Let me say as a long time lurker, I have really been
able to put the ideas from this group to good use over the
years. Thanks to the active posters on the group my BBQ and
Grilling has improved immensely. We lurkers are usually to
busy or too shy to jump in the fray very often. As you may
have noticed the newbie's rarely keep posting to the group
after a time or two. I think I am one of a butt load of
lurkers out there and just wanted to say thanks.

I have a question about mods to my Char-Griller Duo. I
have often heard references to mods as "I get good results
after a few mods to my rig." So what I would like to know
is, are there any Mods that I should do to my rig to improve
its performance?

This is the new rig...

http://www.geocities.com/jrpitzner/BBQ

Thanks, Joseph

Joseph wrote:
> Let me say as a long time lurker, I have really been able to put the
> ideas from this group to good use over the years. Thanks to the active
> posters on the group my BBQ and Grilling has improved immensely. We
> lurkers are usually to busy or too shy to jump in the fray very often.
> As you may have noticed the newbie's rarely keep posting to the group
> after a time or two. I think I am one of a butt load of lurkers out
> there and just wanted to say thanks.
>
> I have a question about mods to my Char-Griller Duo. I have often
> heard references to mods as "I get good results after a few mods to my
> rig." So what I would like to know is, are there any Mods that I should
> do to my rig to improve its performance?
>
> This is the new rig...
>
> http://www.geocities.com/jrpitzner/BBQ
>
> Thanks, Joseph
>
>

I don't have any suggestions for mods on your new Char-Griller. Very
nice unit. Just try it out and see where you think it is deficient.

I was a lurker to. Long time ago. I think I found out about AFB
shortly after it was founded. I think I have heard that it was founded
around 96.

Your first smoker was also my first smoker. I still have it. It is
resting peacefully in the corner of my patio. I upgraded to a WSM and
am very happy with it.

There is a binary group, (alt.binaries.food) that is a spin off of this
group. Many of the veterans here are also subscribers to that group.
Take some pics, post them on ABF and join in on the fun and learning.
Be warned though, some of the pics posted are not intended for those on
a diet!!! I have heard stories of monitors needing replacement cause
someone stuck a fork through it the food looked so good ;-)

BBQ

"Joseph" > wrote:
> [ . . . ]
> This is the new rig...
>
> http://www.geocities.com/jrpitzner/BBQ

Hi Joseph. Nice to see another lurker de-cloak!

Two of the most recommended mods are to lower the flu to grate level using
aluminum drain pipe (or as your ingenuity dictates) and putting a baffle
(steel or brick) between the firebox and the smoke chamber.

Looks like ya got some mileage outta yer old smoker. Keep it around for the
heavy liftin'!

Chops look nice.

You can post yer pics on alt.binaries.food, too.

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!
I've known US vets who served as far back as the Spanish American War. They
are all my heroes! Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not
forgotten. Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~

>>This is the new rig...<<

You gotta licence to drive that thing.

Kidding, actually I'm jelous. RM~

Hey Joseph - POST!

New blood means new subjects and topics, and it will keep the group
alive as well as more fun.

That being said there are forums with whole sections on modding out
the Chargriller.

Check this link out, and you can just start reading:

http://tinyurl.com/3w7dx9

Or go hear (with a cup of coffee!) and look at what folks are doing.
There is a sticky called "Chargriller family" or something like that
which has hundreds of responses. That is in addition to all the
others on that page.

You will find pictures, ideas and tons of good advice on both.

On my Chargriller, I added the flex tube to get the exhaust down to
the grill level, I drilled into the lid and added to new thermos on
each side of the grill at grill level, bought a giant chrome fruit
basket to get rid of their charcoal arrangement in the SFB, and made a
mini baffle to extend the opening from the SFB into the cooking
chamber.

It took longer to gather the parts than it did to execute the mods.
Lowe's had the 3" aluminum flex (dryer) vent and the .99 hose clamp,
and my local restaurant supply had the thermos and fruit basket, and I
used a piece of aluminum to bend an arc into a piece of metal that
just sits inside as a baffle/extension.

With a little work you can make this thing perform like a big boy
cooker. I can easily hold temps in this thing, and the first load of
charcoal/oak mix will go a full three hours without adding fuel.

