New Brinkmann Trailmaster Vertical Smoker

[thickmeat]

Thanks Campsmoke.  I'll do it just like that then.  Cold weather won't be a problem.  I live in South Florida.  We've hit 80 degrees every day for the last two weeks.  i'm sure many on here are cursing me out as they read this.

 

[carl smith]

The cover is IN STOCK on Home Depots website as of 3/28/14. Ordered mine today.

Would you have a number on that?  Can't find it online.

 

[gavin16]

 
Would you have a number on that?  Can't find it online.

Model # 812-6303-S

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Brinkmann-Premium-Vertical-Smoker-Cover-812-6303-S/204704307

It appears they are currently out of stock online though.  

 

[carl smith]

Thanks Gavin, I put that on watch.

I bought the trailmaster vert last week and read this whole thread and many others before assembly.  I did the mods along the way.

I got some Rutland black high heat RTV to keep the cosmetic appearance up and a roll of Grey Lavalock.  I let everything cure before seasoning and am about an hour into the initial burn now.  I seem to have it sealed up pretty well.  

The good thing about smoking in AZ is that if you just put your black box out in the sun, you will have a head start.  The gauge is over 100 on an 80 degree day and the coals are not ever lit!  

fire in the hole.jpg

• carl smith
• Apr 3, 2015

You will see that I inverted the door handle.  Just seems to work better that way.  Also built a 10x12 charcoal basket.

 

[clint24]

I am having trouble regulating my Temps on this unit. I've sealed it up and use a charcoal basket. Could someone be kind enough to walk me through a 250 degree cook from the beginning? How much lump coal to start with, when to add the wood chunks, vent positions, when to add more fuel, etc? I'm used to my old traeger but am wanting a little more smoke flavor so I bought this unit but may be in over my head...ha. Thanks in advance. Gonna try some ribs tomorrow so we will see how it goes.

 

[trickyputt]

I am having trouble regulating my Temps on this unit. I've sealed it up and use a charcoal basket. Could someone be kind enough to walk me through a 250 degree cook from the beginning? How much lump coal to start with, when to add the wood chunks, vent positions, when to add more fuel, etc? I'm used to my old traeger but am wanting a little more smoke flavor so I bought this unit but may be in over my head...ha. Thanks in advance. Gonna try some ribs tomorrow so we will see how it goes.

Did you seal it with stove sealant or just the door seals are you running the firebox as it came from the store? Oxygen makes it run hot of course and the split around the firebox, and the plenum alone can run it warm. Rather than ask, why dont you tell exactly what you did, have done, and are doing so that someone might understand better how to help you without being a mind reader. A foolproof slab of ribs right now on an unsealed smoker would be wrapped in airtight foil with your spices, cooked for at least an hour and then opened and smoked to the finish which means until you like the bark and water content/dryness of the meat. You can use the stove at 325 since the foiled meat wont know the difference while you break down the collagen. Are you trying to cook the ribs A-Z without foil or are you thinking the 1-2-3 method?

 

[lionel47]

I am having trouble regulating my Temps on this unit. I've sealed it up and use a charcoal basket. Could someone be kind enough to walk me through a 250 degree cook from the beginning? How much lump coal to start with, when to add the wood chunks, vent positions, when to add more fuel, etc? I'm used to my old traeger but am wanting a little more smoke flavor so I bought this unit but may be in over my head...ha. Thanks in advance. Gonna try some ribs tomorrow so we will see how it goes.

It took me over a year before I tried the minion method of arranging the coals and wood in mine. I will not go back. Doing this allows me to set it and forget it. Since I work from home, I have been able to do an all day butt and, more recently, smoked some salmon during business hours. The only modification I made was to buy a little grate to keep the coals and wood about 3 or four inches from the vent opening in the firebox. Oh, and I use a quart paint can in the center and just pour the coals around it and then set wood chunks on top. Then I fill a chimney of briquettes, wait for it to get white and then dump it in the middle.

I won't go back. Here are pictures of it unlit and then lit.In the picture, I am using apple wood and competition briquettes.

BBQ.jpg

• lionel47
• Apr 23, 2015

minion_lit.jpg

• lionel47
• Apr 23, 2015

minion_unlit.jpg

• lionel47
• Apr 23, 2015

 

[clint24]

Thanks lionel. That helps a lot. I have mine sealed with rtv and nomex tape really well so it's pretty efficient. I just have trouble keeping it at the same temperature without major flare ups. How do you have your vents positioned?

 

[clint24]

Will that setup usually last you 4 hours before you have to add more coals?

 

[lionel47]

Thanks lionel. That helps a lot. I have mine sealed with rtv and nomex tape really well so it's pretty efficient. I just have trouble keeping it at the same temperature without major flare ups. How do you have your vents positioned?

It depends on what temperature I want. For the salmon, I wanted to keep it low (around 160F) so I had the firebox vent completely closed and the chimney vent just barely open (less than a quarter inch). Even then, I was only able to keep it at 180F. But the salmon turned out great.

I did a bunch of chicken quarters and was targeting 325F. For that, I fooled around with the vents until I got it to that temperature and let it run. The chunks flare up once in a while but, in my experience, it comes back to around my target temperature. In fact, at one point, I ran out to make sure I didn't get too far away for my wireless thermometer to pick it up. I was at 328F for about 2 hours.

YMMV but this works for me. It is the least demanding way I have found to cook with this smoker.

 

[lionel47]

Will that setup usually last you 4 hours before you have to add more coals?

Yes...when I did a butt, I only had to add more coals only once for an 8 hour smoke. Very efficient.

