simsfmly
Fire Starter
Pretty fascinating. I like the shelf of lava rock, and might try that. I really haven't had a problem keeping mine at a good temperature, but your ideas make perfect sense.
New Dyna-Glo vertical offset smoker
- Thread starter surgtech2006
- Start date
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Worked great to make porkbelly. Nice and clean smoke the whole time and easy to control temperatures. I am going to keep the factory flue
I just got this smoker for father's day and will be using it to smoke a pork should on Sunday. After years of using a modified cheapo smoke'n grill, I'm psyched about this unit. I just threw my cheapo out. It was pretty much completely rusted out. I used it for over 10 years and was able to produce some good BBQ on it. This Dyna-glo will be an upgrade for me regardless of what little issues it might have, so I'm going into this optimistically. Having spent years modifying and really having to hone my skills to make decent BBQ on that thing, I know what I'm getting into.
I plan on assembling it on Friday evening so I can fire it up Saturday morning for curing and assessment run, then make some modifications early Saturday evening so I can start the shoulder first thing Sunday morning. I see lots of great info in this thread, so I already have a bit of a game plan going in. I'll update along the way this weekend.
I plan on assembling it on Friday evening so I can fire it up Saturday morning for curing and assessment run, then make some modifications early Saturday evening so I can start the shoulder first thing Sunday morning. I see lots of great info in this thread, so I already have a bit of a game plan going in. I'll update along the way this weekend.
I've noticed that several posters have used water pans and have struggled with getting to temp. I had to use one with my cheapo for years. It was the only way of getting semi-indirect heat and keeping temps stable with my setup. I suggest boiling your water before adding it. Otherwise, you will use half of your initial fuel bringing your water and smoker up to temp and will then lose some of your heat when you have to add more fuel. I am hoping that I won'tt have to use a water pan at all with this smoker, but that is what I suggest if you are using one.
simsfmly
Fire Starter
Rings Я Us
Smoking Guru
I also bought the wide body.. just did ribs and jerky on it. I did put a heat deflector inside above the fire box to cook chamber opening. The heat there goes up and creates uneven distribution.
Also some heavy duty landscaping bricks covered in foil help hold heat.
Here I only put in the pan and extra brick for scale and show.
Smoked a 6 pound Boston butt in it on Father's Day. I did not do any modifications. I sprayed it down well inside and out with Pam grilling spray and ran it for a few hours with some regular charcoal I had left over on Saturday. I was impressed at how well it maintained temperature with only 8 coals.
I marinated my Boston Butt overnight in mustard and rub. I fired up my lump charcoal at 5:00 am and let it burn outside of the smoker for about 20 minutes before put it in the fire box. I started the butt at about 6 and fed the box with a handful of apple chips and a handful of Jack Daniels Oak chips every 30-60 minutes. I added 2-3 pieces of the lump charcoal when the temp needle got down near the bottom of the target range. After about 5 hours, I stopped adding wood chips as often. I noticed that the temp went high (to around 300) a couple of times, usually 10 minutes or so after I added charcoal. I just opened the fire box for a few minutes when I noticed it like this and it went back down.
I put in a dutch oven of baked beans at 2. At that time, the pork had about 8 hours of smoke on it. It looked great, but I could tell that it had gotten a little too hot on the bottom side, probably when the temp was up to 300 or so and I didn't know.
After a couple more hours. I removed the meat and the beans. The meat tasted incredible. As I expected, the bottom was crispy, so I had to remove it as I was pulling the meat apart for sandwiches. The beans were excellent as well.
My overall impression was that this is a very good smoker for the price. It was very easy to use compared to my old modified cheapo bullet I used for years. I got 12 hours of cook out of about 7 lbs of lump charcoal and several handfuls of wood chips. I didn't have to open the smoker door until I put the beans in, and I wouldn't have had to do it then if I had not been adding something. I like the damper on the fire box and the chimney, but I honestly only had to adjust these a couple of times, because this thing cooked like a champ. I can see where these features will be more important in the fall and winter, however.
Things I learned:
1) I can just add 1-2 big pieces of lump charcoal at a time and keep the heat from going up too high as well as avoid wasting any fuel.
