Converting Charcoal ECB to Propane?

[mrwizardgi]

So I was thinking...

I have a Masterbuilt 7 in 1 smoker/charcoal/propane/fryer set up that someone gave to me. I was looking to buy a turkey fryer pot for it, but found that most of them were $40-$50 on-line. I was in Wally-World the other day and found a complete King Kooker Turkey fryer set up (base/pots/etc) on clearance marked down from $80 to $20. I picked it up because the pot alone was worth it for what I want to do. I got to thinking...Could a person take something like a charcoal ECB, cut a hole in the bottom (if there isn't one there already), and then use the stand from the King Kooker to make another 7 in 1 style cooker? I saw a brand new in box ECB charcoal grill online for $25. Seeing how a Masterbuilt is like $100-$150 it might be a cheap way to do it. Thoughts? Ideas?

J-

 

[biggiesize]

My dad set his ecb on blocks and slid his fryer under it.total mod time. 2 minutes. he said he was tired of fooling with the coals.He smokes more often now

 

[mrwizardgi]

Thanks for sharing that with me. I just didn't know if the ECB would be able to a) fit on the stand and b) hold up against the direct heat. I may have to look into this further!

J-

 

[walking dude]

you can also do summin like this

http://gassmoker.com/v-burner.htm

 

[mrwizardgi]

That's pretty cool as well, Dude. I have lots of things to think about now! Thanks!

J-

 

[richtee]

I had to do this same thing for smoking in below zero weather till I got my thermal wrap for my WSM. Din't work great..hard to keep a low enough flame to smoke and yet not have it blown out. I use the cooker to light my charcoal basket... and pre-burn my wood chunks..as well as fry turkeys and boil corn/potatoes etc.

 

[mrwizardgi]

I wondered about being able to keep a low enough temp. As I started looking around I see the King Kooker element is rated at 54,000 b.t.u.s. That seems like it would be a lot of heat. Obviously you could play around with the gas flow and the air/gas mixture, but that's just me thinking aloud. Better to get some experienced input than buy something just to find it isn't going to work...especially when time is a valuable commodity these days!

Thanks again Richtee.

J-

 

[funkadelic73]

I have an Afterburner, and I love it. When I'm smoking large amounts of food for my huge family, it lessens the chance of temperature spikes. Might not be "traditional," but the food is good!

 

[greazy]

I've tried and failed to use a turkey/fish fryer burner under an ECB. These are high pressure burners and I couldn't get them to reliably hold a low enough flame for the temps I wanted. A low pressure burner and regulator would doubtless work, but would cost enough that you might as well go ahead and buy the rig you want. I am, however, waiting until I find a practically unused side burner from a ragged-out gas grill. Keep experimenting and keep us informed of your findings.

 

[mrwizardgi]

I will for sure. I had never really looked at the ECB's until today. It looks like it would work, but as you said getting the temp low enough will be the problem. I'm going to fool around a bit though...

On a side note; I saw a chargriller duo for the first time today. HOLY CRAP! I wish they would have been around when I got my rig. This one was at Lowe's. It was $329, but it was also 25% so a savings of like $83...enough for the sfb and then some! Sweet deal!

J-

 

[mrwizardgi]

I remembered I have one of these bad boy's lying around collecting dust in my shed:

http://www.amazon.com/George-Foreman.../dp/B000063UZU

It takes 1 lb. propane canisters. I wonder if the BTU rating on that thing would be lower than that on say a turkey fryer? Anyone know how long a 1 lb cylinder would last?

In addition the diameter of the Foreman (shooting from memory only) looks to be about the same as the ECB they have at Wally World. I'd have to take some measurements, but it would be awfully close. The way the Foreman is set up (if everything fits) I could plop the ECB right on top of the bottom of the Foreman and use that burner as an easy gas mod. I bet I could use the cooking surface of the Foreman for setting wood chunks on or something too. Hmmmmm...time to get the tape measure out and do some comparing.