Need advice......no air damper on the top

[bigeateruk]

Am doing a smoke this weekend and need some advice. Have not fitted an air damper on the lid nor blocked off the gap around the lid. Was thinking of filling part of the gap with tin foil but leaving a space to allow some smoke out to avoid making the food taste acrid. Any suggestions about any issues with this or ideas about how much space I should leave? Was thinking of filling 2/3rds of the gap and leaving a space for a third of it?

Thanks in advance

 

[bobank03]

hey @BigeaterUK

If you have a way to drill holes in your lid, do that and then foil the entire lid/body opening. If not I think foiling 2/3rd and leaving a third open will work ok. 

 

[thinblueduke]

I haven't tried the foil around the lid.  If you have a rope sitting around somewhere, you might want to give this a shot:

getarope.jpg

• thinblueduke
• Jul 18, 2014

It works quite well for me.

 

[mdboatbum]

As it s the smoke swirls through the lid and exits the gap. It's designed that way. You'll lose more heat through a damper in the lid than you will through the gap. Put a raised grate in the bottom of your coal pan and you'll generate plenty of heat.

 

[flash]

If you have no damper, you need that gap to get rid of the old smoke. My ECB was the original design (I liked it much better than the new one) but it had no damper. Smoke still came out some from under the lid, but I drilled several 3/8th inch hole in a triangle pattern, then one at a corner I could mount a screw and nut and a piece of aluminum. I could move the aluminum over all or some of the damper holes to cut off or release the smoke as needed.

ECB.jpg

• flash
• Sep 2, 2012

 

[venture]

I would recommend you not mess with the lid rim unless you have the top vent installed.

These were designed to leak around the lid rather than with a damper.

Not the greatest design, but it did work with a little practice.

Careful inspection of a WSM will point you in the right direction for the mods you are considering.

Good luck and good smoking.