# Old Country BBQ Pits Wrangler - Mods



## damnthatsgood

First off, this is already a good pit, and I do try to live by KISS.(keep it simple, stupid)  But I also live by BOMB.(better off modified, baby)
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






There were a couple problems with it, IMHO.

First off, there isn't much shelf space, and the pitiful shelf it comes with is hardly a place you can safely put a cookie sheet without it falling off.  So.....

I decided to use the existing handle to hold my shelf.  It was already pretty stout, but I welded in a brace to the stack just to make it last over time without sagging.













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View from the top...The shelf is made from 3/16" steel.













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View from the bottom.  The simple design will hold up, and allow me to slide the shelf off if I need to access the handle to move the smoker.













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I have tons of space.  I used the milk jug for a size reference.  And that is a massive cookie sheet and a full-size plate.













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__ Sep 7, 2013






I've done three more things besides the shelf.  I'll get pics up in a minute.  Let me know what you think!


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## daveomak

Nice mod......   Dave


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## seenred

First mod look great!  Looking forward to more...

Red


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## damnthatsgood

DaveOmak said:


> Nice mod......   Dave





SeenRed said:


> First mod look great!  Looking forward to more...
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> Red


Thanks, guys.  I just put on the brisket, and monitoring initial temps.  Then I'll get pics up of the next mod.


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## damnthatsgood

Okay, everybody!  Mod #2...

The stock intake damper on my pit sucked.  After they cut it out with the plasma cutter, there was still remnants of dross on the damper, and the door.  This led to a poor seal no matter how you slice it.  Couple that with the fact that they were coupled together with a loose fitting bolt, and the results were just plain disastrous!  It was so loose, that you couldn't even get it to stay put.  I would try to dampen it, and as soon as I let go, it would "fall" to whatever spot it felt like.  Not gonna work....

On top of all that, it wouldn't even close all the way.  As you can see in these five pics.  Look at the bottom left.  The top right shows the same gap, but the angle of the pic hides it.













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I used my grinder to get rid of the excess dross, and plasma cutter to enlarge the holes on the door and damper.  As usual, I didn't have the right drill bit....

But the holes turned out perfect, and I used my Dremel to touch them up.













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View from inside the door featuring new, and much larger, bolt.













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I added a spring from the AFC housing on an injection pump.  Now the damper is held perfectly flat against the door, and under spring tension that I can adjust.  It is leaps and bounds ahead of the stock damper.  I couldn't be happier.













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I'm not done with the door just yet.  I still need to add a beefier handle to the latch and damper.  I'm probably going to redesign the latch from the ground up.  But that's for another day.

What do ya think?


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## daveomak

dtg, morning.....  looks good......  something to think about...... having the upper opening adjustable for "thru smoker heat control"......

Here's a mod skifreak did to his smoker.......      

He said it made all the difference in temp control in his smoker......













Dual Air inlets Ski Freak.jpeg



__ daveomak
__ Sep 8, 2013






Dave


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## damnthatsgood

DaveOmak said:


> dtg, morning.....  looks good......  something to think about...... having the upper opening adjustable for "thru smoker heat control"......
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I don't understand.  Does the top and bottom adjust separately?  Or are you talking about an adjustable door in between the firebox and cooker?


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## daveomak

With the addition of a plate for the top hole, the top adjust separately from the bottom hole.....   The theory is......  the bottom hole adjust the air to the fire to create heat.....  the top hole adjust air flow through the smoker .....  the top hole should be above the fire grate.....     It is like having a forced air furnace (example)....  the burner heats the furnace fire box.....  the fan circulates the heat....  It's an adjustable fan for lack of a better term.....    Dave


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## damnthatsgood

DaveOmak said:


> With the addition of a plate for the top hole, the top adjust separately from the bottom hole.....   The theory is......  the bottom hole adjust the air to the fire to create heat.....  the top hole adjust air flow through the smoker .....  the top hole should be above the fire grate.....     It is like having a forced air furnace (example)....  the burner heats the furnace fire box.....  the fan circulates the heat....  It's an adjustable fan for lack of a better term.....    Dave


Geez, I'm an idiot.  It's so obvious now.  That second door looked like it was farther back in the firebox at first glance, so I thought it was something entirely separate.  At first, it looked like the bottom and top were exactly the same.  Now, looking at it with a fresh pair of eyes, I can plainly see the second door attached to the first.

I like it.  I'll have to incorporate something like that into my smoker.

Thanks for the idea, Dave!


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## damnthatsgood

Okay ladies and gents, it's time for mod #3!

Not really much to it....it's a charcoal maze!!













