Just bought my first trailer pit - no dampers?

[edgerider11]

Hello All. Thanks for the add. I just purchases my first charcoal pig cooker and I noticed it doesn't have any dampers on the lid. It has 6 holes on the lower portion for air going in but no dampers/stacks out the top or out the back. I've never seen any charcoal cooker that doesn't have top dampers to control smoke/temp. Is this something that is common on these big cookers? Appreciate all the help.

 

[02ebz06]

Got me, never seen one, but welcome to the forum from New Mexico.

 

[edgerider11]

Got me, never seen one, but welcome to the forum from New Mexico.

Thanks! I didn't even notice that when I picked it up. It's been used this way and smells amazing when you open it up so it must still work ok. I just wonder if it will choke out the charcoal. I mean only one way to find out!

 

[JLeonard]

Throw some charcoal to it and see what happens.

Jim

 

[edgerider11]

Throw some charcoal to it and see what happens.

Jim

That's exactly my plan!

 

[fxsales1959]

Got me, never seen one, but welcome to the forum from New Mexico.

interesting looking rig. assume charcoal/wood goes in he bottom some how. daylight pics would be better.
Can't see any way for airflow or temp control. never seen something like that. Welcome from S Florida

 

[edgerider11]

interesting looking rig. assume charcoal/wood goes in he bottom some how. daylight pics would be better.
Can't see any way for airflow or temp control. never seen something like that. Welcome from S Florida

I'll get better pics tonight.

 

[mike243]

Welcome to the site, it probably cooks like the Mexican microwave, I would add a fire box a vent and a defector plate, good luck and try it as is before you start changing things

 

[Jonok]

Chicken wire wrap your pig so you can turn it without leaving big chunks on the grate each time….

 

[Gonna Smoke]

I have cooked or been involved with cooking whole and half hogs on a similar cooker, but other cuts should work the same. It is homemade from a fuel oil drum and has a door on one end at the bottom. We burn wood in a separate 55 gallon drum that has an opening at the bottom big enough to put a shovel through and a rebar grate just above that opening. As the wood burns and the coals fall through the grate, we shovel those into the cooker through the door spreading them all around. There is no exhaust or other dampers on the cooker. As the temp on the cooker cools, we will scatter one or 2 more shovels of coals around. It cooks like an oven except wood coals are the heat source. The only thing in the lid is 2 temp probes, but I have thought that the next time we cook on it, I'm using my digital probes.

Looking at yours, it appears to have 2 doors on the front that are for loading in more coals or charcoal.

As previously said, for whole or half hogs, wrap in chicken wire to make them easier to flip...

 

[edgerider11]

I have cooked or been involved with cooking whole and half hogs on a similar cooker, but other cuts should work the same. It is homemade from a fuel oil drum and has a door on one end at the bottom. We burn wood in a separate 55 gallon drum that has an opening at the bottom big enough to put a shovel through and a rebar grate just above that opening. As the wood burns and the coals fall through the grate, we shovel those into the cooker through the door spreading them all around. There is no exhaust or other dampers on the cooker. As the temp on the cooker cools, we will scatter one or 2 more shovels of coals around. It cooks like an oven except wood coals are the heat source. The only thing in the lid is 2 temp probes, but I have thought that the next time we cook on it, I'm using my digital probes.

Looking at yours, it appears to have 2 doors on the front that are for loading in more coals or charcoal.

As previously said, for whole or half hogs, wrap in chicken wire to make them easier to flip...

I was going to take more pics last night but it was dark. Yes, it does have the two doors in the front for adding coals/charcoal. I think was used as mostly a rotisserie as it has the brackets and has the grate for coals/charcoal only on the front half of the cooker. With that type of setup, if I left it as is, you could use it for indirect cooking rather than the entire base. I'll get more pics today and post them so you can see what I'm talking about.

 

[edgerider11]

Here are some better pics. You can see how you load through the doors in the front for the basket. Might make a bigger basket instead of just the one side but indirect is nice too. We'll see once I cook on it. There is a pencil size hole on the top of the lid so maybe that's enough??

 

[JeffShoaf]

I would guess that hole in the lid is for a thermometer. I see the small doors are appropriately located to provide the most heat at the hams and shoulders since they take the longest to cook.