almost humming, need a bit more tweaking

[williamzanzinger]

Ive been trying to take my time and do things right so there will be no regrets. This is as far as ive gotten. Still left to do? couple of little holes to seal and couple of big ones. apparantly the new silver smoker comes with this center floating rack which leaves the 2 big holes in the sides to deal with. Im at a loss right now? any suggestions? Also got some oven gasket to seal the door but the stuff ive read says its not a permanent fix, wear and tear? The front and back of the lid do fit perty tight its just the sides that have almost 3/4 inch gaps. Im working on a charcoal basket that im forming out of expanded metal but the plans i had, the basket is too big , so I got to cut her down a bit.
Anyway I christened her with one lonely chicken and I was more than happy with the results. also got a new camera(not as good as the old one That broke) im such a cry baby.
All suggestions are welcome please. I aslo havent figured the best brick placement. She warms up evenly side to side but when I try to increase the heat above 300 thats when things get uneven.




lonely chicken(what beautiful color and skin)

 

[herkysprings]

I'm curious if the bricks do more to retain or deflect heat? Maybe that is where the uneven heat is coming from?

 

[williamzanzinger]

well, In a way I counted on some deflection, especially with the bricks in the middle. I mean if the heat is being convected toward the chimney then I imagined most of the heat would be in an upward motion long before it got to the bricks at the end. You wouldnt belive me if I told you how many times I rearanged those stupid bricks. Im sure ill move em around some more. Tommorow I intend to do my first full load with chicken thighs, spares and a chuckie in that order left to right on the grill. We will see then.

 

[richoso1]

Congrats on your determination to get that smoker up to top performance. I see you're gaining ground just by the Q View. Points for your determination.

 

[williamzanzinger]

yeam There are things I need to to to make the heat retention way better just for the sake of fuel consumption BUT I feel like I got pretty good control of the heat for the most part. I just finished my charcoal basket with help of the posts on here, made with the pre fab sheet of expanded metal. Im off and running

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