New Brinkmann Trailmaster Vertical Smoker

[robplumm]

Well...the black residue was definitely from needing to be cleaned. Pressure washed and then rubbed inside down with paper towels. Tons of little flakes and dust. Note to self: Scrape out inside of smoker more often.

Butt today came out well. Rub was just white sugar, salt, pepper, thyme, garlic, mustard powder. Usually more brown sugar heavy...:) (I grew up in AL....)

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• robplumm
• Jul 18, 2015

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• robplumm
• Jul 18, 2015

 

[gotsmoke80]

IF you change from white sugar to sugar in the raw or turbano or whatever its actually called , it wont be as black since sugar in the raw doesn't burn or melt until 350 where white sugar begins to burn at around 250.

All in all looks good to me add some finishing sauce ( I personally cook mine on a small pan and use a combo of the juices apple juice and my rub )

 

[hooter186]

Hey guys. New to forum. Read and followed WaywardSwede's modifications about a year ago. Just added a smoke stack on the side last week, so I thought I would post. Getting more smoke flavor in my meat and much easier to control the temp.

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• hooter186
• Jul 29, 2015

 

[thinmattsbbq]

Hey guys. New to forum. Read and followed WaywardSwede's modifications about a year ago. Just added a smoke stack on the side last week, so I thought I would post. Getting more smoke flavor in my meat and much easier to control the temp.

image.jpg

• hooter186
• Jul 29, 2015

I always thought this would be a great idea. Did you seal off the original stack? Or do you just close it? I would think this would help the temp normalize more across the chamber. Did you weld or use nut and bolt? I suspect it may be comming out the water access door. Be careful if that is galvanized pipe. At high temps it puts off nasty stuff. I am not sure if that is a big deal on the exhaust, as long as too much is not hanging out into the CC. Looks good.

 

[rob sicc]

@Hooter186, where did you get the smoke stack or did you build from scratch?

 

[hooter186]

Thin/Rob,
Bought water heater pipe from lowes. Drilled 3" hole, mounted with pipe straps, cut of flush inside smoker and sealed with RTV. Inside of double wall pipe is aluminum. Outside is galvanized which I painted with grill paint. No leaks as I put gasket everywhere. I did not seal off the original vent, but I keep it closed unless I need to raise the temp quickly.

 

[hooter186]

By the way, thanks Swede. Great step by step. Great thread.

 

[moec]

Has the Vertical Trailmaster been altered?

I just ordered mine today from HD (can't wait!) and was looking at the gasket sets and door clamps that are available.

However, I just noticed that the photos on HD site show three (3) door latches. (See photos)

This is a long thread, but I didn't see mention of the new latches. Does anybody have a smoker with the latches? How do they work.

Up until recently I was a $99 offset horizontal Charbroil guy, so this is a big step up for me (based on Sq. In. of cook space, not price).

Brink1.jpg

• moec
• Sep 5, 2015

Brink2.jpg

• moec
• Sep 5, 2015

 

[thinmattsbbq]

Has the Vertical Trailmaster been altered?
I just ordered mine today from HD (can't wait!) and was looking at the gasket sets and door clamps that are available.
However, I just noticed that the photos on HD site show three (3) door latches. (See photos)

This is a long thread, but I didn't see mention of the new latches. Does anybody have a smoker with the latches? How do they work.
Up until recently I was a $99 offset horizontal Charbroil guy, so this is a big step up for me (based on Sq. In. of cook space, not price).

Brink1.jpg

• moec
• Sep 5, 2015

Brink2.jpg

• moec
• Sep 5, 2015

Yes the newer vert Trailmaster has 2 toggle latches. The handle is stationary and does not latch. You will not need the toggles.

 

[rob sicc]

Yes the newer vert Trailmaster has 2 toggle latches. The handle is stationary and does not latch. You will not need the toggles.

Is the new version built better than the older version?

 

[moec]

I will let you know how it is. Mine should be here next week.

I orders the sealing kits just in case. But I didn't need the door latches.

 

[thinmattsbbq]

The doors are a thicker guage than the ild model. It shuts nicely but you will still need the sealing kit IMO. Get some extra fiberglass to seal the top and bottom of the firebox.

 

[moec]

Well I assembled my vertical Trailmaster today and did the cure. Here is a 9/11/15 review...

Assembly:

I was missing one part. The end cap/bolt for the smoke stack damper. The spring was on the threaded rod, but the end cap was not to be found. Not a big deal though.

I assembled the unit by myself in under 2 hours.  A 10mm wrench comes in handy.

