# challenges with Brinkmann Square vertical smoker



## twardnw (Jun 13, 2010)

Go figure, right?

anyway, when I first got it, of course, it didn't work worth a damn. No airflow to the charcoal. A problem easily solved by some quick work with my drill and stepping bit :)

Then, I found out just how bad Cowboy charcoal is. So I found a grill place by my work that had some Big Green Egg lump. Worked ok with the modified charcoal pan. Today, I went down to Lowes and found a grilling wok to use for my charcoal basket.

Problem. It works too damn good. Filled it up with lump, then lit about a half-chimney, and poured it on top. Filled the water pan with beer, and walked away for about 20 minutes for it to stabilize a bit. Thought it was doing ok, appeared to have settled at 240ish, so I closed the bottom vents down a bit, put my meat on, and went inside for a bit. Came back in another 20 minutes, and it was at 290!!! Holy cow! Closed down both bottom vents, wide-open on the upper vents, and bled a ton of heat off by opening the door a ways. Got the temp down to 215-220, and closed the door. Immediatley the temp shot back up to 250 and kept climbing.

So now, I have the door propped open a hair (http://twardnw.com/v/2010/June2010/2010-06-13+16_20_43.jpeg.html), and with both upper vents also open, am maintaining 230-235.

any advice for the n00b on how to cool this thing back down?


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## rdknb (Jun 13, 2010)

I do not know as I use gas, but giving you a bump


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## helljack6 (Jun 14, 2010)

twardnw said:


> Go figure, right?
> 
> anyway, when I first got it, of course, it didn't work worth a damn. No airflow to the charcoal. A problem easily solved by some quick work with my drill and stepping bit :)
> 
> ...


Your technique is right, the only thing you probably didn't know is that when you're smoking food, ALWAYS leave the exhaust wide open REGARDLESS of whatever your intakes are set at. Your intakes are used specifically for modulating your overall temperature, NOT the exhaust. Next time you try it, leave the exhaust wide open, based on your outdoor temps, if it's hotter, use cooler water in your water pan, if it's cold user warmer/hotter water.

The reason why you leave the exhaust open is because if you don't your smoke will accumulate and you'll get stale smoke and higher heats because they aren't evacuating fast enough. That and with the exhaust wide open, you'll actually get a more accurate and complete draw from your air intakes. Hope this helps.


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## twardnw (Jun 14, 2010)

give it a re-read Jack, I had my exhaust vents open all the way.


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## twardnw (Jun 14, 2010)

I think I am going to pick up some fiberglass rope on the way home today, try and seal up the doors a bit


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## twardnw (Jun 14, 2010)

well, I ran short of the gasket rope (as I learned it is called), and only got the upper door sealed. Will pick up another segment tomorrow and finish the job, I have high hopes for this :)


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## twardnw (Jun 15, 2010)

Ok, doors are sealed, letting the glue dry a bit, and then going to start a basket of charcoal to see what it does :)


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## twardnw (Jun 15, 2010)

well, it didn't help. All vents are closed right now, and it is sitting at 240. If I open the upper vents, it just creates a draft and raises the temp, instead of bleeding off heat.


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## twardnw (Jun 17, 2010)

so it seems even with my rope gasket, and the vents off, too much air is still finding it's way it.So, we have some magnet stock at work, and I helped myself to a little bit. Both vents are now almost completely covered, uppers completely open, and I had it stable at 220. Had the door open a bit too long when I was loading meat onto the grills, temp spiked to 240, but is slooooooowwwwwwwlllllyyyy making it's way back down, with both bottom vents completely closed. Not a perfect solution, but for now it works. I am thinking of putting my own hinges on this thing, so it will actually swing shut, instead of pivot, and that should help the doors seal a little bit better. Anywho, some pics of things as they are right now.


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## kbeezy (Jun 24, 2010)

I have the same exact problem. Got the wok...wayyyy to hot in spikes. Tried using smaller amount of coal, and that worked to keep the temp lower, but then you have to added coal multiple times. If you come up with anything that works well let me know cause i'm getting very frustrated at keeping a constant temp.


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## twardnw (Jun 28, 2010)

Yeah, I think the wok is a little hard to control in this thing, if it gets hot, it goes WAY hot, and is near impossible to bring down. For Fathers day I did 3 racks or pork spares, started it out very very low, used the better part of an hour to get it up to temp. Had all the ribs sitting next to the smoker on the racks, and only had the door open for ~45 seconds getting everything in and temp probes placed. Worked fairly well for ~3 hours, then ash built up and started choking out the coals. So I got some ready in the original bowl, got them started, and swapped them in, that seemed to work fairly well.


