love it as a smoker but don't use it as a grill. I use a Weber Kettle to grill, both a 22 and a 26. A Kettle is hard to beat.

Okay. Definitely going on the "good recommendation" pile. :) While I'm lazy and new to charcoal, I can see the benefits of a kettle as learning even more about how to cook with the fuel.

 

[JLeonard]

Good advice. I hadn't thought of it that way. I'd thought maybe I'd also get a small gas grill, but your suggestion may be a much more affordable way to have a second grill while also still being able to use charcoal. :)

Okay. Definitely going on the "good recommendation" pile. :) While I'm lazy and new to charcoal, I can see the benefits of a kettle as learning even more about how to cook with the fuel.

There are tons of videos on youtube (where I learned a lot) for using the kettle. And you can catch the jumbo joes etc on sale at the box stores. Less than $100.

Jim

 

[clifish]

You can get a used 18" or 22" kettle pretty cheap on marketplace. I have the MB800 and mostly cook for 2 but I only smoke at lower temps. They do eat charcoal no doubt though. For quick meals I use the gasser or griddle.

 

[Smokin Okie]

When I grill, I want to use two zones. I put charcoal to one side of the Kettle for direct heat, and I always have safe spot on the other side to pull meats off the direct heat. Or if I just want to cook slower, I have the indirect side.

With the MB560, I can reverse sear by smoking the steaks to a preferred IT, then crank up the heat to sear. But its prone to flareups and grease fires when I do that. Drippings from the time smoking get ignited by embers from the fan blowing on the coals when I crank up the heat.

I could use a drip pan with the 560, but I'm already grilling with indirect heat and placing meat over the pan just puts another obstacle in the way.

And I really like how my Kettle reverse sears. I start with 8 to 10 fully lit coals on one side of the Kettle. That will run it at about 225 degrees. I put the steak on the other side till it reaches an IT of 115. Then I have a chimney of fully lit coals ready to put in the Kettle to sear.

Adding a vortex to the Kettle is the best thing for wings. That's a great combo.

Bottom line, I don't gain anything grilling with the 560. But I really like it as a smoker, that's what gravity feeds do very well.

 

[dow]

I've got a 1050, and other than pork butts, I cook for 2-3 almost exclusively. Not too many burgers, but quite a few streaks sausage links, chicken thighs, etc. I wouldn't take for mine, and see no need for a smaller "quick cook" grill. I had a gas grill for years, and never came even close to using it like I have my 1050. I have the gas grill away after the first cook in the 1050.

One bit of advice on the masterbuilt: use a drip pan. Cuts WAY Down on flair-ups.

 

[MikeyJ]

I've got a 1050, and other than pork butts, I cook for 2-3 almost exclusively. Not too many burgers, but quite a few streaks sausage links, chicken thighs, etc. I wouldn't take for mine, and see no need for a smaller "quick cook" grill. I had a gas grill for years, and never came even close to using it like I have my 1050. I have the gas grill away after the first cook in the 1050.

One bit of advice on the masterbuilt: use a drip pan. Cuts WAY Down on flair-ups.

Thanks for the info. For those quick, small cooks, how much fuel does it use?

Oh, I'll most definitely be going to be using a drip pan and may try to make my own manifold cover with drip-pan brackets like LLS and Klotes (my father-in-law's workshop has a of the equipment I'd need).

 

[Smokin Okie]

One bit of advice on the masterbuilt: use a drip pan. Cuts WAY Down on flair-ups.

Drip pan is not nearly as problematic on the 1050 as it is on the smaller 560, where just about any size pan is gonna redirect air flow in the cook chamber. I deal with that when smoking by cooking on the middle grate. Grilling is a problem.

There's better grills for far less money.

 

[dow]

Thanks for the info. For those quick, small cooks, how much fuel does it use?

That's a good question. I know that I can do a 10-11 lb. pork butt on just under one load of charcoal (the cheap Wal-Mart grillers choice or HD Ember... Same stuff), but I really don't track it for the small stuff. I just top it off as part of the "get ready to cook" ritual.

FYI, the combination manifold cover/drip pan that Klotesmods makes is really handy. I like mine with foil to cut down on cleanup. His sliding damper is good too.

