New Dyna-Glo vertical offset smoker

[JWFokker]

Offsets are not about fuel efficiency. They're about a clean burning fire and that requires copious airflow. Kamados, insulated vertical cabinets and drum/bullet smokers are fuel efficient because they do not waste heat and require choked down airflow to run at low and slow temps. The offset firebox is intended to shed some heat from the hot wood fire and run unrestricted. The flavor profile is completely different between the two styles of smokers.

 

[PassTheFlux]

Thank you for explaining it. I was wondering, as I have seen some people say they are getting 4+ hours out of their charcoal at low temps and I am just not able to get that long of time. Cannot figure out why I cannot get more than 2 hours with a lower amount of charcoal, keeping the temp in check.

 

[BlackDog]

I built a base for it using a 1x4 and some hardware I had lying around, and added some wheels so I can more easily move it in/out of the garage.

 

[JWFokker]

Thank you for explaining it. I was wondering, as I have seen some people say they are getting 4+ hours out of their charcoal at low temps and I am just not able to get that long of time. Cannot figure out why I cannot get more than 2 hours with a lower amount of charcoal, keeping the temp in check.

In order to get a long cook time out of this style of smoker you have to run it like a kamado, with the exhaust and intake choked down and probably a coal basket with dividers. They're really not meant for it. It's an offset smoker. You should be out there adding fuel every 30-45 minutes.

 

[PassTheFlux]

ah, ok, so I am actually getting a good burn time as is with a half a basket lasting 2'ish hours.

 

[JWFokker]

Yeah about as good as you're going to get without resorting to extreme measures.

 

[Biggy1]

I just ordered the Dyna Glo Wide Body smoker from the Depot and I couldn't be more excited. Upgrading from a Char Broil Silver Smoker and looking for more real estate and am getting that and more with this one. Should be here later this week and I'll get to work doing the mods people listed here and maybe add some pics to this thread to confirm i got it right. I'll probably just use the Nomex tape on the doors and the hi temp silicone around the firebox/chamber connection for ease of completion. The slanted baffle using a cooking pan with some holes drilled in it is an absolutely perfect idea for temp control.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Dyna-Glo...ERCH=RV-_-rv_homepage_rr-_-NA-_-206289005-_-N

One mod that I haven't seen any advice on is adding wheels. I'll be storing this in my garage but moving it out to the driveway to cook and I'll need some wheels for that. I suppose I could put it on a cart which would help with the relatively low height of the unit but I'd rather just add some wheels. Any suggestions? My driveway is sloped a bit so I can't just add casters or it will roll down the street.

Also, to the OP, where are you from in the Northeast? I'm just south of Boston and don't know a lot of people around me that do proper BBQ so it'd be nice to have someone to talk shop.

 

[Deezel13]

Hey all,
Smoker noob from Canada here!!!
First of all thank you all so much for sharing your thoughts and ideas for the Dyna-Glo offset vertical smoker.
Just ordered mine on Sunday and it has arrived today and I can't wait to get home and get started on putting it together.

Couple questions, and sorry if it's a repeat.
1) What type of silicone ( brand/model) is recommended as I see so many out there.
found this one at local Home Depot - DAP HIGH TEMP 100% RTV Silicone Sealant ( says Safe for incidental food contact.)

2) What type/size of heat gasket is best suited for the doors on this unit?

appreciate any advice, I will be sure to post pics of my unit tonight.

 

[Deezel13]

Well, i went ahead with the DAP HIGH TEMP 100% RTV Silicone Sealant from Home Depot.
Made a bit of a mess but will clean it up today before I season the smoker for a few hours.

 

[BlackDog]

Well, i went ahead with the DAP HIGH TEMP 100% RTV Silicone Sealant from Home Depot.
Made a bit of a mess but will clean it up today before I season the smoker for a few hours.

That's the same stuff I used and it worked great.

You can also use that to put a bead around your door to seal up the smoke box, or go the gasket route. I used the silicone for the door and it worked well, although I did have to redo it after a few years to fix some leaks that developed. I don't know if a pre-made gasket needs to be replaced regularly or not.

 

[Deezel13]

New question...
for the first "season" burn in.. spray all the inside with oil ( type preferred) or do that after initial burn in?

 

[Deezel13]

seasoned/cured Dyna last night for a few hours.. temps maxed out to about 450f.
Of course... the back of the fire box had a mark on it.. i wiped it with a rag and it took the paint off... lol
Ahh well, I'll just have to accept that and keep it oiled after each smoke to hopefully prevent rusting.

 

[wimpy69]

So, here I am picking up where I unfortunately left off over three years ago due to a winning battle with renal cancer and then a bout with sudden cardiac arrest. Much is to say about putting them away clean, double tarped / outside / over hang, had some cobwebs but no raisonettes and a little surface rust on fire box grate. Finished shelf for therm, beverage,etc. Wipe down, blow out with air compressor and did a burn. 325/50 (3hrs) with a spritz steam clean then oiled and apple/cherry wood season. Was nice to run her again and is now ready for meat.

 

[mtnwinds]

Just purchased a wide body and, thanks to the many people on this forum, decided to do some mods prior to assembly. The first was to attach locking castors. I made 4 reinforcing blanks from 1/8" x 1" bar stock. Drilled holes to fit the threaded castor stem.

Then I drilled clearance holes in the legs.

Cut some washers to fit and assembled the leg.

The four finished legs.

It moves very easily. I can roll it out to smoke and when finished roll it back under the porch roof.

 

[mtnwinds]

I read the many posts regarding fire control and decided that a bigger charcoal box would help to create and maintain the temp I want. So, I purchased a stainless steel box on Amazon that was intended for the OK Joe smoker. I knew I would have to modify it to fit the DynaGlo so this is what I did.

I cut the base of the box to fit into the DynaGlo firebox and then reattached the cutoff piece.

2 of the side walls fit without cutting but the 2 others had to be cut to fit the downsized base. This is the assembled box showing the capacity improvement over the factory box. The new box has almost double the cubic inches of the original.

The larger size also accommodated the 'snake' baffles sold on Amazon. On my burn in with the baffles installed and a 1/2 load of briquets, I was able to maintain a temp of 288 for 3 1/2 hours with no input from me. I just barely cracked the intake baffle and left the chimney flu open 1/4. The temp was measured and monitored using the TempPro meat probes. Once I realized it was at 288, I throttled it down and it never varied even 1 degree!

 

[mtnwinds]

I also copied the heat baffle from a members earlier post.

 

[mtnwinds]

My first pork butt. It tastes wonderful. I got over 10 hours of smoke from my modified firebox using a combination of briquets and chunk charcoal. 6 hours at 230 and 3 at 300.