New Dyna-Glo vertical offset smoker

[smokingpreacha]

Artie1 What type of insulation did you use and where did you purchase it.

 

[Artie1]

Artie1 What type of insulation did you use and where did you purchase it.

Hi Smoking Preacher. I purchased a Tillman Welding Blanket - Thermofelt 615. It comes in 3' sq. and 6' sq. I used a 6' sq. I purchased it on line at https://store.cyberweld.com/panfelwelbla.html. It is good for 1200 degrees F. I've been trying to upload some photos but I keep getting an error and it wont let me. I'd be glad to send you some if you want to share your email. Hope this helps you.

 

[Artie1]

After reading the last several pages of posts on modifications to the Dyna-Glo offset I decided to post a reply on what I have done and what I still plan to do. First off I have sealed off all leaks as others have done. Also the biggest mod I have made is to insulate the outside of the smoker which has really helped in keeping my temps in and also reduced the amount of fuel needed which I figure will pay for the insulation in a short period of time. I have also played around with the damper effect by putting one of the shelves at the lowest position and wrapping it with Aluminum foil from the FB end to within about 6 to 8 inches from the opposite end of the smoker box. When using my digital thermometers placed in 4 locations in the smoke box I found I was able to maintain temperatures through out the entire smoking area, top to bottom at pretty much even. I plan on having a local fab shop make me a damper to slide in so that I can utilize all of my shelves when cooking. I will post photos of that mod once it is finished. Today I am adding the photos of my insulation job and hope that all enjoys what they see. Enjoying all of the comments on here and have learned so much. Thanks to everyone.

I have tried and tried to add photos only to get an error and not allow me to upload. If anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated. I have contacted the forum and waiting for their reply. Thanks

 

[wimpy69]

Is this your pic from the review on their site,

 

[kejtar]

Looks like you riveted it to the smoker? I sort of like the idea but am concerned with the possibility of trapped moisture....

 

[smokingpreacha]

Hi Smoking Preacher. I purchased a Tillman Welding Blanket - Thermofelt 615. It comes in 3' sq. and 6' sq. I used a 6' sq. I purchased it on line at https://store.cyberweld.com/panfelwelbla.html. It is good for 1200 degrees F. I've been trying to upload some photos but I keep getting an error and it wont let me. I'd be glad to send you some if you want to share your email. Hope this helps you.

[email protected]

 

[Artie1]

Is this your pic from the review on their site,
View attachment 347428

Yes it is. Not sure I understand how you found it as it showed an error when I tried to upload. Can you explain how you found it. Thanks for posting

 

[Artie1]

Looks like you riveted it to the smoker? I sort of like the idea but am concerned with the possibility of trapped moisture....

Hi Kejtar. Thanks for your reply. I didn't rivet it, I used #6 sheet metal screws with escutcheons. As far as moisture, I keep the smoker covered with a Dyna-Glo fitted cover that I bought on Amazon and also if there would be any type of moisture once you fire it up it is going to be dry. Also It sits outside so the heat of the sun every day will keep it dry as well. So far all is well and I am enjoying this great smoker.

 

[wimpy69]

Yes it is. Not sure I understand how you found it as it showed an error when I tried to upload. Can you explain how you found it. Thanks for posting

Went to site posted
Went to reviews
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[NCSU_MSE]

I got one of these for Christmas and immediately ordered the RTV and nomex, which arrived today.

I unboxed my Dyna-Glo only to discover a major problem: no hardware! Of course I realized this 30 minutes after their customer service line closed. Hopefully they can overnight some hardware tomorrow...I was planning on smoking Friday.

 

[Alana]

I got one of these for Christmas and immediately ordered the RTV and nomex, which arrived today.

I unboxed my Dyna-Glo only to discover a major problem: no hardware! Of course I realized this 30 minutes after their customer service line closed. Hopefully they can overnight some hardware tomorrow...I was planning on smoking Friday.

My boyfriend also got me one for Christmas. As he was unboxing it he noticed no hardware. In the end he found it in the big flaps at the bottom of the big main box. It’s a small flat piece of cardboard with the hardware “ vacuum packed” to it. Hopefully it’s there

 

[marc74]

So I found the widebody on sale at Lows on my birthday for $118 in November. I've been following this forum for the past year and this is the smoker I wanted, so I ordered. Little did I know the wife ordered a Smokey Hollow Propane Smoker for my birthday! I feel like a bit of a jerk but we sent hers back. I'm going to start assembling and doing the mods next month. I'm in no rush. I live in New Hampshire and the outside temp is 9 degrees today. Anyone smoke in freezing temp before? Anyway looking forward to getting this assembled and posting pictures of my first smoke.

So does anyone use their smoker in freezing temp? If so, do you have any tips on maintaining the temp?

Thanks.