It appeared solid with a nice fit for the doors. Somebody said the doors are thicker than past models, but I don't know what past models had.

Cure:

I did the cure and had a lot of trouble getting up to 250* The charcoal/wood combination wasn't doing it.

Experience told me that the chamber felt hotter than what the door thermometer was reading. I popped in a digital probe thermometer and sure enough, there was about a 45* difference.

Once I had an accurate reading I was able to get to 250* no problem. When it came time to get hot, I got it to 450* with no problem. 

Leaks, leaks, leaks.  I made the fire very smokey and unit was puffing smoke everywhere, even the grease hole.

All of the leaks are inexpensively correctable and I anticipated them, having read the boards and reviews.

I ordered a gasket kit and sealer (from an after-market company) when I ordered the unit. So I no I will be disassembling the unit soon. 

As mentioned a couple comments back, the new models come with 2 door latches. They are adjustable so they can torque down nicely.

Overall: I'm pleased with the finished product. I expected the leaks when I ordered the smoker.

 

[rob sicc]

 
Well I assembled my vertical Trailmaster today and did the cure. Here is a 9/11/15 review...

Assembly:

I was missing one part. The end cap/bolt for the smoke stack damper. The spring was on the threaded rod, but the end cap was not to be found. Not a big deal though.

I assembled the unit by myself in under 2 hours.  A 10mm wrench comes in handy.

It appeared solid with a nice fit for the doors. Somebody said the doors are thicker than past models, but I don't know what past models had.

Cure:

I did the cure and had a lot of trouble getting up to 250* The charcoal/wood combination wasn't doing it.

Experience told me that the chamber felt hotter than what the door thermometer was reading. I popped in a digital probe thermometer and sure enough, there was about a 45* difference.

Once I had an accurate reading I was able to get to 250* no problem. When it came time to get hot, I got it to 450* with no problem. 

Leaks, leaks, leaks.  I made the fire very smokey and unit was puffing smoke everywhere, even the grease hole.

All of the leaks are inexpensively correctable and I anticipated them, having read the boards and reviews.

I ordered a gasket kit and sealer (from an after-market company) when I ordered the unit. So I no I will be disassembling the unit soon. 

As mentioned a couple comments back, the new models come with 2 door latches. They are adjustable so they can torque down nicely.

Overall: I'm pleased with the finished product. I expected the leaks when I ordered the smoker.

Great review.  Thanks. 

 

[mattthebutcher]

I have the Brinkmann vertical smoker, and usually use charcaol for the fuel. Do you use just plain wood, and if so, what's your method? Just building a fire in the offset box, and adding wood to it?

 

[mattthebutcher]

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• mattthebutcher
• Oct 15, 2015

I had a magnetic sign made for my smoker. I just peel it off when I'm smoking, as I'm not sure if it would hold up to the heat !

 

[gavin16]

That. Is. AWESOME!! 

Sadly I have not used my big smoker in a few months... Finally got my first job this fall and found a house.. Sadly the house smells so horrible from the person who use to live here that I can't bring myself to cook in it, let alone eat or sleep.. I am anxious to get smoking foods again. 

 

[moec]

Looks great.

I'm thought about making a stencil for mine and using high heat spray paint.

 

[gixxerfrk]

Glad I found this thread when I did. My wife had just mentioned that we might have to put a new cooker on the list for next year as my current Char-Griller horizontal is starting to reach the end of its life. As luck would have it, I was looking through the weekly Bass Pro ad and saw this smoker on clearance for $220. In addition, I get an 8% discount on BPS gift cards so my total price ended up being right at $200 + tax. I have yet to assemble it but I did open it to inspect for damage and was pleasantly surprised to find that this was a LE, didn't know there was such a thing, with the upgraded latches and heavier duty material. Hope mine works out as well as most others have. Will start assembly when I receive gasket/RTV kit. I will be building a fire box as well. Hardest decision will probably be deciding which fan/heat control kit to buy. Wasn't really prepared for the price on those. Might have to keep that a secret from the wife. Not a big fan of that but what she doesn't know won't kill her especially if she has good food on her plate. That always makes her happy.

 

[samuraijack]

Congrats!  Make sure you inspect the way the door fits over the opening of the smoke chamber before you fully assemble it.  Mine didn't look damaged, but the front of my smoke chamber had been pushed down about 3/4" - 1" and the door doesn't close properly.  The smoke chamber isn't considered a 'replaceable part' by Brinkmann so a store return is the only option if it's damaged..