# My Char-Grill Mod Photos. Enjoy



## caljr (Apr 21, 2009)

Finally found the time and figured out how to post pics. Here is what I did to my Char-Grill.

I attached the unused legs from the side fire box to the charcoal grate in the main chamber. Notice the right side, I bent the legs to fit directly over the bolts that are holding the side fire box on to the main unit. This also makes the side of the baffle closest to the fire lower than the far side which will allow heat to rise and evenly distribute.




Here you can see the slight evevation from right to left


This shows the pattern I chose to drill 1/4" holes in the baffle. Fewer holes on the fire side, more on the cool side.


This is what the baffle looks like when in place. Fits flush on the fire side, just above the bolts.


I fill in the spaces that are left with foil, forcing the heat through the matrix of holes in the baffle



This shows what I used to seal the smoker better. My biggest compaint about this model is that it is not sealed well at all. I went to Ace Hardware and purchased 12' of "stove gasket" and the cement shown in the pics. I attached it to the front and sides in one continous piece on the outside. The back I attached to the inside of the top. I used a bunch of those black office alligator clips to hold it on overnight and then fired the grill really hot to set the cement. Make sure that you sand all the surfaces that the cement will touch on the smoker or it will not hold.



Here is what I did to the stack.



Added two more thermometers which I found at home depot for $7 each


I could not find a charcoal basket for a reasonable price so I went to home depot and this is what I ended up with.




And here she is in action!


And all my hard work was well worth it.


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## pinkmeat (Apr 21, 2009)

looking good!


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## billbo (Apr 21, 2009)

Nice demo with the pics!


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## caljr (Apr 21, 2009)

Its the "sizzle" that sells the steak, right!


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## craig1017 (Apr 22, 2009)

I would be leary of using plumbers tape for my charcoal basket.  I suspect that there is galvinization plating on the outside of that that could burn off and end up on your food.


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## ddave (Apr 22, 2009)

Yes, I would bet Craig is right. Lots of people use bolts (non galvanized of course) or wire to hold the charcoal basket together.

Wow, that's a lot of white smoke. If you're happy with the way the meat tastes, then roll with it. If not, you may want to try to reduce that to more of a thin stream of blue wisps.



Remember, if you can smell smoke, you're smoking. You don't necessarily have to see it.

Dave


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## caljr (Apr 22, 2009)

Good point. Maybe ill use some bailing wire to hold it together. There is alot of smoke in the pic. I was doing alot of testing of the seal to see where the leaks were and setting the cement that I used to attach the seal. I do admit I am still trying to figure out the proper settings for the damper and stack to reduce the smoke output. I am a self admitting rookie!
Thanks for the feedback


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## richoso1 (Apr 22, 2009)

Wow, you've done a great job with those mods. Congrats my friend.


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## morkdach (Apr 22, 2009)

good mod job thanks for sharing


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## bigbaldbbq (Apr 22, 2009)

Great job on the mods!!


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## ddave (Apr 22, 2009)

You'll want to leave the stack damper wide open whenever you're cooking. Use the intake damper to control the temperature.

For a clean burning fire and thin blue smoke, you want a small HOT fire versus a large smoldering one. I see some pretty good sized hunks of wood on your rack underneath the smoker. Are you burning those for heat or using charcoal for heat and the wood for smoke?

Great job on the mods by the way.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 I like your baffle design.

We were all rookies once. I am by no means an expert.  No explanation necessary. I am not judging you, just offering suggestions. If you're happy with the way you are doing it, just tell me to mind my own business and I'll leave you alone.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Dave


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## caljr (Apr 22, 2009)

I have done 2 smokes since I got the thing a few weeks ago. My first smoke I used Charcoal for the heat and chunks for the flavor. This particular time I used the wood you see on the rack for the heat and the same chunks for the flavor. I was trying to figure out which will be more consistant as far as keeping a 225 to 250 degree fire. I didnt get much bark on my first smoke with the charcoal and the wood I did. I was not having much luck with the minion method. I open for ideas. Charcoal or Wood or both?
Half of the fun is figuring this out so I enjoy the feedback


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## chisoxjim (Apr 22, 2009)

I use lump charcoal as my main fuel, and then add in a chunk of wood every 30-45 mins for flavoring.


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## ddave (Apr 22, 2009)

It is pretty difficult to burn actual wood cleanly in the smaller horizontal offsets.  The fireboxes just aren't big enough to support a hot enough fire without driving the temps up too high.  Now I know some people on here do it and I didn't say it was impossible.  I just said it was pretty difficult.

Most people with those types of smokers use lump charcoal for heat and wood chunks for smoke flavor.  What kind of charcoal were you using?

Dave


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## graybeard (Apr 22, 2009)

Hey caljr. I gotta tell you that those thermometes you bought are true POS! (pieces of $hit). They are as bad as the one that came with your grill! 50 to 80 degrees in most cases. Get you a good one and also a good meat therm so you can get your butts to 200 to 205. 
BTW, using all wood should make good bark and dang near black, which is fine. You prolly bought those gauges @ Home depot or Wally World and that's where I would take them back!!
I'M MAD AS HELL @
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 CHAR-BROIL
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 for selling such crap!~!



beard


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## caljr (Apr 22, 2009)

I used Cowboy lump charcoal that time and after going to a real Smokers BBQ store they told me that stuff was crap and made from recycled furniture and things. I bought some good lump at their store for same price as the Cowboy. We will see how it works.


