To Mod or Not To Mod a Char-Griller

[backyardsmokin]

I know this is going to be fighting words for many people on here....but is it really necessary to all of the Char-Griller mod?

I have the Outlaw with the SFB and I have tried the dryer vent, baffles and the metal heat deflector but not of them did anything for me.  Any combo of these did not work for me.  At best I had a 30-40 degree difference between ends and at worse I had a 100-110 degree difference.

The only things that I did was put a fiberglass rope gasket between the SFB and the main grill and used a grill wok as my charcoal basket in the SFB. I did a 3 hour run just playing with the vents I able to find the sweet spot to maintain 5 to 15 degree diff from end to end.

So again, I am curoius on why people maintain that the mods are a must?

 

[venture]

What I did with my Char Griller was to test it with two therm probes toward the right and left of the grate.  I did this out of the box and made notes of what was going on.  Then, one at a time, I tried about $30 of the simple mods that are frequently recommended.  These mods along with some experimentation with drip pans and their placement produced dramatically better results than the stock unit out of the box.  If others are happy with their unit out of the box, why mess with it?  But for a few bucks and a little fun in experimenting, what do you have to lose?

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[adiochiro3]

If you're happy with the performance I won't argue with ya!  The only one you have to please is yourself (and momma, of course!!

) 

I did most of the mods and it made a big difference in heat stability and uniformity.  But I also "Frankensteined" my SFB rig by cutting a hole in the far end and bolting an upright to it -- best of both worlds and ~1500 square inches of grate surface (for those really big family smokes).

 

[jarjarchef]

I had a CG Pro for several years and it served me very well. That is why I got a CG Outlaw last summer. I have made several of the recommended mods to it. With a dial thermometer added to each side at just above grate level. I get maybe a

 

[cliffcarter]

No mods for me, I use wood splits in mine and it works just fine.

 

[Brackness]

All I had was new therms and a charcoal basket. Everything else is over kill IMO

 

[fccworship]

lets see a pic of that!

 

[cab2g]

I modded mine right out of the box because my dad has an offset and has dealt with the hot side and cold side for years. I can't say that the mods hurt at all and my problem now is keeping the temps low enough. With a full charcoal basket of half lit coals, I was getting temps pushing 300 degrees. There was about a 10 degree difference from side to side, but adjusting the chimney vent helped even the temps. I ended up having to crack open the smoking chamber lid about 3" to bring temps down to about 240. I was cooking overnight and temps hovered in the high 70's. There was also very little wind. So that may have had a lot to do with it.

The mods I did so far were:

Charcoal basket

Minion method of lighting charcoal (top half lit, bottom unlit)

lowered chimney to grill level

sealed gap between SFB and main chamber with high temp silicone

sealed chimney mount with high temp silicone.

I don't know if the mods are "worth it" but they sure were fun to do. And they look cool! That's enough for me. I am sure the charcoal basket makes the biggest difference for long smokes with consistent temps. Lowering the chimney appears to cause A LOT more heat to be held in the cooking chamber. So I will be glad to have this mod during colder weather. I bought a large sheet of aluminum to make a "convection" plate across the bottom of the smoker with various holes drilled inside. But since the temps are already so even. I don't know if I'll ever finish that mod!

 

[mneeley490]

I guess it depends on the weather where you live. It tends to be colder and windy here, so I've done all the mods and then some. Baffle, tuning plates, ceramic bricks, lowered chimney, sealed holes, raised charcoal basket, etc. I even use a folded welding blanket to cover the top of the smokebox. It still takes a lot of tending on long smokes, but I can't argue with the results.