Can I do this?

Sure.... a firebox is the same regardless of who makes it... Mating the two for a proper Firebox to Cook Chamber opening may take a little work...  Dave

Firestop....  Is that a rock wool type spun fiber stuff...  It should work fine.... I assume you will place it between the FB and CC and bolt and squeeze it between them...   It won't go anywhere.... 

lowesdadof3 said:

thanks Dave! my main concern is that the firebox actually covers the vents that are already on the side of the grill.  I suppose I'll just give it a shot I can always return it!  I work in a commercial high rise building and brought home some firestop material to use to fill the gaps.  It's not "food grade" but I wasn't overly concerned being it would be outside the food chamber.  Am I correct in thinking this way or do you think it matters?

Click to expand...

If I'm understanding you right,, you are just going to bolt it on without cutting the hole out ?...

I just have a feeling that the hole won't be big enough... If we had pictures, that would help... on the side of the CC there should be an outline (indented) where the plate needs to be cut out where the SFB connects to it.. it would be the same shape as the cut out in the SFB... but then again that would be for the original SFB

I'm thinking you might need to make some tuning plates... and save yourself some money as they don't need to be stainless.... 1/8" metal will be fine... tuning plates are maybe 4" wide strips of steel that go from front to back of the CC... they need to be at the top of the hole that goes from FB to CC... start at the FB side and put a small space between the first ones.. maybe a 1/4" and then as you work towards the cold end of the CC make the spaces wider... sometimes you may have to have a couple of smaller plates (maybe 2 1/2" wide) so you get more gaps towards the cooler end.... It will be a trial and error type deal to get it figured out.... If you don't understand what I'm trying to say just use the handy dandy search bar at the top of the page.. search for tuning plates... maybe even in your particular grill....

You also might want to look into making your exhaust vent longer INSIDE the CC... make it come down to grate level... that will help even the heat out as well... there again the handy dandy search feature will be your best friend...

Yes.. you need the first plate to go to the firebox... if not, your right, it will defeat the purpose as all your heat will still go straight up to the top of the CC... I'm thinking at least 4" from the grates... I would try to place your tape measure from front to back and level, at the top of the firebox hole, that way the plates will just sit on the wall of the CC itself instead of putting angle iron in for the plates to sit on... try that first and if they don't sit good then think about the angle iron...

Hope i'm not confusing you more... as far as the questions... that's why we all joined the forums, to ask questions....

don't know If you searched 'tuning plates" yet or not.. but I did a quick search for ya....

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/newsearch?search=tuning+plates+

Tuning plates explained......   Dave 

Notice also the Baffle Plate tilts or slopes gently downward from the right towards the left as you can see from the shadow of the cooking grid above it.








Now I will try to explain how this all works.

As the heat/smoke flows into the cooking/smoking chamber, the downward sloping Baffle Plate directs the flow gently downwards and under the Tuning Plates as it flows from right to left towards the exhaust flue.

The Tuning Plates are adjustable and are positioned such that there is an open space between TP-1 and
TP-2. The width of the open spaces between TP-2 and TP-3, TP-3 and TP-4, TP-4 and TP-5, as well as
TP-5 and TP-6, are increased in width progressively as we proceed from right to left.

By making the spaces between the Tuning Plates wider, the amount of heat passing between the plates
will increase and make that area of the cooking/smoking chamber hotter.

By making the spaces between the Tuning Plates narrower, the amount of heat passing between
the plates will decrease and make that area of the cooking/smoking chamber cooler.

Through a trial and error process of adjusting the width of the spaces between the Tuning Plates, it is
possible to 'Tune' the cooking/smoking chamber to have an even temperature across the length of the
smoker from the firebox to the exhaust flue.

It must be noted however, that each individual smoker/cooker will have its own unique personality
and therefore will require its T.P.'s to be adjusted to its own individual characteristics...

Because of this, the adjustments outlined above are intended as a starting point  only!...

For best performance the TP's should have a thickness of 1/4 to 1/2 inch (0.6 cm to 1.3 cm), with most
builders opting for a thickness range of 1/4 to 3/8 inch (0.6 cm to 0.9 cm), and should be made of iron
or steel in order to have the thermal mass necessary to moderate temperature fluctuations in the chamber.

Aluminum is not a suitable material for use in TP's since it lacks the thermal mass that is necessary.

Additionally, there is no set number of TP's to use in a smoker, nor is there a particular width of TP that must be used.

This is something you will have to decide based on the length of the chamber that you will be working with.

A greater length would require more TP's, a lesser length would require fewer TP's.

I created the graphics to reflect exactly what was shown in your photo, and this is the reason only 6 TP's are shown in them.

Thanks Dave for helping me out... I think he can grab the concept now...