On Mar 26, 12:48 pm, "JohnO" > wrote:
> > The times when it has lit I've had trouble keeping the temperature up
> > near the "ideal" mark on the thermometer. Somebody suggested that
> > since I leave my charcoal in my garage, which unfortunately has very
> > poor ventilation, that humidity might be the problem.
> > is there any warrant to that?
>
> Yes. You mention Meijer, which means you're in MI/OH/IN/IL or
> thereabouts. Go to a Gordon's Food Service and buy a 20# bag of Royal
> Oak lump. It'll burn...
>
> > Also the smoker looks like the vent holes on the firebox, which sit in
> > the base, may not allow very much ventilation therefore the charcoal
> > will not light very well.
>
> There are a (at least) couple variations on this smoker firebox. The
> bowl with a single hole for air is a POS that won't support a fire.
> You have to drill 10-15 more 3/8" holes in the bottom, then pick up
> some 1/2" fencing to hold the coals up off the bowl...form it into a
> sub-bowl. The flat-bottomed version also needs more holes, and I use
> another grill grate to hold the coals. Then, four small rocks between
> the steel bottom and the grate to make room for more air and ashes.
>
> Finally, you might need an additional hole in the top of the
> smoker...about 1 inch wide should do it. I use an old fridge magnet to
> control it's size. Then add a real thermometer. All of that should
> cost about $12 and an hour
>
> -John O

John,
You seem to know what you are talking about - 2 questions - if the
cowboy or whatver charcoal is left in its original
bad, and closed, will it absorb ambient humidity? I kind of figured
that the main problem would be ventilation, and was going to make some
variations. 1 was almost like "tuires" like in a blast furnace, with
some small CPU or computer case fans blowing in air when I wanted it
to, but I think I'll try the modifications you suggested. Should an
oven safe thermometer suffice since it is essentially a "real"
thermometer, with drilling the hole for it where the "warm/ideal/hot"
thermometer is now? Thanks in advance!