snp temporary mod

[drheerdt]

I've read the mods for the snp. I don't have time before I smoke it up tomorrow to mess with getting a baffle and tuning plates in the thing. But.... would I get close to the same effect if I raised the cooking box charcoal grate and ash pan to the highest level? I see that there would still be a hot spot right at the first inch where the firebox and main chamber meet, and the smoke would then come up through that gap and the front and rear of the ash pan..... Thoughts?

 

[3montes]

Raise your coal grate as best you can for sure so you have plenty of clearance so your ash dosen't build up and choke your fire. Do you have a smoker temp therm other than the one that came with it? If so do a dry run with your fire to see what kind of temps you get in your smoke chamber. You didn't say what it is you are smoking but put it as close to the exhaust end as possible. Unless you are doing poultry which needs a higher temp then closer to the firbox is better.

It's all trial and error my friend we all have and still are going through it.
Best of luck and let us know how things go.

 

[3montes]

Here is a quick and easy mod that makes alot of difference. You can do this for about 3 bucks in about 3 minutes.

 

[solaryellow]

I rarely use my SNP anymore, but unmodded I found that the temp difference from the firebox end to the chimney end was usually between 50* and 75*. That makes a huge difference. The baffle and tuning plates help but the biggest help was extending the chimney to the cooking grates as well as sealing up all the leaks in the smoke chamber. Without the baffle, it will still be hot on the firebox side but the temps will be closer from end to end with the two mods I mentioned above. If neither are an option, you should be fine to smoke with it but monitor temps closely. Btw, some aluminum foil makes a great temporary baffle.

 

[caveman]

Geez 3montes. Never thought of that one.

 

[bluemoment]

Forgive me as I am still a noobie at this, and this forum, but here is my experience....

I bought the SnP last summer, and this is my first smoker. I've read through ALOT of postings online and the biggest thing I've noticed is that the current Brinkmann SnP (I saw for 2010 seems to been bought out by CharBroil) is not like the old Brinkmann Pro SnP models. By this I mean that pics I've seen of older models did not have the charcoal grate inside the large smoke chamber, the legs were welded to the body, and the large chamber had a door versus now the top of the barrel is the lid. This being said...my opinion is that some of the mod information has to be adapted. ex: sealing the doors is not as easy now as it was before

For me I've increased the height of the charcoal grate in the firebox using cut steal L beams, then added expanded metal ontop that to makeup of the added gaps. I extend the baffle with aluminum flahsing, and added 4 clay bricks wrapped in alumunim foil along the bottom.

 

[drheerdt]

What I actually meant was the charcoal grate and ash pan for the main chamber. I was wondering if putting that at the highest level (which actually brings the ash pan up above the top of the firebox opening) would act as a temporary makeshift tuning plate. I am not going to use the main chamber charcoal assembly as a heat or smoke source. Heat will only be coming from the firebox.

 

[ddave]

Another thing you can do is put a big foil roaster pan full of water up against the firebox opening in the smoke chamber. Just set it on the charcoal tray in the smoke chamber. I used my SnP this way several times before I got the baffle and tuning plates in.

Not ideal but works pretty well at knocking the hot spot down.

Dave

 

[olewarthog]

Sorry I didn't see this yesterday. Hopefully, you go the help you needed. I had an older model SNP. I used disposable oven liners to make cheap, but pretty efficient baffles & stack mods. I would cut one liner in half. One half I rolled about a soup can to shape then stuck it in the inside stack opening. The liner would unroll & have enough tension to hold it in place. The other half piece would be placed at an angle over the SFB opening. I the placed a full line across the bottom the cooking chamber to create the baffle.