Tuning Plates suggestions

[kilekearns]

I have a tejas smoking pit. http://www.tejassmokers.com/products/1628cc.htm
I am thinking about getting tuning plates to even the temperature more but have heard some negatives.
this is the main one= drippings on plates can cause unwanted black smoke that you can taste
What do you guys think. I mean its a little hard cooking like 5 briskets or 5 pork butts when it gets cooler the further you get from the firebox. Let me know your guy's experiences and suggestions.

 

[smokin' dick]

My offset is a Silver Smoker and certainly not as nice as yours is but here is my experience. With no mods to the smoker there was a huge temp difference end to end. Sometimes as much as 85* and this is just a 36" chamber. Did some mods and they helped some but the best improvement was from the tuning plates. I got 5 plates 16" x 5" x 1/4". Tried different spacings and number of plates and found what works well with what meats. Ribs use fewer plates than brisket for some reason. Anyway I never noticed any black smoke or off tastes from the plates and will not use this cooker without them. Oh, by the way when the tuning plates are in correctly there is maybe a 5* difference end to end. Throw in the meat and that perfection goes away. Dang meat must mess with the airflow, but even temps and no meat won't fill my belly so I'll keep putting it in there. Equilibrium be damned!

 

[jjmrascal]

Hi Kile,

I just did this mod to my OK Joe and wonder why it took me so long to do it. Nothing but positives from me. The fat dripping is really cool for the smell it makes on the plates. I never had black smoke and all that. Check out my link and let me know if you have questions. It takes a while to heat up but is quicker if you burn wood and can do that while it is still flaming down.

Here is my link: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...=tuning+plates

 

[rickw]

I have a convection plate in my offset and it makes a huge difference. I would say go for it.

 

[geek with fire]

Awesome design. Points.

 

[rickw]

I can't take credit for it, it is the design of Horizon.

 

[kilekearns]

Ok I understand in here there are no negatives at all? did you guys have a welder or steel worker do them or did you guys do them yourselves? I know they will do it where I bought it its around 165.00 but its worth it right? are there any negatives that you guys can think of? also you guys would call my smoker a offset smoker? Thanks guys
Kile

 

[smokin' dick]

Not a negative to be found re the plates. The little sizzle you get from the fat dropping is a great plus in my book. A local metal fab guy did my 5 plates for me. He wanted to charge $100 but I traded 3 racks of baby backs for his efforts. Yes, yours is definitely an offset with both horizontal and vertical smoke chambers.

 

[kilekearns]

Ok thanks. Im going to try to get this figured out. I like to do four or five pork butts at once and its hard when there is a 50 degree difference from one side to the other. Thanks to all that replyed if anyone else has suggestions it would be appreciated!

 

[jjmrascal]

I put it off for years thinking I had to have a welder do it. I cut two inches off my meat rack supports and used an old piece of 1/4" paneling to make a template. (I had to cut the supports to make room for the deflector plate to fit). I roughly matched the curve of the barrel and just trimmed as necessary with a saber saw. When I did that, I found the piece would slip right in and angle over perfectly. I used two bolts to hold it in place. I then cut more templates from the paneling to fit between my meat rack slides. When the fit was right I did the rest of the work in a couple hours with a saber saw + a few metal cutting blades. It was slow but effective. The end result was 1/4" thick tuning plates and a sense of a job well done.

 

[kilekearns]

Thank you so much. I'm going to do it right away. It just seems like less of a battle! Thanks guys

 

[placebo]

Did you get your tuning plates put in yet? If so how did they work? I'm curious because I'm considering buying a Tejas smoker. Thanks.