First Burn Seasoning the Rig

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bbally

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Aug 24, 2007
1,099
47
Western Colorado
Last Friday I washed the beast out at Clifton Car Wash. So all the sand blasting material is out. Cleaned her good. Decided it was a good day to season her up.

therig.jpg


Something this large I don't hand wipe the oil on. I purchased a new spray tank and filled it up with vegetable oil. Pumped it up and spayed it down with oil.

I like a nice even burn with the first seasoning. So I lay in 18 pounds of charcoal and three pear logs for the first seasoning layer.

firebox.jpg


Touch her off and a way we go. The dark ring in the firebox is where I sprayed the oil in there as well as up under the heat exchanger plate since she is a reverse flow.

While most are excited about first smoke, my excitement will wait until I see if I calculated her angle of induced draft correctly and the bend on the exchanger plate right, as well as the gauge of the plate steel. And only the temperature indicaters will let me know that.

If I did the engineering correctly she should be the same temp at the smoke wrapping point as the stack end. I will accept 4 degrees difference.

damperbox.jpg


I open her firebox damper and let her breath, setting up the infrared transfer I have designed. Lets hope she is even and steady. I am also interested that my draw calculation allows hot red fire up top and nothing beneith the fire grate. A fire jump below the grate tells me I calculated the draw wrong and she needs to jump down to find air. You want to see iron grate only, lucky for me she shows no lower jump, calculation is correct on her draw consumption.

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I need to let the firebox come up to temp before investigating her temperture variation from the wrapping point to the stack end of the cooking chamber.

fixboxtemp.jpg


Climbing through 400 F she should settle in at a consumption rate that will equal 575 F when wide open and 450 when half dampered. Looking nice so far.

Now for the wrap side TI ....

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200 F on a 400 F firebox. Expected, but what of the stack side TI?

rightsideti.jpg


199.5 F I can accept the 0.5 degree difference. But I would have liked a perfect match. I know the TI units match as I put them in the oven to test they both read the same thing. The 0.5 might work out as she seasons or just may be her personality.

Finally the site we all look for in our great engineering creations.

finallysmoke.jpg


She sets up perfectly at 525 F with 3/4 draft and 3/4 damer and runs right at 275 F in the cooking chambers. She holds that for 4.5 hours on 18 pounds of charcoal and three splits of pear wood.

Not a bad first date. I look forward to taking this chick out a few times to get to know her. But for a first date is does not go much better. She got hot, she stayed hot and even, she teased with the thin blue smoke, and she showed she has the ability to deliver even warmth to me when I command it!

Follow me through her next date as we finally get to second base and play with the breasts on her!
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Now thats a nice looking smoker for sure. You did a fine job with it and looking at the Qview and your words put this smoker well on it way to great smokes. Now that it redy whats up for the new smoker???
 
I primarily built to to contest with, did quite a few cooks lately to get used to her. I can now hold within one degree of where I want it regularly. So I am looking into contests.

Interestingly I think I am going to end up sponsoring some contests. They allow pellet machines in KCBS. Which IMO is the same as them letting me use my southernpride cookers. Don't get me wrong, nice macines, but they are thermostat controlled, require no pit master skills to handle the heat. So they only measure the handling of the meat. I have been in contact with KCBS about a stick and charcoal only contest.

They are not happy as the pellet lobby is very active. But I am not interested in cooking against an electronic thermostat, I want to cook against other pit handlers.
 
looks like a good running machine!

i thought that was the whole idea.........
 
Love the fire door handles on your rig. I bet you're excited to use it! Can't wait to see your first q off that thing. Good luck!
 
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