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## newbiesmoker (Apr 24, 2009)

This is what i use for my grill and smoker. Anybody on here ever try it?

http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_1...word=charbroil


Let me know what you think. good or bad. Thanks, Brian


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## caljr (Apr 27, 2009)

I have learned where I live to use what I can find. Not too many options. I get my hickory chunks from Lowes. They carry a big 25 pound bag for a good price. I was trying to find a pic for you but I didnt see it on their site.


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## ddave (Apr 27, 2009)

Amen to that, brother. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





When I was first starting and using charcoal in the SnP, people were always, and I mean ALWAYS, telling me to get some RO lump. No matter how many times I posted that RO lump was not available in my area, they were still telling me that. Not all products are available everywhere.

Gotta go with what you can get and make the best of it.

By the way, I don't think Cowboy is made from "recycled" furniture but I do believe that they use unfinished scrap hickory and oak pieces from furniture manufacturing plants. As long as it's unfinished then there should be no problems. Cowboy gets a lot of bad comments from a lot of people. The fiew times I used it I thought it had a very nice aroma to it. My complaint was the size of the pieces and the short (seemed to me anyway) burn time. The pieces are so light, it's like they cook most of the mass out of it. But, like you said, if you don't have many options, you gotta go with what's available.

Dave


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## caljr (Apr 28, 2009)

My complaint with Cowboy is much of the same. Seemed to burn quickly and I hate how many small pieces there are that fall through the chimney starter. I did get Royal Oak briquettes instead of the lump for that reason. I was told that they are the same thing just formed unlike the lump. Mind you this is also from the same person that said Cowboy was from furniture. I have not smoked with them yet but look forward to trying them. Any comments on RO lump vs RO briquettes?


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## ddave (Apr 28, 2009)

I've never used RO lump so I can't compare. I have used RO briquettes and they seem to make quite a bit of ash as well and I really didn't care for the smell of them in the UDS. They may act differently in in offset where they are not lighting all the time.. I like the Kingsford Competition Briquettes much better and that is what I use in my UDS.

I can say, without a doubt, that RO briquettes ARE NOT the same as RO lump or any other lump for that matter. If someone told you that, they are, shall we say, misinformed. Lump charcoal is made by taking wood and heating this wood in a closed container in the absence of oxygen. That's why there is very little uniformity to the piece size. It is just wood chunks. Here is a link that has a lot of information about lump charcoal.

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpfaq.htm

Briquettes are a whole different ball game. They have lots of things added to them besides wood. Here is a link that describes the things added to briquettes.

http://virtualweberbullet.com/charcoal.html

Like you said, if you don't have a lot of options, you have to use what you can get. I can get the Kingsford Comp and I really like it. It doesn't have the strange smell that some briquettes have when lighting. It makes very little ash compared to the RO briquettes that I have used. It burns pretty hot, which was a bit of a drawback for me. It took some getting used to to control it in the UDS but I am used to it now and it works really well.
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Dave


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## rickw (Apr 28, 2009)

There is no way RO lump and RO bricks can be compared to one another. I have used both, while their lump burns easy, hot and with almost no ash their bricks are hard to keep lit, does not burn hot and creates a TON of ash. I still use their lump but refuse to buy their bricks again. When I get bricks I just buy regular blue bag Kingsford.

 I have also used Cowboy lump and find it no where near as bad as some do. If I had to choose between RO bricks and Cowboy lump I'd pick the Cowboy every time.


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## mcmelik (May 4, 2009)

I work part time for Hy-Vee warehouse. They carry quit a few differant types of charcoal. Lump and bricks. Most stores don't stock a wide veriety but can get it in couple of days for you all you have to do is ask. I am sure that most stores are the same. I have been using the big green egg lump lately just because we now have a dealer in town that keeps it in stock it runs about 20 bucks for a 20 pound bag.


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## pinkmeat (May 5, 2009)

To use that wood pictured correctly in this smoker you need to:

(first and foremost need to have good airflow by a raised cooking grate or charcoal basket, otherwise you will struggle to get enough air into the fire)

1) get a bed of hot coals burning (I prefer lump for this)
2) cut those splits into about 1/3 of their size (split twice more)
3) warm them until they start smoking on top of the firebox
4) add one at a time to your coals, leave the door open til it ignites
5) adjust your air intake to keep it burning

I figured the above out through trial and error. The results are great, but it will be a every 20-30 minute monitoring. If you want to burn wood splits in a chargriller it's about the best way I've found. Your smoke will be thin and blue and you will love it.

Hope that helps anybody trying this.


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## rickw (May 5, 2009)

That's pretty much what I did on my first time using wood as a fuel.  Which lead to this kind of smoke.


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## smoke freak (May 5, 2009)

Right on Pink!
I been waitin for someone to give this response. This is what I been preachin forever.

Start with a bed of coals (lump or bricks) and add small splits as needed. I also add a couple of unlit coals when I add the wood. This helps maintain a suitable bed of coals which is crucial to steady temps. A small clean burning fire will give that subtle kiss of clean smoke flavor. The extra effort is rewarded with excellence in flavor. Smoke on!


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## uncletykie (May 5, 2009)

Love the Baffle, I may try that design in my Silver Smoker


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## caljr (May 6, 2009)

Thank You. Seems to make a good distribution of heat. I hope it works for you well too!


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## smokingjhawk (Sep 30, 2010)

I am late to the table as always, since I have a char grill I would interested in seeing the photos which have been deleated..Thanks


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## alien (Sep 30, 2010)

What happened to all your pictures. I am thinking of getting a Char-Griller and am interested in the mods you did.


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