Exhaust vent too small?

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hillbilly jim

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Apr 13, 2015
330
58
Floyd, VA
I have a Masterbuilt 44 inch propane smoker. The exhaust vent in the top of the back of the cabinet consists of four 1/2" X 2, 1/2" slots. The slide is designed to block off two slots when closed, reducing the vent area by half.

The total area of the opening equates to a circle of 2,1/2" in diameter. Is that about right? Seems to me the exhaust vent should allow for more venting if desired, depending on what's being done.
 
That does seem a bit small. One of the first things I did to my Smoke Vault 24" was add a 24" high vent stack to increase draft, just sitting on top of the vent...that prevented me from doing more serious, permanent mods.

I guess one way to tell if the current configuration is adequate would be to crank the burner on high for a few minutes with a smoke going and see what things look like, including flame color on the burner. If all is well it's probably fine as is. If the flame has too much amber then the gas venturi should be opened on the burner assembly (if it has an adjustment, some don't). Also, be sure that are is clean of debris, grease, dirt, etc. If the flame changes much when you slowly open the door, that could be indicative of inadequate ventilation.

Eric
 
I decided I'm smarter than a smoker. I didn't spend 30 years in industrial HVAC for nothin'.

I bought a 6 inch double male stove pipe section and a damper and cut it into the center of the top of my smoker cabinet.



I now have just over 28 square inches of exhaust on top compared to the original 2.5 square inches on the back.

Ain't that purty?

 
NICE!!! You'll have more than adequate ventilation in most any situation now, and if deemed necessary due to swirling winds, etc, you can stack-on more pipe. I like it!!!

Eric
 
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