Modified BSKD

[cajunsmoker]

When I first signed in on roll call I mentioned that I had heavily modified a Brinkman smoke N pit smoke king deluxe. Larry and Dutch asked for me to post pics of the Mods. I think I have finally got enough of a handle on posting pics to try and post it.

Here goes.

First off my smoker did not seem to have the support necessary to keep it from sagging in the middle so I added some legs on the right side of the fire box



Also the door handle just kind of flopped around and could come open on its on so I put a bracket on the inside to keep it still;



I still had a problem with the temp control so I decided to convert it to propane from charcoal only. This pic shows the main burner and the pilot generator that generates the 3/4 volt need to run the gas valve;



I can either use my smoker boxes sitting on my anderirons or if I need to get heat up high I can use wood on the aderirons and use the gas to get them lit.
Using propane only I only get about 250 degrees in the smoke chamber. Sometimes I want to get the temp up higher to crisp chicken skin or something like that and then I either build a wood fire or put charcoal under my water pan in the smoke chamber. This is what it normally looks like in the firebox;



Here is a picture of the main gas valve. It operates just like the gas valve on your gas furnace or water heater;



Here is a picture of the thermostat control and another one of the thermostat sensing bulb;






Here is a couple of pictures that show the gas lines going to the pilot light and the main burner and one of a digital probe for checking internal temp of meat or smoke chamber;





Well that's about all I've done to it, but it works pretty well now.

If anyone wants any info on the parts to do this I will be glad to provide them.

 

[willkat98]

Looking Good CS

I'm thinking of possibly adding a gas assist to my Bandera at somepoint.

 

[nmayeux]

CS,
Did you have to do any of the other mods like a baffle or a charcoal basket. I like the set up, but if I did it, it would probably turnout like a propane fired bomb!

 

[cajunsmoker]

Actually, I'm about to make a change. I am moving the burner that you see in the pics and the millivolt generator/pilot lite to the smoke chamber floor under the water pan. I need to be able to kick the heat up a little more in the smoke chamber if I want to. Then i want to be able to build a nice fire in my fire box and not worry about ashes and coals on my burner and pilot lite.

If you make sure all your joints are tight and that your pilot lite lights your burner every time you shouldn't wind up with a propane bomb;-)

I did the baffle but burned it out. Cheap piece of sheet metal. Going to do it right soon, but it didn't seem to make much difference on my unit. Charcoal grate upgrade is my next priority.

Edit: I didn't move my burner or do any other mods and everything still works perfectly. If I need more heat I burn more wood to add to the propane fire.

 

[nmayeux]

This is what I did:

 

[nmayeux]

Here are the parts to the basket:

 

[cajunsmoker]

The baffle looks about like the one I burned out except I bent mine and slid it in from the fire box side with 1/2" ears to keep it from slipping through the hole. I just knocked it into oblivion sliding charcoal in and out and changing the water pan.

The charcoal basket is interesting. Is that the original charcoal ash pan that your support is built on? Mine is not nearly that pretty :( . I am planning on putting stainless steel bolts through the side about 2 inches below the opening between chambers for brackets and getting a good piece of heavy expanded metal for a grate.

 

[nmayeux]

These are the parts when they were new. Don't look anything like that now! I used 1/4" iron pipe fittings for the support (I needed about 2" of airspace underneath), and then some steel sheet and expanded metal for the basket. I think the parts were around $14, and were intended to be replaced when needed. The basket is designed to be able to be loaded from the door, or removed completely for reloading or when you were finished cooking. As for the baffle, it is a heavy piece of brass shim stock, that should last longer than the smoker.

 

[cajunsmoker]

Sorry Noah, didn't mean to dis your baffle. It just looked like some thin sheet metal like I used. Burned one good fire in my smoke chamber without the water pan and it kind of got metal fatigue. Then I moved the water pan in and out a couple of times and it crapped out on me. I have the layout plan to build what I want but I just don't have time to do everything I want to. :cry:

 

[nmayeux]

CS,
I ain't quick enough to take anything as a dis! But if anything the basket is pretty thin. But it has lasted almost two years, and the support keeps it from sagging. As for your plans, just do a little at a time!