Replacement Damper Help

[smokinidahoan]

I’m the executive chef at a bar and grill and we’ve just bought a Meadow Creek pr72gt. This is the gas pig roaster, however we added the charcoal tray and second tier rack. I plan on using this setup primarily with lump charcoal and flavor wood....the boss insisted we have a gas option so this setup was the compromise. First day I did the burn in/test run. Weather was sunny 70 degrees with little to no wind. I fired the cooker placed the drip tray/heat deflector and racks back in and brought the cooker up to 275 and held it between 250 and 275 for about 8 hours before I opened up the dampers and got it blazing hot then shut it down for the day. Super happy and confident I’m ready to cook. Next day, clean the cooker, fire it and bring it to temp no problem. Load it up with food and then came the wind. I struggled for ten hours to hold steady temp with swings of almost 100 degrees across the grate. It’s very clear that some modifications are in order. Lava lock gasket for the lid, and the dampers. So the problem is this, the stock dampers are no more than a piece of metal with a single sheet metal screw punched through it to swing on. The won’t stay in place and have huge gaps. A quick google search brought up all kinds of replacement dampers, but I’m working with four 2 1/4 inch holes in the lid and four in the bottom of the cooker and all of the replacements I’m finding are much bigger than these. Anyone have any suggestions? My thought was to put some screw on dampers in place of the piece of metal with some gasket material around the edges to ensure I’m only getting air in and out of the cooker where I want it.

 

[unclebubbas bbq]

Check out a company called bbqsmokermods.com, they sell a few different types of vents that help you here

 

[smokerjim]

not familiar with your cooker, but is is possible to make something to block the wind from hitting your cooker.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Won't Meadow Creek help with this issue ? Y'all paid a lot of money for that smoker. Maybe just me, but I would be in touch with them for solutions or " how to " .

 

[Colin1230]

Don't have much to add other than welcome to SMF.

 

[Winterrider]

Is the spring on the screw missing that would keep tension on the plate?
Pictures may help with some ideas.

 

[smokinidahoan]

Found some five inch screw on vents that should work well. I think just a little higher temp sealant on the edges and then the gasket on the door is going to help in controlling this cooker when we get some of our unpredictable Idaho weather. I’ll post some pictures when we get the mods done. Thanks for all your replies!!!