Hey yall... new guy on here, and relatively new to smokin too. Just thought I'd drop by and say howdy. My experience with smokin began in 2009, when a neighbor gave me a tired but nice 4 burner gas grill. I repaired it (some welding and a new gas regulator) and had me a nice grill. Great, but then I had the idea of starting a wood fire in it to smoke some pork. This worked alright, not the greatest and dar from ideal... temps were all over the place (using stock thermometer!) due to the 1/4 gap near the lid hinge. I gave up.for a while but swore I'd be back to smoking. Fast forward to 2012... my dad got a lil Weber vertical smoker to play with. My ol lady wanted the same thing after tryin Dad's pulled pork. She agreed to buy us a brisket if I'd go buy a smoker. I went to walmart to get the same one Dad has, but saw a cheap offset for $89. The Char-Broil American Gourmet. Not bad, thinks me. Cheap metal but it might do for a beginner. I paid for it and took it home. Lit.the curing fire and saw why it was $89. Paint started cookin off the firebox. Oh well, I'll repaint later. Afterwards, I set off to fix the smoke leaks and learn my pit. This was before I read about Minion method, charcoal baskets, hardwood lump, etc. After I learned my lil pit, I wanted something sturdier and with a bigger firebox. I found it... a Brinkmann Trailmaster Limited Edition at Home Depot. I looked over the display model real good, and the only problem I saw was the ash pan under the firebox would draft the fire quite a bit, and the doors could have sealed better. I took one home yesterday, and it's out there curing right now. Only.problems I had with assembly were the welds on the handle. The flanges are welded on, but someone didnt grind down the weld on the flange face where it.bolts to the pit. Took care of that real quick. Now as I set here, I think what Ill need to do with this Brinkmann is install my dual thermometer setup, weld on a few things that are currently.bolted, and maybe seal up the ash tray with high temp sealant.
So... here I am. I will be on occasionally. I only have my phone for internet right now, but that may change. Good forum with great infprmation, keep it.up! I will ppst and help others as I learn my pit.and get more overall experience.
By the way, if anyone's wondering, I still have that cheap Char-Broil. That will be a grill from nlw on, so I dont have to grill in the new one :-)
So... here I am. I will be on occasionally. I only have my phone for internet right now, but that may change. Good forum with great infprmation, keep it.up! I will ppst and help others as I learn my pit.and get more overall experience.
By the way, if anyone's wondering, I still have that cheap Char-Broil. That will be a grill from nlw on, so I dont have to grill in the new one :-)
