# newbie questions



## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 14, 2017)

Mods are all done (although I think the holes in my 2 lid vents might be small)- a few questions to start with...

1-what is a good 'first smoke'? Just want to learn fire control, etc...but possibly still be able to eat the food I cook, lol

2-Once i've nailed down temps, brisket is going to be my first one...I was curious what temp you all cook at? I've seen ECBs on here at 230, then some say regardless of smoker type to cook at 250?

2a- about how long does it take to do a brisket on the ol ecb? (i know thats a loaded question, I just wanted to get a range)

3- regarding charcoal and wood: how much to use? 

I did comb 5 pages of threads and didn't see the answers to these....trying not to wear people out hahaha


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

Hey cool.. you had posted mod pics?


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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 14, 2017)

Rings R Us said:


> Hey cool.. you had posted mod pics?


No I hadn't posted pics of mine...I can when I get back home (im on vacay now) though.

Just bored and trying to learn while im at the inlaws so when i get back I can start smoking some meat =)


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

Well if your bottom is sealed up I can help. If your mods are as modified as my mods [emoji]128512[/emoji][emoji]127866[/emoji]


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

This is my ECB button up job.













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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

The leg holes have RTV stuck on pennies covering them.  Lol












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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 14, 2017)

No rope ring for me, and my charcoal bowl is drilled-- 5 holes on opposing sides, then 2 holes on the other opposing sides. Also used bolts to raise my charcoal bowl up off the bottom, along with the 10.5" grate, raised by 2 metal tubes.

I have it all resting on the original (silver) charcoal pan- since that has holes in it already (saw the idea on here somewhere....), then have 2 concrete blocks for it to rest on, so I can lift off if i need to tend fire.

Hope that made sense without pics lol


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

I used this sealant for the rope and stuff.












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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

Oh.. you have different model than me?


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

My pan for charcoal Sat or the rim rested on the legs inside the smoker.. it's black.. not silver. 













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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

I don't use the water pan actually.. My charcoal pan is my new water pan. It's bigger and holds my brick nice.. 













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Covered in foil.. under top rack


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

Brick works good.. it's like 12 lbs













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## thinblueduke (Jul 14, 2017)

LVjayhawk15 said:


> Mods are all done (although I think the holes in my 2 lid vents might be small)- a few questions to start with...
> 
> 1-what is a good 'first smoke'? Just want to learn fire control, etc...but possibly still be able to eat the food I cook, lol
> 
> ...


Maybe try a pork loin for a first smoke? They only take 2.5-3 hours, as opposed to a longer pork shoulder smoke. I've never done a brisket.

I always shoot for 225. With charcoal, you're going to get some fluctuation, so maybe try to keep it in the 220-250 range for your first few smokes.

When I used charcoal, I always used lump. It creates much less ash than briquettes. But it's hard to measure, because it comes in uneven sizes, so you just have to eyeball it. The upside of that is that if you need a little more heat, you can add a few little pieces, and if you need a lot more heat, you can add some big lumps.

I usually use wood chunks the size of a tennis ball, one at a time. When the first one gets down to golf-ball size, I add another.


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

My ECB @  225 for ,4 hours... to internal temp 150. Pork stuffed loin.  













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   5 lbs. Last Sunday 












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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 14, 2017)

Yeah, I have the gourmet edition, so the pans are slightly different....but i just found what seems to be a 'happy medium' from everything i've seen.

Thanks for the smoking tips, ill start with a pork loin to see how it goes- as always, thank you all!!


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

Take pork off at 145 and rest it is ok..  you can just do a simple brine for a day and just simple rub too..













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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

My brine was just salt,pepper corns, thyme, bay leaf and garlic. 













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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

Oh.. dark brown sugar too.. got to at least have salt and sugar with brine.. and water..lol


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

You have an electric grand gourmet?


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

Like so?













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## Rings Я Us (Jul 14, 2017)

Oh, you have the charcoal gourmet.. Like so..













