Unsuccesful attempt at Minion Method on Master Forge

[tm79]

Hello All,

I have the Master Forge vertical smoker (from Lowes) and have done several of the mods listed on this website. Specifically:

Added the three air intakes including one for the "center hole" (not listed on that website). 

Added the exhaust on the top. 

Added legs for better air flow.

Added two additional thermometers.  One near the top rack and one near the bottom rack.

Not all of these mods were exactly as the author of that website did his, but similar.  Anyway, I have attempted the Minion Method several times now and each time has been unsuccessful.  Perhaps you all can shed some light on this for me...  I'll include details of yesterday's test burn below:

-I used Royal Oak Lump Charcoal and made a ring around the outside edge of the pan, then put a fully lit 1/3 of chimney in the center of the ring (as I saw described in a thread on this site).  I left the center air intake closed for the entire burn and started with the other air intakes and exhaust 1/2 open.

-After 15 minutes the temperature shot up to nearly 500 degrees.  At this point, I closed all of the air intakes and over the next four hours the temperature slowly and steadily dropped.  After about two hours, I closed the exhaust all the way, but nothing seemed to make any substantial difference. 

-It took about four hours, maybe a little more, for the temperature to drop down to 235 and at that point, there was barely any charcoal left in the pan... Thus, making it more like a charcoal grill and definitely not efficient enough to achieve the Minion Method.

My thoughts are that perhaps it is not air tight enough, but I figure it should be enough to where adjusting the air intakes would make some sort of difference.  I did sign up for the 5 day smoking e course today.  Maybe that will shed some light on it as well, but if any of you have any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks,

TM

 

[forluvofsmoke]

That definitely sounds like a problem with too much intake air when high temps can't be controlled. I haven't tried the Minion for a while now, but mods to my Gourmet are a bit different than what you've done. One in particular, which may help slow your burn-rate, is to close the slotted holes in the charcoal pan and allow the air to come in through the round holes above. I have an elevated coal grate and ring at the top of the pan for ultra-long smokes and ash fallout, and a raised water pan to accommodate for additional charcoal. I flattened the slotted intakes on the pan as a mod for using a pellet smoke generator (AMNPS) for hot smoking, but you can see what it looks like HERE.

Additional mods that I did when the rig was fairly new are found in THIS thread, or THIS Wiki.

It would seem that the additional air intakes may not be needed, but instead, adding a draft control to the existing intake may do quite a bit for you. Shine a flashlight or flood light into the smoker at night with it completely closed up and look for light outside around the joints...that's the easiest way to find a defective fit. Also, try starting with less hot coals so it spreads more slowly...maybe about 1/4 chimney or less...once the fire is hot, it's difficult to cool down unless the rig is pretty air-tight, allowing you to choke the fire nearly to the point of killing it.

Hope this helps you get better fire control...not the same smoker, but the principle is the same.

Eric