Brinkman Smoker Test

[dino6961]

I thought I would give a update on my Brinkman electric smoker I purchased a couple of weeks ago.
I seasoned it per the instructions with a coat of vegetable oil on the inside and had no problems.

Before I went any further I ordered one of those Maverick Redi Check smoker thermometers and so today I did a kind of dry run with the smoker.I have the smoker assembled just as recomended by Brinkman but I did wrap the water tray in foil.It came with two sample chunks wood but since I don't what kind of wood it is and the smoker is made in China I don't want to smoke any food with it.

I checked to make sure the themometers were accurate using boiling water.I wrapped the two chunks of wood in foil and poked a couple of holes in them and placed them next to the heating coil,I did not soak the wood.I filled the water pan with warm tap water,placed both grills and the smoker thermometer and plugged in the smoker which is under a covered patio,the temp today is about 70 with a light wind.

It took about 10-12 minutes for the temp to reach 225.After about 30 minutes it was 268 were it has stayed steady for the last 2 + hours.After it got to the 268 mark I could smell smoke but not see any but now it beginning to smoke through the lid.

The temp seems a little high to me if I wanted to smoke some ribs but I have heard of some ways to lower the temp by using a router controler or an extenstion cord.Would adding more lava rocks raise or lower the temp.I would welcome any tips you all might have.
Thanks,Dean

 

[bigwheel]

Good job at snagging that little jewel..I love mine. They tend to cook at around 295 in nice non windy weather which is just about right for most anything. I dont try to regulate the temps because if your dialing it down it wont fire the chips. Router speed controllers cant shed the heat produced in trying to control the voltage and fry themselves shortly..unless you make some extensive mods to it to make it cooler..so I just use mine as it comes. Adding or subtracting lava rocks is not going to effect the results. I have two indispensible accessories to go with..which is a topless 55 gallon metal barrell..with handles on it where the little beast lives when not in use. It also make an excellent insulator for it when the weather really gets nasty..and I mean real nasty. Just dunk it down over the top and put a few bricks under the bottom so it take intake air. When the weather is only slighly crappy I dunk a big #2 washtub down over the top..and that helps a bunch for light rain. The little biotches are highly wind sensitive so the more it can be sheltered from the wind the better it works. If you just have mess with the heat control snag yourself one of these..which can be found on ebay for around 15 bucks and the extension cord from Harbor Freight for 5 bucks or so. Happy cooking. Holler anytime if you need any suggestions.

110 controller.jpg

• bigwheel
• Mar 9, 2014

 

[ahinsch]

sounds like some good advice!