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## kbeezy (Jun 30, 2010)

My smoke last thursday went perfect, although took some tending too. What i did was get a good amount of coals going good then took enough off too get it down to temp and put the 'extras' in a another small grill with cover to sit, and if the temp started to drop I would take coals off the small grill and add them to the smoker. I think it was a pretty good method.


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## mudbug65 (Aug 24, 2010)

Well..I thought I was the 1st to use the grilling basket for the coals. I see I am not the trail cutter I thought. I smoke a lot of things using this style/brand smoker. I control temp with amount of fuel and air intakes. I also have found that if I don't clean the thermostat before each smoke, I don't get as accurate reading. I have thought about sealing the upper side vents and installing a small stove pipe. But I am reluctant because I enjoy the flat surface to place things on. Has anyone tried this?


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## myklos (Aug 24, 2010)

I have the exact same smoker and had the exact same problem. I drilled holes in the pan and made feet with bolts. This made the temps too high. I tried all kinds of combinations with the vents, but it didn't make any noticeable difference. I figured that there was a lot of air leakage around the doors. I couldn't find any silicone seal for the doors so I got the fire box door to close a little tighter by bending the magnetic catch back altttle and this helped quite a bit. I have only done one smoke with this adjustement. It held temp at 250 for about three hours. I will test again this weekend.


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## hairy-alaskan (Aug 27, 2010)

I've had the same problem with mine too. I never really noticed until I added a good thermometer to the door to see what the temp was really doing.

I think part of my problem was adding too many lit coals to the pile in the wok instead of just adding a few and letting the heat gradually build over the coarse of a wok load. I've still smoked multiple great chickens in mine though. Last year I had one really bad experience after accidentally letting the water pan run dry while mowing the lawn. The darn thing got up to 900 degrees and totally burned the chicken I had in there.

With practice it has been getting better and better.


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## jrod (Aug 27, 2010)

great, i just bought this thing yesterday thinking it would be better than the cheaper Brinkman cylinder looking smoker that was about $15 less.

Guess I will be modifying too, we will see how she works.

I would take it back but its already assembled and I wanna smoke something this weekend. Thinking Tri tips. :)


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## rustywedges (Aug 29, 2010)

Picked up one of these today, found this site and read this post and immediately went out and picked up a grill wok to use for the charcoal and I'm currently curing it.  Since I am curing it I didnt add any water in the pan and It got real hot real fast.  After adding water its been pretty easy to keep where I want it.


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## jrod (Aug 30, 2010)

RustyWedges said:


> Picked up one of these today, found this site and read this post and immediately went out and picked up a grill wok to use for the charcoal and I'm currently curing it.  Since I am curing it I didnt add any water in the pan and It got real hot real fast.  After adding water its been pretty easy to keep where I want it.


I was up at HomeDepot yesterday and saw an updated model of our smoker. Rusty, I think you got this model from what I can tell of that picture you have.

The newer model seems to have a better way to secure the doors close and tighter. They use some sort of spring mechanism were mine uses a darn magnet that seems they placed wrong allowing my door to rock.

Figures HomeDepot gets this newer model less than a week after I buy and use mine.


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## timleo (Sep 3, 2010)

I have the same unit and made a few mods myself.  The one that worked the best was to start using a labyrinth in the charcoal pan.


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## rustywedges (Sep 3, 2010)

@jrod

Yes,  the doors on mine are spring loaded.  I didnt have any issues holding a steady temp while I was seasoning it.  Hopefully I won't on Labor Day.  I plan on smoking 5 racks of ribs, a butt, some sausage, and 3 Turkey legs, for those that dont indulge in the greatness that is the PIG!!!

@timelo 

what's the purpose of the labyrinth?  What are some of the other mods you made?  I've got the grill wok,  I'm going to set out after my morning round of golf to find a new thermostat and meat thermometer.


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## timleo (Sep 4, 2010)

RustyWedges said:


> @timelo
> 
> what's the purpose of the labyrinth?  What are some of the other mods you made?  I've got the grill wok,  I'm going to set out after my morning round of golf to find a new thermostat and meat thermometer.


instead of lighting all of the charcoal at once, I light the charcoal at one end of the labyrinth and let the fire work it's way to the other end.  Only a few coals are lit at a time and the temperature runs quite a bit cooler.  Also, the coals last longer.  It can hold temp at 250 to 275 for three to four hours with out messing with the fire.

Another mod I made is to add 1/2 inch of concrete board to the outside of the box that acts as insulation...it holds the heat in for a long time.


