brinkmann Square Vertical

[ryf]

I'm new to smoking, but been enjoying cooking/grilling for a long time, and after reading all the good the bad and the ugly, I decided I wanted to take a stab at smoking some meat all the way through, until now I've used a propane grill and "dressed up" a shoulder to roast it in the oven. I really like the idea of a propane smoker, mostly because I the art of charcoal is more like labor, and I've sworn it off except for when we grill at the local pavillion (yes I'm lazy), I also liked the idea of a project to play with. (i like to tinker, and figuring things out. so keeping that in mind, I bought the Home Depot $59 dollar Brinkmann with the dual doors (because I hoped the center bar would help keep the door problems to a minimum)

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/ryf_photos/smoker/front.jpg

Since I've been married I've been denied the use of my turkey fryer($60 dollars in oil to cook a $30 turkey, she wasn't biting), and I use the side burner on the grill to steam crabs and shrimp, so the burner from the fryer got an inspection and a new lease on life.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/ryf_photos/smoker/burner.jpg

this is where the hookup is now,

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/ryf_photos/smoker/hosein.jpg

to be fair when I thought of this, I looked and this person had already done it, which encouraged my attempt to save more than a few bucks.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ead.php?t=1714

if your doors don't stay closed, try bending the bottom of the tab just below the middle using pliers, this doesn't effect the way it closes, but it does give it a lip for the spring loaded handle to pull to a stop on, a picture of how I did mine

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/ryf_photos/smoker/doormod.jpg


P.S. NO, I won't be firing it up in the house, but I was up and bored early this morning so assembly happened inside so I'd have lots of light. I'm going to season it tomorrow, but unfortunately I won't be able to fire it up and cook for about 2 weeks due to my work schedule, but I'll make sure we take pics! thanks for looking!

 

[bassman]

Welcome to SMF. Let us know how the mods work out.

 

[ryf]

thanks for the hello, I seasoned it yesterday evening for about 5 hours @400 degrees, and the 15 psi regulator that came with the burner was too big it was hard to get it down to 275, I borrowed a 0-30 adjustable psi reg and its much easier to keep the temps in the 200-250 range so I'm going to have to add one of those to my smoker permanently.

I have to say, the conversion was so easy, I'd say anyone could handle it.

I used a 10" cast Iron skillet for my chips pan, and drilled 3 holes in the bottom, using 1/4X6" carriage bolts I made legs for it to stand on hovering about 1" above the burner. before i smoke with it, I'm going to run the pan and bolts through an electrolysis machine to get the rust and old carbon off the pan and replace the bolts with the appropriate length bolt in Stainless, in this application its a 4" bolt. I bought 6" so I could test and see, but stainless are so expensive I didnt want to buy stainless and then have them burned and have to take them back. so $1 for test bolts seemed easier!

 

[cinnamonkc]

lol...I was a little concerned about the wood floor under the smoker!!

 

[luv2camp35]

Great looking mod RYF!!!

I know since I converted mine over to propane I have not looked back. I keep thinking about "going native" again but the simplicity of hitting the gas just keeps me away.

I do mix a couple of briquets in with my wood chunks to give me the illusion of being a purist.

 

[ryf]

I would love to have seen yours, you should add the word propane to your signature so it shows up on yahoo/google searches. how many people have done the conversion on here? I wanted to mount mine to a hand truck (the cart conversion type) but I want to get it working nicely before throwing another $30 to unnecessary parts, I've ordered a 0-30 psi regulator since trying one gave me alot more control with the needle valve I have already. Since mine is a fryer burner I've been thinking about the Sentry thermostat device. on searches people have used it with success as long as it is a high pressure/fryer burner.

One thing I noticed in m searches was that my burner type recommended a max 10psi regulator, it came from the store with 15 psi, which would explain why I never opened the needle valve more than a 1/4 turn.

does anyones gas smoker use lava rocks in the cook pan? would this lower temps or raise them? I thought about it as it was recommended by a friend when during initial burn in the temps ran high (solved by using his adjustable PSI reg) his electric smoker has lava rocks, and my Old propane grill had them as well, so just wonderin.

 

[luv2camp35]

I suggest keeping an eye out for someone throwing away a gas grill. Since it is getting close to the "end of the season" for the sane people (you know...the folks that don't grill or smoke when temps drop below 70) you will probably see some being thrown away.

If you find one you can do what I did. This is almost as good as changing over to propane. No more folding table to put my supplies on or getting on hands and knees to feed the chunks/spritz the meat.

I can also quickly get it under cover in case of rain.

I still use water during my smokes. I keep a constant 235 to 250 with water in the pan. Without water it will hit 300+ at lowest setting. I do not use it for the extra moisture that some say it will give the meat...only for temp control. I am not an expert by any means but would think that lava rocks would cause a heat rise. The water will absorb the heat and turn it to steam.

 

[ryf]

I considered ditching the high pressure fryer burner, and switching to a low pressure system, the payoff would be I could make a new stand for my brinkmann grill, that would also hold a legless smoker, thus the two things I will use regularly could share a propane tank. I can't just plop it on the current stand as the wheels and the side tables are not supported properly, but considering I built a mini buggy(or REALLY big go cart) last year, a simple stand shouldn't be too complex. those are my thoughts if this thing turns infectious on me... I love my grill but the bottom is painted steel and the top half is stainless, and the red brown monsters nibbling on the parts not covered by the grill cover.. so it wouldn't bother me to update that either.

but then what will I cover it with??

 

[luv2camp35]

I can tell you now....start building!!!! If you stick around here long enough to truly learn how to cook low'n'slow...this will infect you worse than you can imagine. But that is not a bad thing.

 

[ryf]

I wanted to add for Luv2Camp or anyone else with a BSV, I found a decent set of 13.5x13.5 grates if you want to add an extra one to yours, they are only $2.50. shipping for 3 of those and a 2 pizza screens was only $7.50, so you know 1 would be under $10. they are a fine wire mesh, but they seem strong enough, I'll use them a few times and keep you informed of how its turned out, but it should at least be fine as a place for ribs and fatties. because I've converted (as luv2camp has as well) I have an extra set of shelf hooks, but you could easily add a piece of angle iron to each side with nuts and bolts.

description- Fryer Screen, 13-1/2" x 13-1/2", fits Imperial & DCS models IFS-40, American Range model AF-45 & Pitco model 35C & 45C.
Manufacturer: Update International
http://www.katom.com/370-FS1313.html

PS, I don't work for Katom, nor do i have interest in their business, but have ordered from them twice before and found them to be quick and painless to work with, but I am sure the grate can be found elsewhere now that you have the model numbers and manufacturer the part is for and the manufacturer its made by. thnx.

 

[ryf]

I added a shelf to the top of my Brinkmann Square Vert, that way I don't need an extra set of hands or another table to move around.. its a cheap cutting board, held on by 10-24x2" (used 4) stainless steel taper head bolts... I added it so I could put my wireless thermometer base somewhere thats not at cooking temp.. thnx for looking.
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/ryf_photos/smoker/Dsc001642Small.jpg

Plus a little Q-view of some ribs I'm doing today
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/ryf_photos/smoker/DSC00165Small.jpg