2) I can see the reason for the deflector plate mod. I might try that out. Have you noticed a significant benefit?
3) I will use more wood chips next time. I felt like the meat could have used a little more smoke.
4) I don't see where I need to make any mods to it at this time other than maybe the deflector plate.
I plan on smoking some wings and maybe some beef jerky this weekend. Next weekend, I think I'll throw some ribs on and maybe try some souvlaki in there.
I marinated my Boston Butt overnight in mustard and rub. I fired up my lump charcoal at 5:00 am and let it burn outside of the smoker for about 20 minutes before put it in the fire box. I started the butt at about 6 and fed the box with a handful of apple chips and a handful of Jack Daniels Oak chips every 30-60 minutes. I added 2-3 pieces of the lump charcoal when the temp needle got down near the bottom of the target range. After about 5 hours, I stopped adding wood chips as often. I noticed that the temp went high (to around 300) a couple of times, usually 10 minutes or so after I added charcoal. I just opened the fire box for a few minutes when I noticed it like this and it went back down.
I put in a dutch oven of baked beans at 2. At that time, the pork had about 8 hours of smoke on it. It looked great, but I could tell that it had gotten a little too hot on the bottom side, probably when the temp was up to 300 or so and I didn't know.
After a couple more hours. I removed the meat and the beans. The meat tasted incredible. As I expected, the bottom was crispy, so I had to remove it as I was pulling the meat apart for sandwiches. The beans were excellent as well.
My overall impression was that this is a very good smoker for the price. It was very easy to use compared to my old modified cheapo bullet I used for years. I got 12 hours of cook out of about 7 lbs of lump charcoal and several handfuls of wood chips. I didn't have to open the smoker door until I put the beans in, and I wouldn't have had to do it then if I had not been adding something. I like the damper on the fire box and the chimney, but I honestly only had to adjust these a couple of times, because this thing cooked like a champ. I can see where these features will be more important in the fall and winter, however.
Things I learned:
1) I can just add 1-2 big pieces of lump charcoal at a time and keep the heat from going up too high as well as avoid wasting any fuel.
2) I can see the reason for the deflector plate mod. I might try that out. Have you noticed a significant benefit?
3) I will use more wood chips next time. I felt like the meat could have used a little more smoke.
4) I don't see where I need to make any mods to it at this time other than maybe the deflector plate.
I plan on smoking some wings and maybe some beef jerky this weekend. Next weekend, I think I'll throw some ribs on and maybe try some souvlaki in there.
fricard
Newbie
Rings Я Us
Smoking Guru
A 6 hour jerky cook last weekend turned out great with the deflector. I changed racks around 2 times to keep more even heat on it all. I used 4 racks for jerky and it was spaced out nice with 5 lbs of cut meat. This jerky cooked very evenly. No burnt pieces. I did keep it all away from the very edges of the racks. I maintained 150-170 bottom to top.
I suggest using briquettes and starting with only half a basket. Use a torch and only light up 4 or so in one corner. After 30 minutes you should be able to close the intake down to almost closed. I used one big chunk of hickory for the entire 6 hours. Was plenty of smoke.
Rings Я Us
Smoking Guru
Rings Я Us
Smoking Guru
Cap'n'Crunk
Newbie
- Jun 4, 2018
- 1
- 2
My in-laws gave us the Dyna-Glo wide-body vertical smoker as an early wedding present so they could cook 8 pork butts (4 at a time) to feed our wedding. It worked great. I put it together with some various modifications I've seen here and on other sites, but with a couple differences that some might find useful.
For starters, as others have done, I sealed all the joining surfaces, bolt holes, gaps between panels, and other manufacturing defects with Food Grade NSF FDA RTV Silicone Sealant as I was putting it together, to minimize air leaks and heat loss:
![IMG_20180503_154040151[1]](/media/img_20180503_154040151-1.553933/full?d=1531095839)
Also as others have done, I made a little baffle out of a 19"/19" square of stainless steel sheet metal from Lowe's. I attached it by using the existing 2 top bolts that hold the firebox on.