Here's my personal mod: I bought <two> of those king sized fruit
baskets. At about 2 hours and 45 minutes (actually I look and see how
many live coals and remaining fuel I have left in the burning basket),
I take the second basket filled with fuel and start it with just a few
coals from the chimney.

When it is just lit, I take the burning basket out of the cooker and
pour the remaining coals over the top of the fresh one. With a little
practice, you can get back on temp really fast. Six to seven hours
for ribs can be done with just one fuel change. Works for me!

Robert

Sorry about that. I didn't post the second link.
Here 'tis: http://tinyurl.com/53ol74

Robert

"bbq" > wrote in message
. ..
> Joseph wrote:
>> Let me say as a long time lurker, I have really been
>> able to put the ideas from this group to good use over
>> the years. Thanks to the active posters on the group my
>> BBQ and Grilling has improved immensely. We lurkers are
>> usually to busy or too shy to jump in the fray very
>> often. As you may have noticed the newbie's rarely keep
>> posting to the group after a time or two. I think I am
>> one of a butt load of lurkers out there and just wanted
>> to say thanks.
>>
>> I have a question about mods to my Char-Griller Duo.
>> I have often heard references to mods as "I get good
>> results after a few mods to my rig." So what I would
>> like to know is, are there any Mods that I should do to
>> my rig to improve its performance?
>>
>> This is the new rig...
>>
>> http://www.geocities.com/jrpitzner/BBQ
>>
>> Thanks, Joseph
>>
>>
>
> I don't have any suggestions for mods on your new
> Char-Griller. Very nice unit. Just try it out and see
> where you think it is deficient.
>
> I was a lurker to. Long time ago. I think I found out
> about AFB shortly after it was founded. I think I have
> heard that it was founded around 96.
>
> Your first smoker was also my first smoker. I still have
> it. It is resting peacefully in the corner of my patio.
> I upgraded to a WSM and am very happy with it.

The old smoker did pretty good once I started using
lump. Prior to that the temps were hard to keep stable.
Couldn't fire it up and go to bed that's for sure... But it
did get me up for an early morning cup of Joe and I would
definitely hit the beers well before noon...

>
> There is a binary group, (alt.binaries.food) that is a
> spin off of this group. Many of the veterans here are
> also subscribers to that group.
> Take some pics, post them on ABF and join in on the fun
> and learning.
> Be warned though, some of the pics posted are not intended
> for those on a diet!!! I have heard stories of monitors
> needing replacement cause someone stuck a fork through it
> the food looked so good ;-)
>
> BBQ

Thanks, I was over at ABF a while back but haven't had
the time to keep up with it. I'll jump back in.

Joseph

"Nick Cramer" > wrote in message
...
> "Joseph" > wrote:
>> [ . . . ]
>> This is the new rig...
>>
>> http://www.geocities.com/jrpitzner/BBQ
>
> Hi Joseph. Nice to see another lurker de-cloak!
>
> Two of the most recommended mods are to lower the flu to
> grate level using
> aluminum drain pipe (or as your ingenuity dictates) and
> putting a baffle
> (steel or brick) between the firebox and the smoke
> chamber.
>
> Looks like ya got some mileage outta yer old smoker. Keep
> it around for the
> heavy liftin'!
>
> Chops look nice.

Thanks twice, for the advice and the chops, they turned
out a little dry. I had to slice'em up and serve with
sauce...

Joseph

--

When you give a lesson in meanness to a critter or person,
don't be surprised if they learn their lesson.

If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every
now and then to make sure it's still there.

If you find yourself in a hole the first thing to do is stop
diggin'.

Never ask a barber if he thinks you need a haircut.

Never miss a good chance to shut up.

--

"Rob Mills" > wrote in message
...
>>>This is the new rig...<<
>
> You gotta licence to drive that thing.
>
> Kidding, actually I'm jelous. RM~

Funny you should say that, I was looking for better
wheels for it today. It definately needs four not just the
two it came with.

Joseph

--

When you give a lesson in meanness to a critter or person,
don't be surprised if they learn their lesson.

If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every
now and then to make sure it's still there.

If you find yourself in a hole the first thing to do is stop
diggin'.

Never ask a barber if he thinks you need a haircut.

Never miss a good chance to shut up.

