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Cool... The results will be interesting....

Well it’s seems that the mods didn’t really work out too well. Tried just about every combination of the vents and tuning plates and the best i could get is an 80 degree difference from side to side....

Not sure where to go now
 

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Have you done anything with the deflector plate ?? With it bent down, like it is, it's blocking the air flow to the CC....
 
With that being welded to the cooker I’m not sure what to do without tearing into it
 
Or bend it up with a lever or hydraulic jack ....

I’ll have to look when I get home, but I have an angle grinder so I can get it off if I can get in there....

With the top of the angle being so close to the cooking grate would it take away the ability to use a baffle plate?
 
No... Generally, folks tack weld hunks of angle iron on both sides of the CC.... The lip,of the angle iron, is at the height of the top of the FB/CC opening... Make the lip wide enough, your perforated plate can be set on the lip, providing a "dissipation" of heat and smoke in an even pattern in the CC... 2X2 angle will do even if you have to tack weld a couple of strips to narrow it enough for your perforated plate.. or tuning plates to rest on...
Doing those changes allows for free flow of heat and smoke through to the CC... AND your FB will run a lot cooler and reduce fuel consumption... or so it says in fine print somewhere...
That angled deflector plate was installed to keep the heat from the first part of the cooking grate... That would have been a good idea if the smoker was operating as a "forced air" cooker... unfortunately, in a natural draft situation, it seems it's best attribute is choking off air flow..
With the FB/CC opening free to allow air flow, the upper and lower air inlets can be adjusted for a smallish controlled fire and the upper inlet moves heat in the FB through to the CC without adding oxygen to the fire... not unlike the fan on a forced air furnace theory...
A tightly sealed smoker is pretty much a necessity for all this to take place... any air leaks disrupt the natural draft...
 
No... Generally, folks tack weld hunks of angle iron on both sides of the CC.... The lip,of the angle iron, is at the height of the top of the FB/CC opening... Make the lip wide enough, your perforated plate can be set on the lip, providing a "dissipation" of heat and smoke in an even pattern in the CC... 2X2 angle will do even if you have to tack weld a couple of strips to narrow it enough for your perforated plate.. or tuning plates to rest on...
Doing those changes allows for free flow of heat and smoke through to the CC... AND your FB will run a lot cooler and reduce fuel consumption... or so it says in fine print somewhere...
That angled deflector plate was installed to keep the heat from the first part of the cooking grate... That would have been a good idea if the smoker was operating as a "forced air" cooker... unfortunately, in a natural draft situation, it seems it's best attribute is choking off air flow..
With the FB/CC opening free to allow air flow, the upper and lower air inlets can be adjusted for a smallish controlled fire and the upper inlet moves heat in the FB through to the CC without adding oxygen to the fire... not unlike the fan on a forced air furnace theory...
A tightly sealed smoker is pretty much a necessity for all this to take place... any air leaks disrupt the natural draft...

I should have clarified a little. The top of the angled deflector is above the cooking grate. So if I trim it off the tuning plates, to be at the same level, would be pretty much at cooking level...
 
All that needs to be removed is the part that blocks the FB/CC opening....

deflector plate b.3JPG.JPG

????? Is the food grate at the same height as the top of theFB/CC opening.... ??

Can the FB be unhooked from the CC and lowered a few inches ??? Before you go cutting stuff...
Just trying to figure out how the smoker was made....
 
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So the firebox is welded on and there is no moving it.

The opening to CC is the first picture and the angled steel is the obstruction you see in the other pictures
 
Take an educated look at the plate and see if cutting off 3" with a cut off wheel on your angle grinder will give you room for your deflector plate with holes in it AND room for your food grate...
Cutting off the deflector plate on the wide end, opens up the FB/CC the most per inch of a cut....
you may have to add some tabs at the CC door opening to hold the food grate... They could be holes drilled and bolts secured to hold the food grate... If you were here, I'd use my plasma and welder and we would be done in an hour..

Looking at the welds on the FB/CC, you have one of the OLD but Very Good smokers... They don't make them like that any longer... Folks started opting for Chinese crap and didn't realize what they were missing... Too bad....

If I screwed up in the "half assed directions", let me know what's fuzzy.....

for cut-off wheels, they make pretty thin wheels for cutting off steel... The thicker wheels are for grinding...
BTW, some call cutoff wheels, wheels of death... I had one jump out of a cut last summer and it "peeled out" across the back of my un-gloved left hand..... down to the bones... they are unforgiving... wear a face shield and gloves.... If a wheel fractures, who knows where the fragments will go....
deflector plate b.4JPG.JPG
 
I will look into cutting it off....

The quality of this pit is why im willing to do just about anything to fix it. It really is incredibly built.

So when that angled deflector is cut off is it okay that that hole between cc/fb can be above or level with the food grate?
 
Yes..... Jambo designed smokers have the FB/CC opening above the food grate and the exhaust is below the food grate...

Check out the pictures.... Notice how high the FB is ... then look at how low the exhaust stack and plenum are on the CC... https://thecloak9.wixsite.com/jambopits ...
One member built one several years ago and was very pleased on the small amount of wood it used, how even the temps were across the food grate...
 
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Well I finally got to cutting the angled piece off after the polar vortex....

Will test out tomorrow and report back. Fingers crossed this works
 
The heat and smoke will certainly move through to the CC easier... It's going to operate a lot different than it did before... With the upper air inlet open during fire up, the smoker will come up to temperature faster... Try leaving the upper inlet open and adjust the temperature with the lower air inlet.. It will take a bit to understand how the 2 inlets interact...
Patience, and great smoked meats await you.... Dave

I think what you are going to find is... more upper air flow and a smaller fire will get you to a good starting place while learning the ins and outs of that beautiful, well built smoker....
 
We need to know what the conditions were and when... Take pictures of the inlets and note temperatures....
Looks like you were able to get the temps to be consistent for a period of time... That's good... The 200 degree difference is AMAZING....
Did you make adjustments to the upper air inlet and let it stabilize ??? What did you do.....
 
OK, I've been thinking.... If the hottest section in the CC is nearest the FB, the upper part of the original pie adjuster should be opened up (cut off) (made wider) ... That will allow for less air to the fire while allowing more air to the upper part of the FB...
 
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