Brinkmann Trailmaster Limited Edition

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Hey Smokin NW, what vertical smoker did you get that burner off of?    That is a fantastic idea and now I need to do that to mine.  Wish I thought of that one.

I love the whole idea of smoking but sometimes the wood tending and charcoal / lump management is just a pain in the ass.  For ribs I think temp control is #1 and I have a swing of 200 to 280 degF or so and I have made all the mod's to my BTMLE and still have issues.  Plus the time it takes to keep checking the fire is killing my yard work :-)

I would just order that vertical smoker burner from the Mfr and also get that xtra ash pan from Brinkman.

Great job!
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I took it off my MasterForge,  it was the right dimensions for it.

It had four ears to fasten it on the vertical, so I bent three up to fasten it to the ash drawer.

Then used aluminum tape to block some of the air flow.

I have done three smokes with it this way, all have come out real tasty.

Like I said, for me it is just easier with smaller amounts of meat to smoke.
 
 
You should be able to pick up a single burner off the net or some place like Harbor Freight if you have one where you live.  You would then need to make a mount for it but that should be pretty easy.
 
I actually had time today so I did some assembly.

I put legs, handle, firebox bracket and wheels on today as well as placed sealant around all the screws that went into the main cooking chamber.

I purchased a 4inch went for a dryer, slim style that I'm having cut so I can extend the vent hole.

I also went to my neighborhood heating and cooling center and purchased about 2 feet of

some Hi-Temp mat blanket that's rated for 1000 degrees. I cut strips out to go around the firebox assembly and also cut out the opening to the main grill leaving some extra material to seal in between.

I used this material because I felt my firebox would get hotter than the 500 degrees the sealant is rated for.

I should be complete by this weekend and ready to cure.


 
Originally Posted by jwg299  

I purchased a 4inch vent for a dryer, slim style that I'm having cut so I can extend the vent hole.


If that's the style of vent extension you're planning to use, I'd recommend against it. That looks way too constricted. I'd bet that your draft will seriously suffer. For $4 at Home Depot, you can get this:


Here's the install from the outside (just snipped around, wedged in, and the tabs bent). Bolted the stack back on (without any sealant) and there is no leakage whatsoever.


This is the original length. I shortened it because I didn't feel that it drafted well enough.

 
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I just got the old country by wrangler and so far I love it. Didn't have to put anything together it's all solid and very heavy. I haven't cooked on it yet I'm on my second seasoning. I will do one more and there is a brisket in the fridge that is begging to be smoked. I too spent six months researching grills this one was $$$ but it one the bet.
 
You might need an oven gasket, available at hardware stores. It comes with a high temperature cement. I had a firedoor to seal and the silicone sealant seemed like the right thing for me. I have very little gap to seal. I used Permatex 81160 High-Temp Red RTV Silicone Gasket, 3 oz. This is available from your auto parts store. Make sure it says 26B on the package to make sure it's the same stuff. The manufacturer says it's food safe in this application. This stuff is ok intermittently up to 650F.

Another product, is Rutland 600-Degree RTV Silicone Seal Tube, 2.3-Ounce, Super Red.

I don't have an offset grill so my fires are not as hot.

You might really need a gasket, particularly if the gap is large. 
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I was looking at those dryer extensions just the other day. In fluid dynamics there is a concept of equivalent diameters. I found that my 4 inch circular opening would be equivalent to a rectangular opening of 2 inch x 8 inch (d[sub]e = 4.1 inch)[/sub]. The ratio of the sides of the rectangle are important. A 1 inch x 16 inch (d[sub]e = 3.6 inch) [/sub]opening is too small.

d[sub]e[/sub]  = 1.30 x ((a x b)[sup]0.625[/sup]  / (a + b)[sup]0.25[/sup])

a, b are the sides of rectangle

de is the diameter of the equivalent circular opening.

Do a quick calculation to see if you are in the ball park.

I'm making my own based on ideas I saw here. Here's the cardboard model I made for sizing. I'm modeling this on the non-chimney side of the grill. The grill already has a flexible aluminum dryer vent. I'm in the middle of experiments to determine if this modification works in my grill. I chose this type extension because it protrudes half as much into the grilling area as the round extension. I will probably use high temperature JB Weld to assemble the extension and high temperature silicone seal to glue it to the side of the grill. I may have to add four little tabs to provide sticking surfaces.
 


So far, I've proved to myself that the interior of the grill is hotter at the top. Extending the chimney to grill height brings that temperature down. I have not verified that an extension below the grill does the same thing. I have not successfully measure the temperature differential at grill height between the side of the grill closest to the fire and the far side of the grill. The expectation is that without the extension, the chimney intake at the top, the grill will be hotter at the fire end. With the extension, the temperature differential will be smaller. Will it be smaller still if the opening is below grill height? To make that work, I'd have to reposition the chimney itself - any extension will interfere with the grates.
 
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You can improve the draft. The draft depends upon the pressure differential available and the flow rate.  The pressure differential available, depends upon the atmospheric pressure, the temperature differential between the inside of the grill and the outside air and the length of the chimney. The flow rate depends upon the area of the chimney opening, the height of the chimney, the temperature differential and gravity. To improve draft the only thing you can easily change is the height of the chimney.

How tall? I don't know. If you have an 8 inch chimney then you can go longer. My chimney is 4 inches in diameter and about 20 inches above the opening and it generates what seems like a good draft.
 
Are there any Temp controls out there that will fit the BTLE? I was looking at "The BBQGuru" website. From what I saw on their page they don't make one for it.