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## thinblueduke (Jul 14, 2017)

I do a 24-hour dry brine (just a salt & pepper rub) then add a secondary rub an hour or two before it goes on. 

I've had success with pulling it at 135 then letting it rest for 20 minutes.


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 16, 2017)

Some people don't like it pink inside .  I do my pork tenderloins to 130/135 but the loins I go 145/150.

I stuff the pork loins often. I need to be sure all that stuffing is cooked to temp. Don't want Luke warm pork juice in there somewhere.


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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 17, 2017)

Rings R Us said:


> Oh, you have the charcoal gourmet.. Like so..
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yep, this would be mine =)


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 17, 2017)

So did you make a bunch of holes in that pan? Raise it up? Make a basket?


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 17, 2017)

And do the vents have to be on the bottom? Or will air dampers fit on the base sides?


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 17, 2017)

If I had that set up I would chuck out that coal pan and make a basket with bolts for legs to go inside the base.













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No way for ash to builds up ever.


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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 17, 2017)

I found images off google (below)...but essentially I used the silver pan as my base- and have it resting on 2 cement blocks so I can lift it off during the smoke- plus air should get through the bottom of it.

I drilled out the former water pan for my charcoal- the charcoal pan is now drilled out, and sits 5" out of the silver pan (used adjustable bolts) and has a grate inside of it to raise it off ash (similar to picture).

I slotted the bottom of the charcoal pan so the ash falls through and will never build up hopefully (not pictured). Hope that made sense Rings =)













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## Rings Я Us (Jul 17, 2017)

Ok.. cool [emoji]128077[/emoji] as long as ash doesn't block air vents under the base. Temps could run high if you don't have it all sealed up


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 17, 2017)

I crack my door open and I get hot fast. Bottom dampers don't seem to let it get to hot.. if I have them open any. I think I could use a third damper like on a WSM. The top damper I used is smaller. Probably less volume than the gap around the lid was.


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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 17, 2017)

Good stuff to know! I'll take pics when I get back and post an update when I get the pork done =)


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 17, 2017)

:grilling_smilie:


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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 27, 2017)

Well, I returned from vacay...so, here are pics of the smoker and my first smoke. 2-2.5lb pork loins (I thought it was 1 5lb log in the package, oh well).

Had a few flare ups with temps in the beginning, but ended up leaving the door open, lid partially cracked (even with no 'rope mod') and both vents open- this kept it at 215-225. I won't have an issue keeping temp up, i'll need to add more vents on top I think in order to control it better.

All in all though, good first smoke.

24hr brine, light rub on the outside 1hr before it was set on....90min later they were at 149 and 155- wrapped and set for 30min. Holy JUICINESS!! Came out awesome...next up is a brisket Sun or Mon!













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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

:points:

Worked good! Nice pork.. [emoji]128512[/emoji]


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

You should be able to control intake air on charcoal base.. and only have the vents on the lid as your exhaust.. the door and around the lid should be sealed up..those top dampers look good enough to use for exhaust. That looks like a good mod job so far.. [emoji]128077[/emoji]


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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 27, 2017)

Rings R Us said:


> You should be able to control intake air on charcoal base.. and only have the vents on the lid as your exhaust.. the door and around the lid should be sealed up..those top dampers look good enough to use for exhaust. That looks like a good mod job so far.. [emoji]128077[/emoji]


So add dampers to the charcoal base in order to keep it from running too hot, you're saying? My issue was that it was getting too hot, I even had to take the lid off twice...


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

Well I see hole in that silver pan.. You should be able to close the pan holes down to keep the temps from going high.. and even be able to snuff the coals out if you want.


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

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These rope gaskets will help so you just need the dampers on top


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

Did you drill all those holes in that silver pan?  I think that silver pan is supposed to go into another base pan that should be the same color as the ECB. And the silver pan is a charcoal pan.. I think..


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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 27, 2017)

Rings R Us said:


> Did you drill all those holes in that silver pan? I think that silver pan is supposed to go into another base pan that should be the same color as the ECB. And the silver pan is a charcoal pan.. I think..