![IMG_20180708_131139717[1]](/media/img_20180708_131139717-1.553941/full?d=1531095839)
![IMG_20180708_131145073[1]](/media/img_20180708_131145073-1.553942/full?d=1531095839)
![IMG_20180708_131148832[1]](/media/img_20180708_131148832-1.553943/full?d=1531095839)
Initially I added some of the LavaLock BBQ gasket tape to seal the firebox (the gasket that comes installed on the smoke box works fine). However I've found that the firebox door closes unevenly which makes a bigger gap on the latch edge than on the hinged edge, and I can't get it to seal quite completely using this stuff (even doubling it up on one end). After looking at it some more, I'm going to remove this stuff and just make a gasket using a bead of RTV silicone, which squishes and conforms better.
![IMG_20180503_154117841_HDR[1]](/media/img_20180503_154117841_hdr-1.553934/full?d=1531095839)
Next, I saw that a number of people have attached some kind of insulation to the outside of the thing to retain heat and use less fuel, which is a great idea. But welding together frames to hold in rockwool panels or other methods of installing rigid insulation seem over-engineered and tedious. I thought there had to to be a better way.
Then I saw a few people using these Tillman carbon felt (not fiberglass) welding blankets to insulate their smokers with, which seems like way better material to work with.
![IMG_20180503_153932272_LL[1]](/media/img_20180503_153932272_ll-1.553935/full?d=1531095839)
However some people just cut a hole in the blanket for the chimney and drape the whole thing over while it's in use (which seems sloppy to me). A better idea I've seen one guy do is cut it up into panels then attach it to the walls with rivets, but that just creates more holes for air ingress/heat escape, requires special tools, and still seems like too much of a pain. None of the ways I've seen people attach insulation to the smoker made any sense to me. They've either put in too much effort or too little.
So what I did was measured each outside wall of the smoker and cut the blanket up into corresponding panels, then glued them to the walls with the same food grade RTV sealant, using magnets and clamps to hold them on while the adhesive set.
![IMG_20180506_141332130_HDR[1]](/media/img_20180506_141332130_hdr-1.553936/full?d=1531095839)
![IMG_20180506_141341880_HDR[1]](/media/img_20180506_141341880_hdr-1.553937/full?d=1531095839)
![IMG_20180506_141921162_HDR[1]](/media/img_20180506_141921162_hdr-1.553938/full?d=1531095839)
![IMG_20180506_144155401_HDR[1]](/media/img_20180506_144155401_hdr-1.553939/full?d=1531095839)
![IMG_20180506_145444560_HDR[1]](/media/img_20180506_145444560_hdr-1.553940/full?d=1531095839)
Finally, after a couple cooks it became apparent that the little square stock chimney was worthless. The little damper inside does basically nothing, and I had ended up having to control the airflow by wrapping a leftover piece of welding blanket around the thing and loosening/tightening it as needed. This wouldn't do. So instead I ordered a 6" piece of 4" schedule 40 steel pipe from Metals Depot and a LavaLock 4 1/2" Teardrop Smoke Stack Damper Assembly for 4" pipe and replaced the original smoke stack with this. I haven't bothered welding it on because the metal of the pipe is so thick, and the walls of the smoker are so thin. Besides it works great just sitting on top anyway (I plan on cleaning it up and painting it black with the high temp smoker paint next).
![IMG_20180708_131218104[1]](/media/img_20180708_131218104-1.553944/full?d=1531095839)
It heats very evenly. All of my thermometers agree. The two probes of the electric one here were in opposite corners of the smoke box (top left corner farthest from the firebox, and bottom right just above the baffle over the firebox hole).
![IMG_20180509_141336451[1]](/media/img_20180509_141336451-1.553946/full?d=1531095839)
![IMG_20180509_141343691_HDR[1]](/media/img_20180509_141343691_hdr-1.553947/full?d=1531095839)
(I know it's only 141 but this was just the initial dry run/seasoning session).
Here it is "finished." I still want to replace the stock thermometer and add another one farther down, and also attach it to one of those Harbor Freight wheeled utility carts so I can move it around easier. Maybe some other things, we'll see. It's working great so far though--8 pork butts, 40 sausages, and a brisket later.
