# HELP !! Turned Char Griller into a Reverse Flow Smoker



## new2smokn (Sep 17, 2010)

I was getting ready to finalize my chargriller mods. I bought a piece of sheet metal for the smoke damper and 1/8" steel plate 27"x16" for my tuning plates.

Sorry no pic of the damper.  what i did was, i took a plate i bought from lowes and fabricated to fit on the wall where the sfb attached with the holes and everything.  i cut out the football shape in half to decrease the amount of heat.

Then I placed the 1/8" steel plate into the smoke chamber to cut.  but, i left it in place, with 2" gap from the left side.








right side







this is when i decided to pull the exhaust to the right and to the front.







I then started a chimney of charcoal to see if this would actually work.

OMG!!! IT WORKED!!

the temps were within 5 degrees across the grate

I CANNOT wait to test it out.


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## pineywoods (Sep 17, 2010)

Cool let us know how it does when you get a smoke or two done with it


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## mballi3011 (Sep 17, 2010)

I agree it looks really cool and you did one fine job. Now let's see how it all works after a couple of smokes and don't forget the mid smoke Q-view too.


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## new2smokn (Sep 27, 2010)

Ok got a couple of smokes in.  First one was pulled pork and the second was a trip tip. 

The temp ranged from 150-180 on the gauge but the digital was around 200-220, unfortunetaly I only have one digital and its the one I use for the meat.

After the first burn I was frustrated so I increased the size to where the line is







my modified baffle.

But the readings were the same.  It felt I had to tend to the fire more often.  I had this smoker dialed in before these mods, except for the fact that I could only cook on the left side of the grill.  I would like to use the whole grill.

I used the minion method with royal oak as a fire source.  both dampers were wide open.

so the question is, should I increase the size and make the mods mentioned in these forums regarding a baffle and cutting the 1/8" plate into tuning plates or just cutting the hole to its original size and raising the plate just above the hole?


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## kcbluesnbbq (Sep 27, 2010)

Do the basics first. Seal up all air leaks. You can find them if you push a lot of smoke through it. If you see smoke coming out anywhere, you have a leak.

I would try to move your exhaust and get away from the long tube inside, it could be hurting the draft.

In my Brinkman, before the major overhaul, I had to start with a lot of lump and build more fire than I needed. I would just close the air intake a little to bring the temp down. Can take 15 minutes to see a change.

Remember that every time you open a lid, you lose a lot of heat fast. Can take up to 30 minutes to recover with these little smokers.

I found that you have to get the reverse flow plate heated up first and then the temps will hold better.

Make sure you have good airflow under and around your chacoal. You might have to make a basket that fits in the firebox.

Good luck and keep trying.


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