I have the Brinkmann Trailmaster vertical which is exactly like what you have. I have found that I had to add the extra latches for the door because when the heat gets too hot it expands the cook chamber in the door always popped open. I have photos the difference between the Dyna-Glo in the Brinkmann is the metal I believe.
My old vertical Trailmaster above was completely Rusty in the Firebox area. I will try to post a picture of it if I can find it before, I took a wire wheel grinder to it and stripped it down to bare metal. Then I replaced all the screws and bolts to the whole thing with stainless steel. You have to get lacquer thinner to strip it down of any residue in oil or Grease. That process will take three or four good cleanings. Wipe it once let it dry, wipe it again later let it dry once more. That may be enough, if you do not do this any product that you put on there Will Fail. High heat engine enamel from what I understand takes a process to bake it at a certain temperature to make it cure? I am not sure, I have the link of the product that I bought. You're interested message me. I love to cook meat but I am also a project manager of a product applique Ting company of different types of enamels and epoxies on structural and Commercial surfaces. I use the same process we would have to use at work on my smoker to make it last. If you do not make sure you get all residue off before you paint it will just ruin it once you make a fire. We are in the process right now of making our own fire dial for the inside that fits in place of the water pan I will post pictures of that also. The regular fire dial does not come in this particular size for my shelves which is 17 in. We have started custom making our own part because some of the things that we need no longer are available. Like happy cooker internal Ash pans, doing that at the moment. Making our own happy cooker bottom vent covers which are smaller than Weber. So far everything is turning out pretty awesome
Yes! I saw an improvement of an extra hour on a “regular” packed coal box with briquettes from 3 hours to 4 hours at 240F. I’m in Mexico City and altitude is crazy high so I think is not very efficient for combustion, for sure you can get better results at more sea level altitudes places.
So the exhaust hole controls the burn rate as well? I typically run very small amounts of coal and wood in there then keep the vents open minimally to keep the temp down and hope it is making the coals last longer, am I doing this incorrectly?