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## nightwatch (Sep 5, 2010)

Im new here, my Wife just found one of these in a garage sale and bought it for me. Is there a way to fit a Turkey or two Beer Can Chickens in these? This smoker seems a bit small, I may be wrong though. Do I have to have a charcoal pan or can I put them right on the bottom of the smoker?


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## rustywedges (Sep 6, 2010)

Night Watch - I wouldnt put the coals directly on the bottom of the smoker.  I would think that you would eventually start to inhibit air flow to the coals. 

the smoker is on the small side but you should be able to adjust the height of the shelves to give you enough clearence.

Timelo - I'm going to have to work on the labyrinth and add the concrete board.  I'm having trouble getting the temps up.  Im averaging around 210-215.  I dont think its necessarily a bad think but I was hoping to keep it around 235.

This pic was taken about 10 minutes after I let the coals.  I was amazed at the difference in temps.


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## flash (Sep 6, 2010)

twardnw said:


> Filled the water pan with beer


Sacrilege, Sacrilege. 

Your suppose to drink the beer and put water in the pan. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






 Just how much charcoal did you use? Maybe you can cut back some.


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## flash (Sep 6, 2010)

RustyWedges said:


> Night Watch - I wouldnt put the coals directly on the bottom of the smoker.  I would think that you would eventually start to inhibit air flow to the coals.
> 
> the smoker is on the small side but you should be able to adjust the height of the shelves to give you enough clearence.
> 
> ...


If you guys are just lighting all the coals at once, there is your problem. Read up on the minion method and do that. If you still end up running too hot, reduce the amount of coals, but only do that after adjuster you air flow.


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## rustywedges (Sep 6, 2010)

I'm definitely going to have to read up on different methods of lighting the coals and whatnot.  I had a helluva time keeping the smoker in the 225 -250 range, and I went through way more charcoal then I thought I'd have too.  QView coming real soon.


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## nightwatch (Sep 8, 2010)

Well I cranked her up for her maiden dry run to see what she could do. No water in the pan. I do have a charcoal pan (unmodified). I used a full chimney and to cut corners I just started a couple of briquets with my gas torch. It took about 45 min to get hot and the temp gauge showed just shy of about 300 deg(290-295). It lasted about 45 min before it started to go down. I think if I was doing an actual smoke I should be able to keep the temp the same by adding a piece of coal here and there. I think if I was to do poultry the Lump coal should give me some hotter temps. I will have to investigate the minion method. All I can say Im pumped do do my first smoke, and Im pretty happy with this for only being out 10 bucks lol. Im at work and I still smell smoke.


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## jrod (Sep 8, 2010)

I think I will be trying the Minion Method for my next go. Will update when I can. ;)


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## smoke_chef (Sep 8, 2010)

I have this smoker and love it. The only thing I don't like about it is that it's to small. I started out having some of the same problems above and made my own charcoal basket. You can read about here:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/64025/new-no-weld-charcoal-pan-for-my-ecb

It works great!! I've used it for at least 20 smokes. Some very long butt smokes. Some high temp poultry smokes. The metal hasn't even started to look like it's breaking down. It's holding up like a dream. I haven't made any other mods and I hold temps just fine.  

Hope this helps someone.


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## flash (Sep 9, 2010)

Nitewatch said:
			
		

> Well I cranked her up for her maiden dry run to see what she could do. No water in the pan. I do have a charcoal pan (unmodified). I used a full chimney and to cut corners I just started a couple of briquets with my gas torch. It took about 45 min to get hot and the temp gauge showed just shy of about 300 deg(290-295).



Remember that the water in the pan does help regulate temps. I forgot to put water in the pan one time and came out to 325º on my smoker. Once the water was added, it dropped back to 260º. Sometimes when it is really cold out, I use playbox sand instead of water. When using charcoal it will allow for higher and more constent temps.


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## billy48 (Sep 9, 2010)

just purchased one myself and found i could only get temp up to 185-200 .also used quite a bit of charcoal. i used water in the pan i feel i'm doing this the wrong way . do you keep the vents open or closed to build temp and do you keep adding lit charcoal or unlit any help would be great . made a rack of bb and they came out pretty good but took longer than expected .