Correct, there is another base I can set it in- Would that help with my climbing temps?


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

Yeah.. your green base is missing.. You need that to put a couple dampers on the bottom to sit all the other stuff in. Lol


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

Whenever you get time.. use a couple Weber dampers on the base when you get time.. then you can really regulate with what you got.. 













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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

You got big big air flow now .. no way to stop it. Lol


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

You can melt steel bumpers in that foundry of yours.. lol


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

My tub I put my little grill inside.. [emoji]128512[/emoji]


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

Is so many threads in here of how people put vents on those things.. I see some people made all kinds of damper contraptions to go on those base bottoms.

 You might be able to shove some foil in those pan holes and block out some of the air down there.. it should work to keep temps down. Just put a couple in..then a couple more maybe later.. etc.. You can add foil around the lid gap too for a temporary fix.


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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 27, 2017)

Ah that all makes perfect sense the more I read and think about it...I had done so much to make sure it was getting airflow (since that was the issue with the older version ECB), and I didn't stop to think that would actually just bring airflow in and no stopping.

Thanks everyone!!!!

PS- where is the best place to find those Weber dampers? Amazon? My local hardware stores and bbq places don't carry...


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

Yes.. I had to order mine by mail. 3 in a package.. I think they were from a smaller weber .. like $10 with the screws etc. I used a visa gift card.. lol


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

If you put them under you base, You will not be able to get to them easy.. unless you keep it in those bricks..


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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 27, 2017)

Rings R Us said:


> If you put them under you base, You will not be able to get to them easy.. unless you keep it in those bricks..


I was gonna keep the bricks...might as well, lol.

The bottom is the best choice then?


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

Not sure how many inches your base sides are. These are 3.5 inch and need at least that much room to install on a flat surface. If the are on a tapered angle they won't seal good


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

I used a step drill bit to make the holes. 













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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 27, 2017)

I was gonna ask if I should use a step or a hole saw... and I think I could get away with 3" for sure...3.5 might not lay flat (on the sides, the bottom wouldn't be an issue)
Gonna go to Home Depot tomorrow to see what I can make shift...

Do you think the bottom would be the best or the sides?


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

Well.. bottom is not gonna be obstructed by ash? Do bottom.. 2 vents or 3.. People that do side vents make hand made slots that a sliding damper cover can slide open and closed.. that's a bunch of work


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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 27, 2017)

Not the way mine is set up, that silver tray will catch any ash before getting to the actual base. I'll probably put 3 on the bottom then, thanks again!!!


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

Yes.. like a Weber smokey mountain.


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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 27, 2017)

Thank you mucho


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 27, 2017)

I need another damper in my base.. I have to crack the door sometimes to get more air and raise temps if it's windy. [emoji]128077[/emoji] later [emoji]127866[/emoji]


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## thinblueduke (Jul 28, 2017)

Looks good... nice color inside and out!

Is that a tenderloin there? If so, good job on maintaining the juiciness.

I drilled a dozen or so holes in the top of my ECB, and never saw a need to cover them during the cooking process. Whether you do the rope mod is up to you, but the more smoke you can draw across the top of the meat, the better.

Congrats on a fine first smoke!


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 28, 2017)

I put dampers on mine because I can get the coals to smother out faster if I want to save them.. and if it rains  I don't get water pouring inside the ECB.


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## lvjayhawk15 (Jul 29, 2017)

thinblueduke said:


> Looks good... nice color inside and out!
> 
> Is that a tenderloin there? If so, good job on maintaining the juiciness.
> 
> ...



It is a tenderloin, thank you!
Adding bottom dampers tonight, brisket going on at 6am tomorrow since I have no idea how long it'll take, lol

Wish me luck!


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 29, 2017)

Good luck! [emoji]127808[/emoji]


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## Rings Я Us (Jul 29, 2017)

Am doing Chuck roasts now.. lol 













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