 

[bill1]

I'd have to actually measure the flow to quantify it, but I'm 90% sure you won't see much of a fuel use difference between a 560, 800, and a 1050. They are NOT old-fashioned smokers where you have a little fire that uses a little draft so the main "power" loss is heat through the walls, where as you note, the heat loss is proportional to area. Instead these are like pellet grills in that they use a powered fan that forces a rather high amount of air through the fire and into the cook chamber and out the exhaust ports. (Pellet machines blow the air into the crucible, and from there into the cook chamber) This makes them capable of quite impressive temperature control, but they do use (waste?) quite a lot of fuel in the process. Most of the "power loss" is just heat being blown out the exhaust holes. Since MB uses the same fan system for all their gravity systems, the amount of heat going out the exhaust is roughly the same for all of them. So if you've got the room and the money, go for the large one. There will be an upfront cost penalty, but the extra fuel usage with time should be pretty negligible.

 

[SherryT]

Have you thought about like a Weber Jumbo Joe or a small kettle like that if you have the space for it? Still using charcoal but Smaller cook area for just you and the wife.

Jim

Or a Smokey Joe...I cooked for me and hubs on it and it was big enough for the two of us (but not for MORE than two unless everyone eats like a bird! ).

 

[MikeyJ]

Update: I picked up a 1050 this afternoon. Tomorrow morning I assemble. It's quick and fun, right? ;)

Anyways, thanks for all for the advice, everyone.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Update: I picked up a 1050 this afternoon. Tomorrow morning I assemble. It's quick and fun, right? ;)

Anyways, thanks for all for the advice, everyone.

That's a good choice. Can't go wrong with the extra room.

 

[912smoker]

Any updates MJ ? Cooks so far ?
I too have the 1050 and love it! Use as grill for searing and a smoker.

Keith

 

[MikeyJ]

Any updates MJ ? Cooks so far ?
I too have the 1050 and love it! Use as grill for searing and a smoker.

Keith

It's worked very well so far. I've done some pork tenderloins, twice (gets nice smoke rings on them even if they were only on the grill for 90 minutes). Some burgers. Meatloaf (that surprised me with how good it was). And poor man burnt ends using a chuck roast (which turned out magnificent). Even my wife is completely on board now (she was skeptical at first, not sure she'd like the smoky flavor, but now she agrees it's better).

Some of the things I'm learning is that keeping used charchoal in the hopper is convenient, but can make it harder to relight. I'm also not sure if there's a difference to the quality of the smoke when I put wood chunks in the hopper vs the ash bin (does putting chunks in the hopper lead to a stronger burn and more bitter smoke flavour?).

Or whether it's better to use wood chunks in the ash bin when you're using briquettes because there's lots of hot ash falling on them, causing them to smoke, but maybe you shouldn't put wood chunks in the ash bin when using lump charcoal, because you get less hot ash and embers falling on them and the wood chunks don't smoke as much; thus, it makes more sense to put your wood chunks in the hopper when using lump charcoal?

Anyways, lots to learn.

Oh, and I encountered the dreaded meat stall and nearly panicked, because I didn't know what it was. The temperature was rising so fast and then, boom, nothing happened for a looooong time. I don't know what people did before the internet. :)

Also, I haven't bought any mods but I made a manifold cover and drip-pan brackets like the ones you can buy from LSS, using some scrap stainless steel and the bender in my father-in-law's workshop. Pretty easy and they work like a charm.

 

[912smoker]

Glad to hear you're having fun!
I've always had success layering the chunks or using a split in the hopper and have never tried the ash bin. I'm going to try running all chunks soon !

The stall will definitely sneak up on you if you're not aware of it. Took me a while and some reading here to figure out what time to start cooking vs what time we were eating . Many anxious moments for the wife!

I haven't done any mods 2 yrs old with heavy use. My manifold has a lot of rust, especially in the sides and needs replacing. I make a cover using foil but will be doing the same as you in a few weeks.

Keith

 

[Smokin Okie]

I put chunks in both the hopper and the ash bin.

I layer in the hopper, but only three or so layers. I try to put a chunk near the bottom that will provide smoke at the very start of the cook.

In the ash bin, I suspend chunks on a piece of expanded metal that's sitting on firebrick. This keeps them up out of the ash and they get enough air around them to flame. This produces stick burner type smoke. I keep feeding chunks every 30 minutes or so to the ash bin. These won't start producing smoke till well into the cook. It takes some time for enough embers to fall to get them going.

I like to empty the hopper before every cook by pulling out the charcoal grate and letting the coals drop into a bucket. Then I can reload the hopper with fresh chunks in the right place.