Also, has anyone had problems with temp regulation when adding lava rock to their BTLE? It seemed to block the air flow and kept the temp from getting past 215 degrees.

I plan on removing them and just use a brick with foil around it.
 
Originally Posted by SnowRider  

...has anyone had problems with temp regulation when adding lava rock to their BTLE? It seemed to block the air flow and kept the temp from getting past 215 degrees. I plan on removing them and just use a brick with foil around it.
I don't even think a brick is necessary -- or helpful. The goal is to evacuate the combustion byproducts from the firebox as quickly and efficiently as possible.

After some experimenting, I've come to the conclusion that it's most efficient for airflow and heat movement to leave the bottom of the cook chamber as smooth and unobstructed as possible. Get a good, long damper installed over the firebox outlet; I'd suggest one that is 12-14" long with the upper edge butted up against the firebox end and just under the grate height... those ones I see posted up here that have a 3-4" panel at 45 degrees welded to the end of the diffuser plate just doesn't appear to be suitable). Then, leave your stack damper wide open, and let it flow.
 
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Get a good, long damper installed over the firebox outlet; I'd suggest one that is 12-14" long with the upper edge butted up against the firebox end and just under the grate height... those ones I see posted up here that have a 3-4" panel at 45 degrees welded to the end of the diffuser plate just doesn't appear to be suitable). Then, leave your stack damper wide open, and let it flow.
I got the 16" convection plate from Horizon smokers. I put in a thick bar of Aluminum on top of the 45 degree angle where there was a small gap left to it forces the air flow down better.
 
i just use a bent cookie sheet for my firebox damper. I can usually have a pretty consistent temp across the cooking chamber.
So do I. I got a couple of those flat aluminum cookie trays (no lip like the pans have, came in a two-pack) from Target. The large one fits almost perfectly as the damper. I drilled two small holes at the edge and wired it to the end of the cooking grate. I'd use the smaller one as a diffusion plate, but the drip pan already accomplishes that. I'm within 7-8 degrees side to side.


To clarify, I think that the damper plate itself should be 12-14" long and extend from the top of the firebox exit port to the charcoal grate. In the image below, the red line shows the approximate angle and flow clearance of the damper plate in my TMLE:

 
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Are there any Temp controls out there that will fit the BTLE? I was looking at "The BBQGuru" website. From what I saw on their page they don't make one for it.

Also, has anyone had problems with temp regulation when adding lava rock to their BTLE? It seemed to block the air flow and kept the temp from getting past 215 degrees.

I plan on removing them and just use a brick with foil around it.
BBQ Guru does offer temp controls for the BTLE. First choose the DigiQ DX2.  Then you have to scroll down to "Smokers with side fire box" 
 
Here are some of the mods I've done to my grill

 I use sealant on each end of the barrel, the main cooking lid, around the smoke stack where it attaches to the brill, and where the firebox and grill connect.

when putting the firebox together I use a hi temp fabric, which I posted previously, in between the top and bottom half. I also used it in between the area where the firebox and grill connect.

I used a 3inch flex vent dryer tub as it was the easiest to install. the 4inch I couldn't get to fit without bending it up and the vent picture I posted before didn't work either.

I have yet to install the 2 extra thermometers I ordered because I was sent the wrong ones by the company but they are sending me the correct ones at no extra cost to me :)

I have done a test run burn on the grill and the thermometer that came with it is pretty much on point as I did the boil water test to see how accurate it was. I know the grill temps are different than the thermometer in the lid but I just wanted to make sure I could keep the temp about the same for a long time period.

I still need to get a diffuser plate, that's coming next.

Also I have 2 Teltru BBQ thermometers that I'm looking to sell 25+ shipping. they are 27 each.

 
I just purchased the Trailmaster LE and finally the weather broke and I was able to assemble yesterday.  I didn't have any issues with bent parts except for the ash drawer for the firebox is a little bent, no big deal though.  The curing process was really good to understand heat control.  I did discover small smoke leaks from the lid.  I read where someone did a gasket mod on the lid which I am going to check into.  I think the cover listed above is for the SnP, which is what comes up every time I do a search for that part number.  I am going to call Brinkmann this morning and I'll post the results.  Well here is a pic of my baby all together.

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Looks great,im thinking about getting the Brinkmann Trailmaster 57" Vertical offset smoker they have..its $30 cheaper and from the reviews,it seems to be a pretty good smoker with just a couple of mods (charcoal box and some high temp silicone). I will add a couple of high quality therms to the cc door.Im going to build a trailer for it that will also feature a small sink for cleanup,cutting board for prep and also be setup for a propane fryer. 
 
Don't know of any reason why you can't just burn wood. From what I remember when I was looking at them, the firebox seemed big enough. I would look up oldschoolbbq's article titled "stickburning 101" as a starting point.
 
Does anyone use the TMLE as just a wood burner? And if so what is your method?
I use mine as a stick burner.  Works really well with the exception that my temps vary from side to side more so than using charcoal.  I was having trouble keeping temps at or above 200*.  No problem with that burning only wood.  I use about 1/2 can of charcoal to get started then stack the wood on top.  Once the fire is good and hot and the temp is around 300* in the chamber, I stoke the fire and throw a water soaked chunk on top, cool the chamber down to about 225* and throw the meat on.  I am using 6-8 inch pieces that are anywhere from 4-8 inches diameter.  Pretty big pieces for the firebox.  But it has worked out well for me.  Good luck and happy smoking!!
 
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