![IMG_20180708_131230401[1]](/media/img_20180708_131230401-1.553945/full?d=1531095839)
For starters, as others have done, I sealed all the joining surfaces, bolt holes, gaps between panels, and other manufacturing defects with Food Grade NSF FDA RTV Silicone Sealant as I was putting it together, to minimize air leaks and heat loss:
Also as others have done, I made a little baffle out of a 19"/19" square of stainless steel sheet metal from Lowe's. I attached it by using the existing 2 top bolts that hold the firebox on.
Initially I added some of the LavaLock BBQ gasket tape to seal the firebox (the gasket that comes installed on the smoke box works fine). However I've found that the firebox door closes unevenly which makes a bigger gap on the latch edge than on the hinged edge, and I can't get it to seal quite completely using this stuff (even doubling it up on one end). After looking at it some more, I'm going to remove this stuff and just make a gasket using a bead of RTV silicone, which squishes and conforms better.
Next, I saw that a number of people have attached some kind of insulation to the outside of the thing to retain heat and use less fuel, which is a great idea. But welding together frames to hold in rockwool panels or other methods of installing rigid insulation seem over-engineered and tedious. I thought there had to to be a better way.
Then I saw a few people using these Tillman carbon felt (not fiberglass) welding blankets to insulate their smokers with, which seems like way better material to work with.
However some people just cut a hole in the blanket for the chimney and drape the whole thing over while it's in use (which seems sloppy to me). A better idea I've seen one guy do is cut it up into panels then attach it to the walls with rivets, but that just creates more holes for air ingress/heat escape, requires special tools, and still seems like too much of a pain. None of the ways I've seen people attach insulation to the smoker made any sense to me. They've either put in too much effort or too little.
So what I did was measured each outside wall of the smoker and cut the blanket up into corresponding panels, then glued them to the walls with the same food grade RTV sealant, using magnets and clamps to hold them on while the adhesive set.
Finally, after a couple cooks it became apparent that the little square stock chimney was worthless. The little damper inside does basically nothing, and I had ended up having to control the airflow by wrapping a leftover piece of welding blanket around the thing and loosening/tightening it as needed. This wouldn't do. So instead I ordered a 6" piece of 4" schedule 40 steel pipe from Metals Depot and a LavaLock 4 1/2" Teardrop Smoke Stack Damper Assembly for 4" pipe and replaced the original smoke stack with this. I haven't bothered welding it on because the metal of the pipe is so thick, and the walls of the smoker are so thin. Besides it works great just sitting on top anyway (I plan on cleaning it up and painting it black with the high temp smoker paint next).
It heats very evenly. All of my thermometers agree. The two probes of the electric one here were in opposite corners of the smoke box (top left corner farthest from the firebox, and bottom right just above the baffle over the firebox hole).
(I know it's only 141 but this was just the initial dry run/seasoning session).
Here it is "finished." I still want to replace the stock thermometer and add another one farther down, and also attach it to one of those Harbor Freight wheeled utility carts so I can move it around easier. Maybe some other things, we'll see. It's working great so far though--8 pork butts, 40 sausages, and a brisket later.
Last edited:
I used a water pan on my first two cooks and struggled as well. Now I preheat a lasagna pan full of play sand (covered in foil) in the oven while preheating the smoker. I've been able to control temps much better this way.
larryfoster
Smoke Blower
Wow!
Just read all 21 pages of this thread this morning and lots of great information.
Thanks.
I just got the wide model a couple weeks ago and have smoked a spatchcock chicken and a pork loin.
Chicken was ok but the loin was to die for.
Family raved.
Until now, my smoking attempts have been feeble and so-so results.
I was using a 3 in one monstrosity from Tractor Supply.
Gas grill, charcoal grill and offset smoker.
I assembled without mods but may end up going back to retrofit a few things after I get a better feel for it.
No noticeable smoke leaks but the flashlight tip seems like a good way to verify.
I don't know if this is a recent improvement but the smoke chamber door seems to have a pretty good gasket.
Others have mentioned the vent on the fire chamber sticking.
That happened to me, too, and I bent the tab.
I did have a little trouble keeping the fire hot for a long time.
I did have a pan with water.
I will try it with less water
Also, since it's going to be getting colder, I may try a welding blanket to cover.
It will require some experimentation and learning but, at first blush, I'm pretty happy.
