Never cooked on an offset smoker. What should I cook first?

[boykjo]

Like you I found that my small offset burned a lot of fuel when I first got it. To do a 4 to 8 hr cook it would use more than half a 20 lb bag of charcoal and a bag of wood chunks. Keeping constant temp was hard when refueling. I did figure out how to manage fuel efficiently and maintain constant temps. Small splits of good dry seasoned wood made the difference. When I added large pieces/chunks of wood temps would drop then overshoot when they burned. Now I use 1 chimney of charcoal and feed small splits of dry seasoned wood to the fire one at a time. They start burning as soon as you put them in and temps stay stable. I think you said your paint was peeling. I thought it could be caused by over fueling with larger pieces or too much wood causing an over temp spike when they burned.
IMO a reverse flow is best for and offset. I did a mod to mine and have been happy with it ever since. I also made a wood splitter that works like a charm and turns my large splits of wood into small splits. It will take some time to figure out how your rig runs. This is what I have learned with mine. Hope this helps.

braunfel reverse flow modification

Got busy this morning and decided to turn my braunfel into a reverse flow. Not happy with the way its hot at one end and cold at the other..... so I found some free plate steel and went to work..... removed the smoke stack and cut out the stack holder and cut a new hole for holder prepped...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Boykjo

 

[Daba's BBQ]

Excellent advice. What is the brand/model of the smoker you refer to? I have a cheap Char-Broil 430 - not very good. I used it twice and already painted the firebox 5 times with High Heat Rustoleum. It doesn't do anything, The paint still peels off.

The firebox on my is very small, maybe 10" w x 12" deep. I can easily get an entire chimney of coal in there along with wood chunks. I went through 12 pounds of charcoal and a 1/2 bag of wood to cook a $8 pork butt. Never again.

If I am looking at the images correctly, you moved the pipe closer to the firebox and closed off the original location. I am not an engineer, but if you say it works, I believe you. The problem is, I am NOT a welder, nor am I even slightly capable of doing this mod. My brother-in-law is, but he would never take the time to help me (don't ask).

As for wood, I buy chunks. But I do like the split wood idea and the little splitter you made.

Smokin' Al suggested I not even use the firebox and use the entire grill as an offset instead. he suggested placing the coal/wood on the left side and then using the other side for my meats. I am going to try that for my next cook which will be ribs.

I guess the bottom line here is don't use cheap equipment. I got this as a gift from my Uncle. He died the day before it was delivered. i wish I could afford a much better smoker, but right now that is just not in the cards. My plan is to try to sell this one or use it to learn fire management. Since I know it sucks, there really isn't much more I can do except mods as you and some others have suggested.

I really appreciate your comments and feedback. I just wish I knew how to do these things. It would be a great project for me and I am sure would probably solve the problems I am having.

Peace.

 

[boykjo]

Even though the charbroil 430 is a lower grade offset there's no reason to give up on it. With Al's method I would think you still need a grate for the charcoal to sit on in the chamber to allow air flow around the charcoal and then cook with indirect heat. I recommend first you do a test run with some chicken thighs before jumping into ribs if you are going to use a different method with the 430. I also run my firebox damper wide open 100% of the time and regulate with the stack damper bumping it either way. Just know it requires attention and patience to get a small offset to run with or without mods.

 

[Daba's BBQ]

Yes, forgot to mention the grate for the charcoal. I will definitely be using a grate for Al's method. The weather is pretty good here today in NYC and I have nothing to do. I'm going to take you up on the chicken thighs idea and smoke a few pounds shortly. I'll kill some time, have a few beers, read a [bbq] book. I'll post some pics and let you know how things turn out.

Thanks.

Peace

 

[Daba's BBQ]

Well, the verdict is in. It is a waste of time and effort. I tried Al's suggestion - didn't work. The depth of the hull is simply too small and it is just not wide enough to make it work. The total width of the cooking surface is just 24" wide. After placing the coals in the hull, I barely had enough room to lay down 6 thighs - if that. Forget about brisket or a rack of ribs. The food got way too close to the charcoal. Instead of smoking it just started to grill.

In the meantime, I have someone coming by today to (hopefully) buy it. In the meantime, I found a brand new Weber Smokey Moutain on FB Marketplace for $140.

 

[boykjo]

You cant go wrong there... Good luck

 

[Daba's BBQ]

TY