 

[nhansen7231]

I just got a digiq dx2 for the narrow dyna-glo smoker and will be trying it out in the next week, warmest it will get is 19*F, I will get back to yall on how it works out

 

[wimpy69]

Keep the fuel flowing, don't wait for too low of a temp drop before feeding. Welding blankets help out alot and having some kind of wind break will keep you constant.

 

[nhansen7231]

I smoked 2, 4 pound, 1/2 Boston pork butts, I had a hard time getting the smoke to temp (it was -12 f with wind chill) with the digiq and the smoke ended up taking 9 hours. I wanted to smoke them at 275 but maxed out at 215-220. My dyna-glo has no insulation to help retain the heat and will probably need to insulate it more in the future.

 

[NCSU_MSE]

Update: Thanks for the tip on the hardware pack...I double-checked and mine was definitely missing. To their credit, the manufacturer shipped a new pack out and had it here in a few days. Assembly was very straightforward - the gasket and RTV took longer than anything else.

Yesterday I tried to smoke for the first time. The cold weather and wind made for a serious challenge. My 6lb Boston Butt ended up taking 12 hours, and the last 4 hours were wrapped in foil in the oven. I pulled the bone around midnight last night and broke the shoulder into chunks, then placed the chunks in a foodsaver bag. We're planning to reheat and pull the pork tonight. I was pleased with a quick taste test of the pork - nice smoke flavor with a decent smoke ring.

I can't wait to try this thing out in warmer weather!

 

[nursewizzle]

Has anyone converted this to propane?

 

[Artie1]

I've had the wide body version for about a year and a half now and it's the hardest darn thing to smoke with. I recently installed a new door temp gauge, had to get a new smoke stack and RTV'd the seam between the chamber and firebox. I also added a piece of sheet metal to help spread the heat from the firebox.

This is my first smoke on it since then. I am having a heck of a time with temps, and always have with this thing. I'm doing a turkey and a duck today, and for the better part of 4 hours, I've been lucky to get the temp to 250 for more than 30 minutes in total. The first hour was down near 200 or below. I just put more charcoal on and some more wood and it's 225-230 and won't get higher. It burned through most of the whole filled basket of charcoal in about an hour and a half.

I've had to resort to putting a fan in front of the firebox with the dampers all the way open, and still can't get to 260+

I've attached a few pics - notice the large gap at the seam - this just happened today. The chamber warped and the RTV melted through. I pulled off what I could to keep it from ruining the food. There was a bad smell there for a bit. I've tried to block the hole with wood, but it keeps catching on fire as the flames wick out.

I'm about ready to chuck this thing in the trash :(

There's no water in the pan, it's just there to keep the duck from dripping over the turkey

Hi I just read your post and can sympathize with you. Here is a photo of what I did to mine and it has helped tremendously. It is a 6' x 6' welding blanket from tillman welding supplies that I purchased and cut to fit and attached with @6 sheet metal screws w/ escutcheons. It holds in the heat and reduces my fuel supply tremendously.
I also have fabricated a damper that extends out from the opening of the firebox to smoker box. I don't have any photos yet but it is 12" wide and 18" long and half of the top is drilled with a total of 90 3/8" holes I have a second plate on top which is 9" x 12" that I can slide over the holes to help control the temps. I did a dry run today and it works amazingly well. I will send some photos once I get some made. Smoking is all about maintaining the proper temps as you will find out. I hope this helps you a little. Looking forward to hearing back from you. Thanks Artie

 

[kejtar]

So after 4 smoking sessions the smoker started "leaking" smoke between the coal box and the smoker body - right in the center about 2 inch separation in silicone occurred. This was due to the fact that the smoker body kept "flexing" with temp changes. So.... I cleaned it up, packed the whole with silicone, drilled a hole in dead center between the other two bolts, bolted it tight and finished the silicone bead on top. We'll see what happens.

A different issue I have ran into is cold smoking - I am in SoCal, so it is pretty nice outside even now. I was smoking some tenderloins and I needed to keep temp about 125~130F for 4 hours... it was painful! I was doing that with about 4 to 5 charcoal briquettes... had to keep dropping the number of briquettes every time I had a wood chunk in there as that generated a lot of heat! Oh yeah, the main box is not insulated and I had to vent it with main door quite often. I am trying to figure out if there is a trick too it as I want to cold smoke a whole eel sometime in the spring.

 

[wimpy69]

On the different issue, issue. Yes it's a pita getting long low temps like your after, even more when going lower for say, cheese. Instead of a whole chunk try breaking it down to 1/2"- 3/4" pieces and place around coals for smoke but manageable heat. Ive had better results by placing a expanded metal grate in my cook chamber floor and by using the air inlet along with fb door keep temps pretty steady to what i need. Minion method works well along with slivers of wood I can go light or heavy with smoke and amount of briquets for heat.