Looking forward to doing some butt and shoulder as well as a brisket but not sure I'm ready for the longer times.
I'd like to make some deer baloney in the next couple weeks.
The hanging hooks attracted me to this one.
Thanks for this great forum.
Looking forward to poking around and learning to become a pit master
Just read all 21 pages of this thread this morning and lots of great information.
Thanks.
I just got the wide model a couple weeks ago and have smoked a spatchcock chicken and a pork loin.
Chicken was ok but the loin was to die for.
Family raved.
Until now, my smoking attempts have been feeble and so-so results.
I was using a 3 in one monstrosity from Tractor Supply.
Gas grill, charcoal grill and offset smoker.
I assembled without mods but may end up going back to retrofit a few things after I get a better feel for it.
No noticeable smoke leaks but the flashlight tip seems like a good way to verify.
I don't know if this is a recent improvement but the smoke chamber door seems to have a pretty good gasket.
Others have mentioned the vent on the fire chamber sticking.
That happened to me, too, and I bent the tab.
I did have a little trouble keeping the fire hot for a long time.
I did have a pan with water.
I will try it with less water
Also, since it's going to be getting colder, I may try a welding blanket to cover.
It will require some experimentation and learning but, at first blush, I'm pretty happy.
Looking forward to doing some butt and shoulder as well as a brisket but not sure I'm ready for the longer times.
I'd like to make some deer baloney in the next couple weeks.
The hanging hooks attracted me to this one.
Thanks for this great forum.
Looking forward to poking around and learning to become a pit master
Hello;
I just purchased the Dyna-Glo offset smoker and am now just waiting for it to be delivered. I have a pretty silly question to ask about sealing it up. Do you put the red RTV sealer on when you are putting together the smoker or do you use the smoker to see where the leaks come from first. Do you have to actually then take apart the the smoker, seal it up and then reassemble the smoker? I'm new to all this and just want to make sure my smoker is ready to go. Thanks
Andrew
I just purchased the Dyna-Glo offset smoker and am now just waiting for it to be delivered. I have a pretty silly question to ask about sealing it up. Do you put the red RTV sealer on when you are putting together the smoker or do you use the smoker to see where the leaks come from first. Do you have to actually then take apart the the smoker, seal it up and then reassemble the smoker? I'm new to all this and just want to make sure my smoker is ready to go. Thanks
Andrew
larryfoster
Smoke Blower
Good luck, Andrew.
Since I haven't done any mods yet I'm like to see those answers, too.
I saw a YouTube video where the guy sealed everything during assembly.
It looks like I may need to run a bead between the fire chamber and the cooking chamber.
I don't plan on disassembly to do this
Since I haven't done any mods yet I'm like to see those answers, too.
I saw a YouTube video where the guy sealed everything during assembly.
It looks like I may need to run a bead between the fire chamber and the cooking chamber.
I don't plan on disassembly to do this
Thanks. I'm super excited to be smoking again (took a couple years off) and I just want to make sure I have everything right or squared away.
Andrew, I have the bigger Dyna-glo smoker and I assembled it b4 applying RTV sealant bc I only needed it between fb and cc and cured the sealant with a heat gun, I would apply sealant around entire fb where fb goes thru cc, on inside of cc.Hope this helps, any other leaks were minimal.
Last edited:
papasmoker
Newbie
Ive had mine for two years now. I put the sealant on as I put it together.
1) It’s eaiser to do it as you go rather than assemble then disassemble then reassemble.
2) I think that as the smoker ages and the metal expands and contracts you will develop leaks you didn’t see at first.
Also I used lavalock tape to help seal the door rather than try to use the sealant.
LavaLock 12 GREY High Performance BBQ gasket smoker seal SELF STICK
All and all this is a great smoker. I hope you love it as much as I have.
1) It’s eaiser to do it as you go rather than assemble then disassemble then reassemble.
2) I think that as the smoker ages and the metal expands and contracts you will develop leaks you didn’t see at first.
Also I used lavalock tape to help seal the door rather than try to use the sealant.
LavaLock 12 GREY High Performance BBQ gasket smoker seal SELF STICK
All and all this is a great smoker. I hope you love it as much as I have.
wimpy69
Smoking Fanatic
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