--

> wrote in message
...
> Hey Joseph - POST!
>
> New blood means new subjects and topics, and it will keep
> the group
> alive as well as more fun.
>
> That being said there are forums with whole sections on
> modding out
> the Chargriller.
>
> Check this link out, and you can just start reading:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/3w7dx9
>
> Or go hear (with a cup of coffee!) and look at what folks
> are doing.
> There is a sticky called "Chargriller family" or something
> like that
> which has hundreds of responses. That is in addition to
> all the
> others on that page.
>
> You will find pictures, ideas and tons of good advice on
> both.
>
> On my Chargriller, I added the flex tube to get the
> exhaust down to
> the grill level, I drilled into the lid and added to new
> thermos on
> each side of the grill at grill level, bought a giant
> chrome fruit
> basket to get rid of their charcoal arrangement in the
> SFB, and made a
> mini baffle to extend the opening from the SFB into the
> cooking
> chamber.
>
> It took longer to gather the parts than it did to execute
> the mods.
> Lowe's had the 3" aluminum flex (dryer) vent and the .99
> hose clamp,
> and my local restaurant supply had the thermos and fruit
> basket, and I
> used a piece of aluminum to bend an arc into a piece of
> metal that
> just sits inside as a baffle/extension.
>
> With a little work you can make this thing perform like a
> big boy
> cooker. I can easily hold temps in this thing, and the
> first load of
> charcoal/oak mix will go a full three hours without adding
> fuel.
>
> Here's my personal mod: I bought <two> of those king
> sized fruit
> baskets. At about 2 hours and 45 minutes (actually I look
> and see how
> many live coals and remaining fuel I have left in the
> burning basket),
> I take the second basket filled with fuel and start it
> with just a few
> coals from the chimney.
>
> When it is just lit, I take the burning basket out of the
> cooker and
> pour the remaining coals over the top of the fresh one.
> With a little
> practice, you can get back on temp really fast. Six to
> seven hours
> for ribs can be done with just one fuel change. Works for
> me!
>
> Robert

Great Post! Thanks for all the info. I'll get that
cup of coffee.

I am planning on the remote thermometer install at
grill level. I already have the materials you mentioned
except maybe the 3" pipe clamp.

I smoked ribs first, two racks of baby's and two racks
of spares. plenty of room. Part of the baby's were a
little rubbery but I think the mods may help there.

I really like the slide out tray in the SFB, it did go
three hours before fuel was running out. I filled my
starter and lit it up. when I changed out the fuel I dumped
the old into my old smoker and filled the basket with the
new. I tonged anything worthwhile from the old into the
tray with the new.

Joseph

Dumb question from old Nonny for you smart guys out there to answer:

Why do the tires on gas grills usually have "lugs" on them? Why aren't
they smooth? They are just pushed and not self-driven. I bought a lawn
cart with military-style lug tires and wondered about it, also, since I
pulled it with the tractor.
--
Nonny

Nonnymus
Never believe a person who is
Drunk, Horny or Running for Office.

Nunya Bidnits wrote:
> Nonnymus wrote:
>
>>Dumb question from old Nonny for you smart guys out there to answer:
>>
>>Why do the tires on gas grills usually have "lugs" on them? Why
>>aren't they smooth? They are just pushed and not self-driven. I
>>bought a lawn cart with military-style lug tires and wondered about
>>it, also, since I pulled it with the tractor.
>

> ... maybe its to keep them from sliding around on slick wet muddy
> ground.


Or maybe the lugs help keep the molded tires from collapsing?

GWE

Grant Erwin wrote:
> Nunya Bidnits wrote:
>> Nonnymus wrote:
>>
>>> Dumb question from old Nonny for you smart guys out there to answer:
>>>
>>> Why do the tires on gas grills usually have "lugs" on them? Why
>>> aren't they smooth? They are just pushed and not self-driven. I
>>> bought a lawn cart with military-style lug tires and wondered about
>>> it, also, since I pulled it with the tractor.
>>
>
>> ... maybe its to keep them from sliding around on slick wet muddy
>> ground.
>
>
> Or maybe the lugs help keep the molded tires from collapsing?
>
> GWE

Since the grills are pulled, and since the lugs run side-to-side, they'd
have almost the opposite effect from keeping the grill from sliding side
to side, IMHO. Likewise, the side-to-side lugs probably don't do as
much to strengthen the tires as would ribs running around the periphery.
I'm not an engineer, so I cannot say for sure. They sure as heck
serve no purpose I can fathom on a lawn cart, pulled by a tractor. In
fact, the side-to-side ribs would permit the cart to slide sideways
traversing a hillside, I'd think.

