Masterbuilt propane smokers

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That's one thing I need to get done is make a good wind block. Cinder blocks look like a great solution to that. Would be nice to find those or regular bricks discarded from a construction project. 
 
all the Mods are Interesting to say the least, I am just Stoked that I don't have to do anything than place the Iron pan on the factory chip pan at the original hight and put a few big chunks in and get a TBS for 2 hrs and get no flare ups and the temp just sits at 225* for 15 hrs streight and still get 42hrs of a smoke out of one 20lb tank with some to kill...I'm Blessed..
 
I've wondered about that since I ran into my problem... why is it that some things work for some, but not others? When smoking at 225 my chunks would completely stop smoking. For others it works fine just sitting a skillet on top of the chip pan .
 
Markusm... ive noticed this as well as chunks stop smoking. Ive increased oxygen and then stir the chunks amd chips after awhile... works for me when chunks go out half burned...
 
That's one downside to the GS40... There's no side vents (except on the back up top), so without cutting up the smoker I don't really have any way to increase oxygen aside from opening the door. 
 
all the Mods are Interesting to say the least, I am just Stoked that I don't have to do anything than place the Iron pan on the factory chip pan at the original hight and put a few big chunks in and get a TBS for 2 hrs and get no flare ups and the temp just sits at 225* for 15 hrs streight and still get 42hrs of a smoke out of one 20lb tank with some to kill...I'm Blessed..
that is awesome that you get that.  My smoker also worked well with propane and the skillet on top of the chip pan.  But since I really like the taste you get with charcoal and wood chunks, I made the mod the way I did in order to be able to use and add charcoal easily throughout the cook. 

And the up side is that at a slow and low cook, I do not use any propane at all unless I decide in the last couple hours of cooking to use the propane instead of adding more charcoal. 

Of course, when I do add more charcoal, I use my charcoal lighting bucket to get the coals really hot first.  Then I add cold charcoal to the pan, and then put the hot coals over top of them.  I am finding that by doing that, I get a longer smoke off of the coals.  I believe it takes longer for the hot coals to burn down and ignite the cold coals under them, than it would if the hot coals were on bottom and I put cold coals on top.  I guess it has something to do with convection, indirect and direct heat, and a bunch of other thermodynamics that I have no clue about.  lol

I am trying to measure how much propane that I get per hour, but so far, I am still using the first full tank that I had filled at the local ferralgas company to ensure I received a full 20lbs.  I have a 6 hour cook, a 10 hour cook, a 6 hour cook, a 5 hour cook, and just recently, a 4 to 5 hour cook for the pork loin.  The gauge that I have on the tank has not moved off of full and it feels almost just as heavy as when I attached it.  So I am at ~ 30 to 31 hours and the tank is still full.  I have gone through 2/3 of a tall bag, waist high, bag of kingsford charcoal so far.  I did not pay for the bag of Kingsford so I cannot say how much money in propane I will save considering the mod costs (16.00 for the wok grill and 6 bucks for the propane gas gauge). 

There is another brand of charcoal that people on here recommended but I cannot remember the name.  I am going to search for it again and give that a try.  I did find out at the time that Amazon sells it and with my prime membership, shipping is free.

If I ever run out of charcoal, during a smoke, I will remove the wok grill and place the skillet with the wood chunks directly in the original chip pan and it will work just fine.  (only issue I have right now is the inability to control the flame in the wind.  My wife will not let me just throw some cinder blocks down or some bricks around it.  She has to tell me where in the yard I can place it, then, she has to go shopping with me to ensure that whatever material I use for the wind block matches, or at lease does not clash with the décor she has in place.  lol)  Once I have the ability to have micro control of the flame with in line regulator valve that I purchased, would be able to achieve TBS with only propane.  I only get TBS right now using charcoal. 

sorry if it seems I hijacked this forum in any way.  I know my mods are not my own and not by any means necessary or the only way.  There are many other ways that are better than mine, but since I do not know or have the ability to weld, it limits my options.  I also do not have much of a work area since we just moved into our house do I do not have any clamps to be able to safely drill through cast iron. 
 
It doesn't matter that the mods aren't "your own". By sharing the mods we've discovered on here we give more opportunity for others to find out about them that might not have otherwise. Also, you don't really need clamps to safely drill through cast iron... You'd be amazed at just how soft it is, and how quick and easy to drill through it is. I drilled through my cast iron skillet with a cheap cordless drill and just used a punch to mark a little dimple so the drill bit wouldn't wander. 

*Edit*

I'd also like to add, I didn't use any kind of special drill bit. Cast iron is very soft. 
 
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No Peek n

I agree with you, other than adding the cast iron skillet this is the only mod I've done.  Mine works like a champ.  The small vents located on the bottom of the smoker, I keep one completely closed and one cracked.  I have no problem maintaining a temp of 230-250°.
 
Hey ED, I agree. We are all here to join in the BBQ Smoking Habit Fix, so any tidbit someone can learn from us Experts Like Me, (BS I know), LOL, can make there first Smoke go real smooth(er) and save some pain & suffering, and cost of the vittles, not turning out like Crap after all the hard work,(been there done that) Pizza Hut still delivers at 9:00p..... And the charcoal might be Royal Oak, that is the top brand I used back in the South...and Yes Wat1000. Nice lookn Grub..
 
 
No Peek n

I agree with you, other than adding the cast iron skillet this is the only mod I've done.  Mine works like a champ.  The small vents located on the bottom of the smoker, I keep one completely closed and one cracked.  I have no problem maintaining a temp of 230-250°.
I do the same thing with my lower vents...seems to work well.  Keeps the temps down and still allows enough oxygen for the wood chunks to smolder.
 
my MB 40 XL, only has the top rear vent, any air that comes in is from the burner opening, and I pull my probe leads through the back and keep the vent opened only a 1/4 and keeps all of the smoke and heat at the top, that is where i place my grub to be smoked & cooked... stays at 225* for hours, I did a 13lb packer Brisket at 11:00p and it held at 227* ALL night long, I got up at 5:30a, and my remote still said 233* next to my bed , just tossed another chunk of Hickory on and back to Snooze..
 
Part of me wishes I'd gotten a 2 door. It sucks losing heat everytime you need to check/change wood chunks. But I also love the space in my 40". If I'd seen one I could afford that was this size AND 2 door, Id've gotten it. Although, after insulating the smoker, it heats back up pretty damn fast. 

I do agree that mine can be a pain at times when it comes to getting the temp stable in windy Oklahoma, but after a few cheap and easy mods it's not too bad at all. I came from smoking on a propane grill using foil packs and smoke boxes... so this is still an awesome upgrade for me. On my grill I had to baby sit it pretty much the entire smoke, now with my maverick 732 remote thermometer I only have to run out and adjust things here and there. And, I don't have to burn up a ton of chips to get a decent smoke flavor. 

Another good thing to remember, is even if these smokers aren't the best around... they do enable the financially challenged to obtain a decent smoker. And being someone that switched to propane grills years ago out of frustration with dealing with charcoal, sometimes having coals burn out too soon, I didn't want to have to learn regulating heat with charcoal along with learning how to properly smoke meat. 
 
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