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I welded angle iron on each side and slid the expanded steel in there, making sure to have the strength axis facing the right direction so i wouldn't sag.  I also threw a couple tack welds on for good measure.  Nothing that can't be grind off in a few seconds to replace it when it burns through.













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I have ample room for ash removal.













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Here it is with about fifteen coals fresh from the chimney.













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Thirty minutes later.













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Thirty minutes later.













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Thirty minutes later.













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Thirty minutes later.













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And now, I've consolidated the coals to one side, and started the snake going the other direction.













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Final thoughts--

It keeps temps very even, and uses very little fuel.  Putting wood on top of the coals like that creates a constant white smoke, and you can only achieve TBS at the end of the burn, or if you remove most of the wood.  Next time, I will put small chunks of wood every so often in the snake.  It provides excellent ash management, fuel management, and temperature control......if I can just figure out the best way to use it.


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## daveomak

Very nice coal box.....  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  ....

Dave


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## damnthatsgood

DaveOmak said:


> Very nice coal box.....
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Thanks!


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## dembones

Nice mods, cool smoker


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## damnthatsgood

Thank you!


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## damnthatsgood

Finally got around to getting some more "onboard diagnostics equipment"













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## smokinjtx

Very nice thread, and I really like the mods you have going on this smoker. I plan on getting a Wrangler pretty soon and I know there are a few things I want to do with it. First thing is I am going to order a 2 or 3 Tel-Tru thermometers to install to the left and right of the handle at grate level, and one up top where the hole is already made, to gauge the temp on the upper grate. This will be my first time doing any type of modification to a smoker. What side hole do I need to drill to make sure the thermometers seal well on the lid?

Once I get that done, I want to try to get a bigger cooking grate for the top rack. It looks like there is a lot of room to spare on the top rack. Not sure why Old Country didn't just put a bigger cooking grate up top.


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## smokinjtx

SmokinJTX said:


> Very nice thread, and I really like the mods you have going on this smoker. I plan on getting a Wrangler pretty soon and I know there are a few things I want to do with it. First thing is I am going to order a 2 or 3 Tel-Tru thermometers to install to the left and right of the handle at grate level, and one up top where the hole is already made, to gauge the temp on the upper grate. This will be my first time doing any type of modification to a smoker. What side hole do I need to drill to make sure the thermometers seal well on the lid?
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> Once I get that done, I want to try to get a bigger cooking grate for the top rack. It looks like there is a lot of room to spare on the top rack. Not sure why Old Country didn't just put a bigger cooking grate up top.


I wound up scrapping the thermometers and went with a Maverick digital unit instead. But I did get a bigger top grate made, and I have almost doubled the cooking space from the factory grate.

I do have some questions about getting a good seal on my pit though. I am losing smoke in a few places and want to have it corrected ASAP. I have been looking at getting a high heat adhesive gasket from www.bbqgaskets.com, but I do not know which gasket width would be appropriate. I am wanting to use these gaskets for the smoking chamber door and the firebox door. Does anyone have experience with these kinds of gaskets? Or could someone recommend a size? I'm just really unsure on what I would need for width and thickness.

And I also have a gap between my damper door and the bottom of the firebox. I have contacted Old Country BBQ Pits about this, but haven't heard from them in 3 days. The gap is not a consistent width either. It follows the shape of the firebox where the door meets it and gets wider towards the front of the smoker. At it's widest, it's probably close to 1/4".  I'm afraid to try to seal it with some high heat silicone sealant, because I think the firebox will get too hot and it will ruin the silicone. Any ideas on this other than following up with Old Country BBQ?


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## smokinjtx

Here is the gap from inside the firebox.













Firebox.jpg



__ smokinjtx
__ Mar 18, 2014


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## smokinjtx

Bump.


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## daveomak

JTX, morning....   You would be better served from our community if you started a new thread on this problem....    Until then, I suggest you bend the door to close the gap as much as possible....  or bend the CC if that is where stuff is out of alignment....  then start a thread with the new information.....

Dave


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## damnthatsgood

Sorry I didn't reply.  I've been beyond busy at work.  As posted above, I would bend it.  The beauty is that this smoker is just a piece of steel.  And you might be better served by starting a new thread, just in case people read part of this thread that gets bumped, decide the subject matter isn't for them, and then don't even get to your post.

Glad to hear you dumped the thermometers.  They respond terribly slow, and since you are going to be running digitals anyway, they are pointless IMHO.  I don't even look at mine anymore.

Again, sorry I couldn't respond sooner.  Good luck!


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## smokinjtx

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I am going to try to bend it to fit once I get it hot again and see if that helps. If that doesn't work, I'll be sure to post an original thread with my issues.