 

[gavin16]

This is some great information, thanks guys for posting!  I'm still learning to control the fire and temps of my smoker.  I have the box sealed, but not the smoker side yet.  I also do not have a charcoal basket.  I did notice a rather large temperature difference between my racks.  After pulling my brisket out during a cook over Easter (I had it near the top of the chamber), the meat probe fell to about the middle... where it read 250ish... Struggled all day to get the topside of it over 210.  No more using the top racks for me unless I fill it up.  

About how much charcoal do you guys use to start off, and use on a regular cook?? The brisket I did over Easter went through the entire bag of kingsford, adding more coals every couple hours.. also went through a full bag of wood chunks I bought from Wal-Mart.

I may end up using the big smoker this weekend to do some ribs.. 

 

[lionel47]

Like everything else, you have to use your judgement. I always set my grill thermometer on the center rack and position things accordingly. For example, I always cook ribs on the top rack (or two if I am doing a lot) because I find that the cooler temperatures work fine with the 3-2-1 method. Putting ribs on the bottom rack is a no no (trust me, I did it). The butts always go on the center rack as do briskets. The bottom two racks are for sausages and chicken. Also, my son loves smoked okra and mac & cheese. I always do those on the bottom racks as well.

Basically, you have to be strategic about it.

 

[clint24]

Will a Pitmaster IQ110 work on this smoker? The fan is only 5-15cfm and bbq guru said it's not big enough. Not sure if they just want me to spend more money on a Digiq or what?

 

[brick]

Does anyone know the correct size of the charcoal box? I'll be having one made but sure don't want it to cover the whole box.

 

[joe black]

Yokeuo XXL Baskets has standard sizes for most brands of cookers, but if that size is not what you want you can give him your dimensions and he will make you what you need. They are a very good quality product , a little high but for a good cause.

 

[brick]

Thanks Gavin, I put that on watch.

I bought the trailmaster vert last week and read this whole thread and many others before assembly.  I did the mods along the way.

I got some Rutland black high heat RTV to keep the cosmetic appearance up and a roll of Grey Lavalock.  I let everything cure before seasoning and am about an hour into the initial burn now.  I seem to have it sealed up pretty well.  

The good thing about smoking in AZ is that if you just put your black box out in the sun, you will have a head start.  The gauge is over 100 on an 80 degree day and the coals are not ever lit!  

fire in the hole.jpg

• carl smith
• Apr 3, 2015

You will see that I inverted the door handle.  Just seems to work better that way.  Also built a 10x12 charcoal basket.

How tall is that basket?

 

[carl smith]

How tall is that basket?

Right at 7".  It was made from the square sheet they stock at home depot and I left the sides higher to hold more, and also so i did not have to cut any off.   Bigger might be better for long smokes, but if you got much bigger you would not be able to remove it through the door.  As is, this one you can snake in empty and out with ash.  I fill it in place.

I intended that it would fit through the firebox lid sideways, but it ended up having an OD that is slightly too large for that ( because my crude bends are radius and not 90 degrees).  So I have to insert the narrow end in first and go back and to the side.  Using this technique, I think I could make it about 1 to 1.5 inches longer and it could still be removed. Also, the 10 x 12 was the ID of the basket when I made the bends.  The Outside dimensions ended up at 11 x 12 3/8.

 

[clint24]

So I have sealed my smoker with a gasket kit and RTV sealant so that there is only smoke coming out of the stack. I built a charcoal basket for the fire box to help keep room for air to flow through the fire box. I put lump charcoal in the basket this morning leaving a hole in the middle for the hot coals I dumped in from my chimney. My fire box vent was wide open and so was my stack. The temp got up to about 260 where I wanted it and I threw some wood chunks on to start the smoke. Then the temperature began to drop....only 2 hrs after I started. There was plenty of charcoal in the basket still but it wasn't staying lit. I ended up having to set up a box fan about 2 feet from the fire box to keep my temp up between 250-275. Has anyone else had this problem or is there something I'm doing wrong? My basket is small enough so that I have about 5" of space between it and the vent and 5" between it and the crossover to the CC.

 

[lionel47]

 
So I have sealed my smoker with a gasket kit and RTV sealant so that there is only smoke coming out of the stack. I built a charcoal basket for the fire box to help keep room for air to flow through the fire box. I put lump charcoal in the basket this morning leaving a hole in the middle for the hot coals I dumped in from my chimney. My fire box vent was wide open and so was my stack. The temp got up to about 260 where I wanted it and I threw some wood chunks on to start the smoke. Then the temperature began to drop....only 2 hrs after I started. There was plenty of charcoal in the basket still but it wasn't staying lit. I ended up having to set up a box fan about 2 feet from the fire box to keep my temp up between 250-275. Has anyone else had this problem or is there something I'm doing wrong? My basket is small enough so that I have about 5" of space between it and the vent and 5" between it and the crossover to the CC.

I would remove the gap between the basket and the intake into the vertical chamber. My guess is that a lot of your heat is being caught in the 5" space before it and that's why you need a fan to puish it through.

My second suggestion would be to do the charcoal circle but to either mix the wood chunks in or to lay them on top. You don't want to get up to temp and then throw the chunks on. You want to have the chunks incorporated into the whole thing so that they contribute in both temperature and smoke. If you really like the smoke flavor, you can always throw more wood on later as the temperature diminishes.

I have not experienced any trouble with keeping the heat up. Of course, 90% of my smoking is at 225F. I have done whole chickens at 325F but never had an issue with keeping it up there. Guess I've been lucky?