Old Nonny's going to be offline for a while as Mrs. Nonny and I take a
little vacation. Since my comment above included lawn carts sliding
sideways, I'm going to post below something I once wrote as part of the
all too true Big Jim sagas. They cover several memorable occasions with
my best friend. This has nothing to do with barbecue, so since I'll be
gone, please wait until I return to flame me for being off topic. <grin>

As a matter of fact, if I get a chance before departing, I'll post a
little thing I did for some cruise friends about the southern equivalent
of low and high tea- as told for New Yorker consumption.

Nonny

The Great Tractor Race

Years ago, my best friend in the world was a neighbor that we'll call
Big Jim. Big Jim was
one of the kindest-hearted men who ever walked this earth. and was a
fellow that would
come to your house at 4:00 am in an emergency, or would shovel your
driveway if you
weren't home when it snowed. This very factual tale of Big Jim hails
from the time that
I decided to break up and haul away a concrete parking area, so that I
could install footers
and build a new garage adjoining my home.

To do this, I rented an air compressor and jack hammer- starting to work
at 7:00 am on
a Saturday morning. Big Jim heard all the racket, and by 7:30, he was
down at the house
with his beloved Cub Cadet garden tractor and trailer to give me a hand.
Although my
own tractor/mower was a diesel John Deere 650 4-WD, we had identical
trailers and
frequently worked together blowing snow, mowing empty lots and helping
out the others in
the neighborhood. We quickly decided that the best place to dump the
broken up concrete
slab would be along a creek behind Big Jim's home, since he had been
experiencing erosion.

By noon, the slab was just broken rubble, since Big Jim and I took turns
on the jackhammer.
Big Jim grabbed some lunch while I returned the compressor and
jackhammer; by 2:00 that
afternoon, we were back at work. Each trailer measured about 4' wide by
5' long and had
sides of about 16" tall, so weight was more of a factor than volume,
when considering the
small tractors we had.

Years earlier, we had cut a path down the steep hillside to reach the
creek
behind Big Jim's house The path was almost straight down the hillside,
ending in a culvert
pipe we'd pushed into the creek and back filled with crushed stone.
Unfortunately, the
culvert pipe had actually floated briefly before sinking to the bottom
of the stream,
moving about six feet downstream. Since the path had already been cut
and the culvert had
been intended to align with the path, the floating downstream caused our
path to take a six foot
jog at the bottom of the hill. Big Jim's huge garden lay on the other
side of the creek.
All told, I'd guess that the drop from Big Jim's lawn to the culvert
pipe was at least 35'
and the water in the creek lay at least another four feet below the
sides of the stream bed.

It was hotter than Hades that afternoon, and Big Jim and I treated
ourselves to a number
of Old Crown beers to stave off the heat, and as a reward for doing so
much work in just
one day. We loaded the trailers with the rubble until the tires began to
bulge, and then
made the first of ten or twelve trips to Big Jim's and then down to the
creek. After every
other load, we'd go back down to my house and sip another Old Crown
while loading up the
trailers for yet another trip.

Toward evening, I have to admit that Big Jim and I had enjoyed "loading
up" in another
sense as well. The "final load" we put in each of the trailers would
have easily been
two loads earlier in the day. Rather than bulging slightly, the tires on
our trailers
were absolutely FLAT. To celebrate the final load, we grabbed the last
two beers and
headed up to Big Jim's to dump the debris.

Big Jim and I have always been a mite competitive and "racing tractors"
is just a
natural extension of that competition. My John Deere 650 Diesel 4-WD
tractor's owner's
manual states authoritatively that the top governed speed of the tractor
is 10.56 mph.
That means the International Harvester Cub Cadet that Big Jim owned must
do 10.57 mph,
since by the time we reached his yard with that final load, he had a
good 4' lead on me.

We bounced across the curb at Big Jim's house, raced up his driveway and
swung wide to miss the side of his garage. The race continued across his
side yard and the tractors screamed as we continued the race behind his
house, behind his swimming pool and through the gate leading to the
hillside and trail. By the time we cleared the gate, the rear gate of
Big Jim's
trailer was easily 5-6' ahead of the weights on the front of my John Deere.
Clearly, Big Jim had won the race.

