225-250 possible on Un-modded Brinkman SnP?

[murphys law]

I was given a Brinkman SnP by a friend of mine a few weeks ago. Overall it's in great
shape. I want to try my first attempt at pork ribs soon but from what I have read the SnP is hard to hold temp for extended periods. I don't really want to put any $$ into mods because I plan to upgrade to a better unit down the road. As it sits un-modded can I hold 225-250 for 6 hrs or so? Would you charcoal base then wood feed from there on out? Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Oh and this is my first post, love the forum[emoji]128077[/emoji]

 

[kc5tpy]

Hello.  Totally un-modified I would say no.  I used these cheap offsets for years but they are hard to control that sort of temp.  Some of the mods are very inexpensive to do such as sealing the leaks with stove rope and/or high temp silicone.  Properly modified these cheap smokers can be used quite effectively.  Unmodified I might try something more forgiving such as a pork but or a brisket.  They can take temp swings from 250-350.  If you do not have a place to pre-burn your logs I wood use lump wood for heat and add chips/pellets/splits for the smoke.  Briquettes can also be used but I prefer lump wood.  Hope this helps and maybe someone will offer better advice.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[cliffcarter]

I was given a Brinkman SnP by a friend of mine a few weeks ago. Overall it's in great
shape. I want to try my first attempt at pork ribs soon but from what I have read the SnP is hard to hold temp for extended periods. I don't really want to put any $$ into mods because I plan to upgrade to a better unit down the road. As it sits un-modded can I hold 225-250 for 6 hrs or so? Would you charcoal base then wood feed from there on out? Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Oh and this is my first post, love the forum[emoji]128077[/emoji]

Not without refueling with charcoal a few times. When I cooked with lump charcoal in my CharGriller I would start with 2 chimneys of fully lit lump and add at least one chimney of lit lump every 30-45 minutes to keep temps up around 235°-250°. 6 hours is about as long as I could go without emptying the ashes from the firebox so they didn't cut off the air supply to the fire. You buy a lot of charcoal cooking like that, I have  switched to cooking with wood. I start my fire the same way but add wood as needed to maintain temps. I use splits 9-12 inches long and 2-3 inches thick. I also get the wood for free which is a definite plus.

I should add that the only modification that I made to the CG was to rip the guts out of the crappy factory supplied thermometer, I put the empty dial face back to fill the hole

 

[murphys law]

Thanks for the tips, yesterday I raised the grate in the firebox up a couple of inches to improve airflow. Where is a good place to find the stove rope at a reasonable price? Since I have a plentiful amount of pecan and oak I plan to start with lump and feed with wood throughout.