# Char Broil vertical charcoal smoker



## bullfam (May 2, 2013)

I recently bought a Char Broil vertical charcoal smoker. It is exactly like the brinkmann 2 door el cheapo. I absolutely love it. I smoked a fatty on it last night and it was awesome. I have been trying to find mod ideas to make it better and so far the only things I have done is get a grill top wok for a coal pan and put an oven thermometer inside. 
After about a half hour the thermometers synced right up and stayed within a few degrees of each other. This was a shocker to me because normally the included door thermometer sucks. I don't think I am going to do any other mods to it other than a door seal. I am wondering what is the best way to seal the doors? With RTV, or oven door gasket, or even rope seals from a pellet stove? I am hoping to increase my time to be away so I can do other things.
My last thought for the night is, does anyone use 2 pans for coal to smoke? I don't like to put too much coal and wood in because I don't want it to shoot up in temp. I am able to get about an hour and a half out of the pan I put in. What I was thinking of doing was buying a second wok for coals and swapping trays every hour 15 minutes. So at an hour I would setup a new coal pan with the minion method and at 1 hr 15 mins dumping the hot coals in to the new pan and putting it in the smoker. My concern is the 5 minutes of heavy smoke as it starts to burn the next layer of coal and chips. Is this something I should be concerned about? It isn't super smoky just a bit but being a newbie I am not real sure if I should call it thick white or just heavier blue than normal.does anyone else use a 2 pan system like this or should I just dump fresh coal on the hot?


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## bullfam (May 2, 2013)

image.jpg



__ bullfam
__ May 2, 2013





Here is a pic of the smoker. Had to find my phone to post it.


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## themule69 (May 3, 2013)

i would say add more charcoal. after you play with it some. you will know how often and how much to add. that is part of the fun. learning what the pit likes. i see many years of great Q. remember to post pics. ask questions if you have them. everyone here wants to be a part of your smoke. you can use the search bar at the top of the page to find answers to almost anything.

happy smoken.

David


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## mrraeder (May 13, 2013)

Hey, I too have the same smoker.  I have been having an issue trying to maintain my temp over 200 degrees, the smoker will sit all day at 175-200 with both bottom vents open and the tops half open but will not get any hotter.  With that said, I think on of the main reasons is that the charcoal pan is not perforated which I feel smothers the fire once some ash is created.  Can you post a pic of what you are using to help address this issue? Also, Could the water pan since it is so close to the fire be smothering it as well?


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## bullfam (May 13, 2013)

I bought a grill wok at Walmart for about 12 bucks. I use the original pan to catch ashes on the bottom. Makes cleanup easier. 
I will go to Walmart and snap a pic of it tomorrow. Best investment ever for it. I also bought a cheapo oven thermometer to check temps and my door thermo and inside thermo are pretty close. I recommend that also.


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## bullfam (May 14, 2013)

Well the store is out of them. I went on lunch. Either way its a 12 inch square grill top wok. Maybe 3 inches deep. Black porcelain coated. 
http://mobile.walmart.com/m/phoenix...Q-Stainless-Steel-Wok-Topper-12-x-12/17164804 here is a link to the stainless one. Looks just like it but coated


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