The balance of that afternoon is engraved on my mind permanently in
individual scenes
.. . . almost as if they were a slide show. The first scene is Big Jim
turning around in
the tractor seat, giving me his biggest grin and also giving me the
finger as he
graciously accepted winning the race. The next scene is Big Jim
screaming "Oh Shit!"
as he realizes that he has just crested the very steep hill at full
throttle, pulling
approximately a ton of concrete rubble behind his little garden tractor.
The third
image is of Big Jim's beer can being extruded straight upward almost 10'
in the air,
as Big Jim clenches his fist and prepares for the most terrifying ride
of his life.

With my own heavier tractor and 4-WD, I easily managed to slow my John
Deere at the
crest of the hill, as Big Jim was setting the new land speed record for
descent
toward a creek. I carefully drove down the hill and jumped off the
tractor, raced to
the bridge and into the cloud of dust, fully expecting to see Big Jim in
the creek-
or perhaps even trapped under the tractor.

As the dust cleared, the first sight to emerge was the churned-up trail
where Big Jim
had thrown his hydrostatic transmission into full reverse in a vain
attempt to slow
down. At the bottom of the hill, with two wheels on the bridge, one
wheel on the trail
and one wheel over the creek bank was Big Jim- still seated on his
tractor. The
trailer had jackknifed and emptied itself in the creek, after tearing
loose from the
tractor.

I ran up to Big Jim shouting to see if he was OK. His response was
simply, "Go on home. I need to get up to the house." It was then that
I suspected the worst. While he would never admit it, Big Jim had wet
himself.

I awoke with a headache the next morning, but managed to drive my
tractor up to Big
Jim's home. Together, we pulled his trailer out of the creek and took it
up to the
house for repair. I thanked him for the help and we sat and talked for
a while. Big
Jim summarized that previous afternoon with the simple statement, "You
know, Nonny,
the problem ain't in the going, its IN THE STOPPING."

The incident was never discussed again- except for whenever my good wife
is around Big
Jim and his wife. Then, she always seemed to steer the conversation
around to tractors,
grown men racing, too much beer, wild rides and sudden incontinence.


--
Nonny

Nonnymus
Never believe a person who is
Drunk, Horny or Running for Office.

"Joseph" > wrote in
news:C7adneV7XKpcd2vanZ2dnUVZ_t2inZ2d@surewest:

> I tonged anything worthwhile from the old into the
> tray with the new.
>
> Joseph
>
>

I hope you didn't burn your mouth. tonging hot coals sounds dangerous.

I looked at the Duo at Lowes yesterday, and i was , well maybe nit
impressed, but i really liked the setup for the price.

My only concern was the lid handles and attachment. they looked a little
flimsy. with your other mods you might add some different handles. As
always YMMV.



--
Tommy Lee "dreaming of tobasco, lemon pepper prok chops"

"MDC" > wrote in message
...
> Joseph wrote:
>> Let me say as a long time lurker, I have really been
>> able to put the ideas from this group to good use over
>> the years. Thanks to the active posters on the group my
>> BBQ and Grilling has improved immensely. We lurkers are
>> usually to busy or too shy to jump in the fray very
>> often. As you may have noticed the newbie's rarely keep
>> posting to the group after a time or two. I think I am
>> one of a butt load of lurkers out there and just wanted
>> to say thanks.
>>
>> I have a question about mods to my Char-Griller Duo.
>> I have often heard references to mods as "I get good
>> results after a few mods to my rig." So what I would
>> like to know is, are there any Mods that I should do to
>> my rig to improve its performance?
>>
>> This is the new rig...
>>
>> http://www.geocities.com/jrpitzner/BBQ
>>
>> Thanks, Joseph
>>
>>
> Very nice! I've seen that grill advertised, but that's
> the first one I've seen put together. Love the mods.
> Very functional! I may have to pick one up this fall when
> the local Kroger marks 'em down.

Thanks, been putting it to good use.

Joseph

--
http://www.geocities.com/jrpitzner/BBQ

Brinkman Charcoal Bullet Smoker
CharGriller Duo w/Side Fire Box

>
> --
> See ya,
> Mike
>
> "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making
> other plans" - John Lennon