On Aug 19, 8:53 pm, "Brick" > wrote:
> The last Smokin Pro I looked at left a lot to be desired in >the craftsman-
> ship department. Make sure that your lid fits snugly. If >it's leaking a lot of air, you'll never be able to get any >decent draft to the fire. Check for leaks all over the >machine. Everything should fit snugly. Some of the
> recent smokers I've seen at Lowe's and at Home Depot >are sheer junk.
Ditto everything Brick said.
And I hope you put your unit together yourself to make sure everything
was put together correctly, all nuts and bolts were used as described
(in those limp instructions) and that all pieces were adjusted and fit
correctly.
I can literally maintain 250 in mine for about 3 - 3.5 hours with the
vent at about 1/4 open on the firebox. With it open about half way it
will get to 300 and stay there for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours. I did all
the mods on it found on Raichlen's site, and they were worth the
time. I put an extension on the chimney to get the exhaust level back
down to the grill, and two candy thermometers, one on each side of the
grill to monitor grill surface temp.
Here's a link, and notice there are about 185 pages of ideas and
opinions on this piece of equipment. Read the first hundred posts,
and maybe the last hndred, and you should get what you need from it.
http://www.barbecuebible.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=1467
The most important thing I can think of with this pit is to increase
the charcoal basket size. I bought a really large chrome table
display fruit basket, and it holds around 8 pounds of charcoal/wood at
a crack. A lot of guys have gone to Target or Walmart and bought
large wire baskets to use.
I take the iron grills out of the firebox, and turn their charcoal
upside down so that it raises it higher off the bottom of the box.
With the grates out and the basket upside down, I put my own basket in
the firebox with holds more fuel and lets more ash fall through.
Lighting the CG is critical, and this method works great:
I put about 6-7 pounds of charcoal and wood mix in the basket, and
leave an open crater in the middle. In my starter chimney (this will
not work with fluid), I put about 20 briquettes and light them off.
When they are all orange, I pour them in the middle of the crater,
filling up the fuel basket up in a mound. If I miss calculate a
little and I am short of filling the basket to a mound I toss more
briquettes in as needed.
I leave the pit chimney all the way open, and the vents all the way
closed. You will see the temps go up immediately. In about 20
minutes or so I will be up to about 275 on the side away from the
firebox, and then I put in butts or brisket on that side. Opening the
door and putting in a cold brisket will handle and temp spikes,
believe me. As long as I keep it at 250 - 275, I am happy and the
smoker is happy. It will cruise at that temp for a good three hours
which is when I do my first opening to look at the meat and make sure
everything is going according to plan.
Which brings up the temperature gauge on these things. Total junk.
The best use of the factory temp gauge is to fill the hole in the
hood. Mine is one of the better ones, and it is off about 35
degrees. There is no telling where yours might actually be temp
wise. If you are looking at the original POS, them you might actually
be at temp and not know it!
Do yourself a favor and at least buy yourself a couple of thermometers
and put them in. I bought two Taylor candy thermometers, with a
seven inch stem on them, and if the grill is full I just pull them out
a little so they stick out on the outside rather than the inside.
I have a WSM too, but these are two different animals. Two weeks ago
I put in 6 REALLY large racks of baby backs and when they were an hour
and a half out, I put in 18 pieces (1 1/4" x 8") of sausage. It took
about 5 hours for all that to cook, and it only took one reload of
fuel. For a little more smoke I threw in some small mesquite chunks
once or twice, but that was it. To reload, I put about 20 briquettes
in the chimney, fired up to orange, and then filled the chimney to
just a little under full with unlit briquettes and lump. Pour in
basket, shut door, sit back down.
On the WSM, it doesn't have near the capacity. Most of the BB racks
(I realize I could have cut them) were longer than the WSM is wide.
To me, the beauty of the WSM is the long smoke like brisket or butts.
Plenty of room for both of those in the WSM. But for a short smoke
(less than 8 - 10 hours) and great capacity it is sure hard to beat
the Chargriller. On the other hand, it is impossible to beat the WSM
for putting on your meat the night before and having it ready for a
late lunch the next day with little or no adjustment.
Robert