No adjustable vent

[steves8860]

So my smoker does not have much of a vent. There's a small whole in the back towards the top. Most of the smoke leaves through the hinge area of the door on the left and the top of the door.

I figure it's designed this way to cut costs.
Has anyone seen something designed this way?

Thinking of putting some foil in the lower half of the hinge to get the smoke to move higher before exiting. Bad idea?


It is an Range Master sold by Aldi's and I've heard made by Dyna Glo. 1500 watts.

 

[normanaj]

Other than the fact that this is posted in the electric smoker forum knowing what smoker you have would greatly help in any advice to be given.

 

[steves8860]

Other than the fact that this is posted in the electric smoker forum knowing what smoker you have would greatly help in any advice to be given.

So my smoker does not have much of a vent. There's a small whole in the back towards the top. Most of the smoke leaves through the hinge area of the door on the left and the top of the door.

I figure it's designed this way to cut costs.
Has anyone seen something designed this way?

Thinking of putting some foil in the lower half of the hinge to get the smoke to move higher before exiting. Bad idea?

It is an Range Master sold by Aldi's and I've heard made by Dyna Glo

 

[steves8860]

Other than the fact that this is posted in the electric smoker forum knowing what smoker you have would greatly help in any advice to be given.

I added pics and a bit of info.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

You could add nomex gasket around the door for a better seal.

 

[bill1]

Hmmm, that hole in the back looks more like it was designed to hold a temperature probe. I'm going to guess this thing was intended as just a cooker and not a smoker. So basically a kitchen oven for outdoors.

I'm not sure how you're generating smoke but I'd suggest adding four .50" dia holes along the top back, two on each side of the one you have. You can always stuff some foil in them if you find the draft is too much and it's running too cool as a result.

Since you have a double wall construction (good!) you'll want to start with a small hole and then work up, drilling the larger holes in 2 steps, from the inside for the inner wall and from the outside for the outer wall. These holes will somewhat compromise the insulation properties of the double walls so you might want to drill 5/8 holes and then use short (<1") long stubs of "half inch copper pipe" to stick through the holes so that the inner air space between the walls stays "dead" (unexposed). I'd then put a bead of JB Weld around the pipe stubs and the outside wall to ensure they don't come out.

I think with this "draft" improvement, the leakage at your doors will largely be solved and your smoke (and heat) will move up and out as is natural. If not, foil is a cheap fix, but a lot of folks here buy high temp gasketing as has been recommended.

 

[Steve H]

My Landman smoker has the same build design. Works fine. And I never added any gaskets to mine. The smoke is going to rise naturally. And exit through the hole. I'd be hesitant about punching holes in it. And if you do. You might want a way to close them up if it alters the way it runs. And it being double walled. That could be a concern. I'm guessing you haven't used this smoker much. Are you actually having problems with it?

 

[cmayna]

Some companies do sell adjustable vent covers. Google "smoker vent damper". If though your smoker is double walled, you will need to find a way to seal off the gap.

 

[steves8860]

My Landman smoker has the same build design. Works fine. And I never added any gaskets to mine. The smoke is going to rise naturally. And exit through the hole. I'd be hesitant about punching holes in it. And if you do. You might want a way to close them up if it alters the way it runs. And it being double walled. That could be a concern. I'm guessing you haven't used this smoker much. Are you actually having problems with it?

No problems. But being new to this I am trying to figure out what to expect.

Nice to know there's another one designed like this. I figure it kept the cost down and the door was made to act like a vent.

Been experimenting with things. Sometimes with no food just to see what will work.

The chip tray is not an ideal way to smoke. The first tray is fine, but subsequent fills don't do much. I figure the element is off on off on by then.

I have a pellet tube I use in a weber I seem to get a lot (too much maybe) of smoke with it.
Temp was >140 with heat off. So will need to adjust something for cold smoking.

I put chips in it and got a lot too. That lasted over 1 1/2 hours.
Ive read a lot on this forum about adaptations to get good smoke, but it's an unknown smoker and I'm trying to optimize it.

I put in 2 fire bricks to hold some heat if I open it. I spaced them out and laid the tube over the space to help with air flow.

So I am messing around with it. Today going to do some ribs.

 

[bill1]

Steve H gives good advice. I was maybe too hasty about drilling holes. The only draft you need to create is that for the burning of your wood, which here is ONLY for smoke flavoring. You are not burning wood for heat with this smoker...the heating is courtesy of your electrical utility company via that 1500watt element. The approx quarter-inch hole in the back just may be adequate for some mild smoke. Experiments count for a lot.

 

[steves8860]

Steve H gives good advice. I was maybe too hasty about drilling holes. The only draft you need to create is that for the burning of your wood, which here is ONLY for smoke flavoring. You are not burning wood for heat with this smoker...the heating is courtesy of your electrical utility company via that 1500watt element. The approx quarter-inch hole in the back just may be adequate for some mild smoke. Experiments count for a lot.

Since it's less than a month old I don't want to mess it up due to the warranty. But I may consider it in the future and appreciate your input.

 

[bill1]

sorry, I misunderstood that too. Since I'd never heard of a RangeMaster, I just assumed this was an old "legacy" smoker that you'd inherited or saved from the scrap heap.