Until I build something for myself, I have a second-hand Brinkmann
Smoke'N Grill to do my hot smoking in. I've used it a few times and
get nice flavor out of it, but consistently the problem is that it's
impossible to get the heat up where I want it (so far that's been
225F).

My mods to the grill so far have been to move the feet to the outside
so the fire pan can sit on some bricks below and the rest of the
smoker can be lifted off for refueling. I also drilled a total of 4
holes in the bottom of the pan. I've tried both lump hardwood charcoal
as well as briquettes with the same effect: temperatures between 140F
and 170F. I don't think it's EVER reach 225F. The mods/fuel/water pan
level seem to have almost no effect on the temperature.

Any ideas on different mods/technique to get the temperature up
hotter? Due to the lid design, there's no vent adjustment there, only
the gap between the body and the lid.

Thanks,
--Jeff

On Apr 7, 5:57*am, JeffH wrote:
Until I build something for myself, I have a second-hand Brinkmann
Smoke'N Grill to do my hot smoking in. I've used it a few times and
get nice flavor out of it, but consistently the problem is that it's
impossible to get the heat up where I want it (so far that's been
225F).

My mods to the grill so far have been to move the feet to the outside
so the fire pan can sit on some bricks below and *the rest of the
smoker can be lifted off for refueling. I also drilled a total of 4
holes in the bottom of the pan. I've tried both lump hardwood charcoal

Most of the ideas I've seen in the past all suggest more holes in the
pan.
One guy (Fatman *cough* *cough*) used his shotgun to do this, w/pics
provided.

Other than airflow (really the lack of it) what else could the problem
be really?

JeffH wrote:
Until I build something for myself, I have a second-hand Brinkmann
Smoke'N Grill to do my hot smoking in. I've used it a few times and
get nice flavor out of it, but consistently the problem is that it's
impossible to get the heat up where I want it (so far that's been
225F).

My mods to the grill so far have been to move the feet to the outside
so the fire pan can sit on some bricks below and the rest of the
smoker can be lifted off for refueling. I also drilled a total of 4
holes in the bottom of the pan. I've tried both lump hardwood charcoal
as well as briquettes with the same effect: temperatures between 140F
and 170F. I don't think it's EVER reach 225F. The mods/fuel/water pan
level seem to have almost no effect on the temperature.

Any ideas on different mods/technique to get the temperature up
hotter? Due to the lid design, there's no vent adjustment there, only
the gap between the body and the lid.

Thanks,
--Jeff

Just borrow some aluminum foil off of your hat antenna and you're ready to
get to work.

Use some HD foil and run a strip around the lid and then tuck the strip
inward so it can help close up that gap when you put the lid on.

MartyB in KC

Update - last night I got better temps, and at one point it even went
too hot. Time before last, I drilled tons of holes in the pan bottom
and a bit up the sides. I also added some mesh (heavy chicken wire
folded twice - 4 layers) to the bottom of the pan. That didn't improve
the temperatures much. This time I put a piece of a brick between the
chicken wire and the pan to create a 3" airspace, and that seems to
have done the trick. The biggest problem was the ash clogging up the
airflow and insulating the coals, which the raised mesh now allows to
sift down. Now I think it's just a matter of learning good fire
management.

For my next trick, I'm going to try to seal off the lid as suggested,
and make an adjustable vent in the top instead.

Thanks for the tips,
--Jeff