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## mandrewscdj

That mod is awesome!  Any chance u can make another one for purchase?  Very interested.
Thumbs Up


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## damnthatsgood

mandrewscdj said:


> That mod is awesome! Any chance u can make another one for purchase? Very interested.


Which mod?


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## mandrewscdj

The slip on side tray around the smoke stack.


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## mudbug

Are you using any "Tuning Plates"? If so, what are the dimensoins of them?


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## damnthatsgood

I had some cut, but I never went and picked them up.  However, this smoker could seriously benefit from them.  IIRC, they were 14.75x4.

There is a thread on here about this smoker, and he details the dimensions.


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## kingt36

Did you seal the smoker any? I'm thinking about getting some nomex tape for my firebox and cook chamber.


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## damnthatsgood

No.  Over the months, the firebox lid has warped some.  So if I were you, I'd give it a minute before you did that.  As far as the cooking chamber lid, it's always been pretty tight, so I left it alone.


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## harleyred

Hi new here. Just purchased a wrangler and was cleaning it before I fire it up and I notice the plate from the bottom of the fire box fits nicely as a turn plate in the smoking chamber. It does have long holes cute in so I'm not sure how well it will work as a turn plate or baffle ( not sure the difference)  has anyone else tried this?


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## the1pearson

Excellent mods, especially that charcoal snake!! I gotta steal it too!!!


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## damnthatsgood

the1pearson said:


> Excellent mods, especially that charcoal snake!! I gotta steal it too!!!


FYI, that charcoal snake ended up sucking, big time.  It needs double walls in the middle.  Otherwise, most of the time, it sets the coals next to it on fire, and turns the snake into more of a "wave".


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## tater34

Got my wrangler about a month ago already have smoked , ribs, Boston butt , whole chickens and my very first brisket, only mods I've done so far is two temp gauges at grate level and I just got my tuning plates today . So now I'm just trying to dial it in. So far I love this smoker . Don't see anything wrong with it except the for the two modifications that needed to be done . Tuning plates are 5ea 4"x 15 1/2"x 1/4 " thick . $28 total hopefully it pays off for me


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## sopchoppy

I too use the firebox plate for a tuning plate, works really well. Built a 16x36 shelf for the front, attached to the tiny metal shelf from underneath. Added lavalock gasket to both lids and a charcoal/wood basket. Very well pleased with the the Wrangler, hard to beat for the $$$.


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## texsmokey

How is that shelf mod holding up?  I'm looking at making one of those bad boys this weekend. Great mod.


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## joe black

Don't know why I've never seen this thread before.  But IMO, the Wrangler is a very good smoker at that price point.  I really like all of the mods that you guys have done.  I noticed in your narrative about the wood in the FB, you say that you get white smoke until the end of the burn.  If you will pre-heat your splits, they will ignite much quicker.  That way the heat will hold better and you will always have TBS.  Also, since the wood will not be smoldering until the ignition point, you will have cleaner smoke and a better overall taste.

I don't use a snake in my basket.  I use lump yo get a good bed of coals started and then use all wood from that point.  By using all wood, it doesn't matter how long the charcoal lasts.  Just my $0.02.


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## texsmokey

I really want to do that slide on tray mod. I don't weld or anything.  Where could I get something like this made?  I just looked at an 11ga 36inX36in sheet of stainless steel and it was $155.  WTH?  And then get that cut and welded where?  What kind of metal would be best for this mod?


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## texsmokey

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This is my new custom tray added to my wrangler!  Thanks for the idea.  Now I gotta add some high temp paint.


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## big swole

Subscribed for future post / mods.

I need some tuning plates but otherwise, I like this Wrangler.


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## texsmokey

So my tray has held up perfectly!  That is the most useful mod and people on YouTube love that part of my wrangler.  Now I want to make one of those charcoal baskets.  I bout my sheet of expanded metal from Home Depot.  I'm seeing if any of you have made one and what dimensions did you use.  Thanks


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## Skullysbm

damnthatsgood said:


> First off, this is already a good pit, and I do try to live by KISS.(keep it simple, stupid)  But I also live by BOMB.(better off modified, baby)
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I was  looking for measurements or femention of plate.


damnthatsgood said:


> First off, this is already a good pit, and I do try to live by KISS.(keep it simple, stupid)  But I also live by BOMB.(better off modified, baby)
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> There were a couple problems with it, IMHO.
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> First off, there isn't much shelf space, and the pitiful shelf it comes with is hardly a place you can safely put a cookie sheet without it falling off.  So.....
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> I decided to use the existing handle to hold my shelf.  It was already pretty stout, but I welded in a brace to the stack just to make it last over time without sagging.
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What are the measurements to the shelf?


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