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## smoke_chef (Sep 10, 2010)

Hi Billy,

   I had issues at first with this smoker too. The charcoal pan just wasn't working for me. I first tried drilling holes for better air. Still didn't help. Then I made a brand new one from scratch. It was a super easy build and has made all the difference in the world! Now I love my smoker. It's just to small. I posted a thread to the mods I made above. Give it a try and you won't disappointed. Now, I light a chimney of charcoal. Stabilize at 225. (with the water pan full) Add my meat. Usually that drops the temps to 200 or so. No problem. I add maybe 3 small chunks and a small wood block for smoke. At this point, all four vents are about half open. The temp climbs back to 225 I close the bottom vents to about 80 - 90 percent closed. Then every thirty minutes or so, two or three chunks depending on their size. Then repeat. I have found that after about two hours I need to add more water. Also, I take this time to pull the charcoal basket all the way out and give it a good shake. Now I have a clean basket with lit coals. I keep water right by smoker so it's at outdoor temp to start with. In the winter I keep water on top of the smoker in a pan so it gets heated some. Between opening the big door to do my mopping or spraying what ever meat I'm doing and adding new water, the temp can take a hit. But, not to worry. The coals left in the basket are now burning very efficiently because there are NO ashes in the basket. Plus, I might add 4 or 5 chunks at this point. Another block of smoke wood or two. The temps are back in the right area in no time. As you can see, I tend my fire about every thirty minutes or so. Some may see this as "to much work". I see it as the reason I bought a charcoal burning smoker in the first place. If I wanted to set it and forget it would have got a propane smoker. The above method gives me consistent temps, TBS, and an awesome product pretty much every time. Like I said, I love my smoker. I just wish it were bigger. Btw, I pretty much stick with the 2-2-1 for BB's.

Hope some of this helps.

Smoke_Chef


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## billy48 (Sep 11, 2010)

Thanks for your helpful tips .going out today to look for a new tray. when you talk about chunks are you using charcoal briquets or lump . thanks again .


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## buffalobob52 (Sep 11, 2010)

I also have the Brinkmann vertical charcoal smoker.  I posted on the pork forum on my first smoke of ribs.  I did the pan mods and had quite a problem maintaining temp.  After awhile the coals would smother in the ash and I was constantly emptying the pan and putting in fresh coals.  So I had a gilling basket for my grill, about 13" sq. and 4" deep.  Similar to the baskets described in the posts before this.  I used Kingsford competition briquettes and I had the same prob. of way to much heat.  To much coal and airflow. Both bottom vents closed and both top vents open along with the door.  Temps would spike up to 290. I was doing a brisket this time, 6#'s.  If I got the temp down in a range Iliked, 220 or so, and put on a soaked hickory chunk, as soon as the hickory caught fire the temp went way up.  Anyway I ended up constantly fiddling with the thing every 20 minutes or so.  I took the brisket out after 5 hrs and finished it in the oven.  It came out very good and I will post some pics on the beef forum later in the week.

I think what is needed is a basket for the coal that hold about the same amount of coal as the original pan but the coals need to sit on a grate to allow the ash to drop away.  The grilling basket holds way to much coal and is so big that if you spred out the coal you lose heat o fast.  I have a portable grll cvalled a pyromid.  Not made anymore but is designed to hold oly 9 briquettes and will grill for about an hour.  I am going to try it in the smoker next week, load it up with about 15 briquettes and se what happens.  Will post results and pics next week.


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## smoke_chef (Sep 12, 2010)

Hi Billy... I always use lump. I have found that it works way better for me. Good luck looking for a new tray. Keep us posted on what you find.


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## buffalobob52 (Sep 14, 2010)

Sorry, no pics yet.  I have not got that part figured out yet.  I did 2 test runs using my pyromid grill to hold the charcoal briquettes instead of the standard pan.  The coals sit on a grill and let the ash fall away. You can do a web search for pyromid and see what I am using. I just use the 2 pyramid shaped sections.  Today I started with 24 briquettes.  Both intake vents closed and exhaust vents open.  After about 10 min. I opened 1 intake 1/2 way.  The short of it is that I was adding 10 coals every 1/2 hour or less and adjusting the one intake vent once or twice in that 1/2 hour to maintain a temp of 220' + or - 15'. The second intake remained closed for the entire test.  For the last time I added fuel I used 15 briquettes and was able to maintain the temp range almost an hour.  I only ran the test for 3 hours.  It is 3:00pm now, I started the test at 11:30am and added the last 15 coals at 1:15.  At 2:20 the temp was at 204' and dropping.  It is at 157' now. I was able to reduce the extreme spikes in temps but short of reducing the fuel amounts and adding fuel more often I do not think you can get much better fuel control.  I was using Kingsford competition briquettes.  I am going to try the grilling basket again using the above quantities to see what difference there may be.

Hopefully pics are coming.


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## billy48 (Sep 15, 2010)

Bob- what do mean by adding fuel. I found a new tray in Lowes. IT's the same tray i seen on this post. only 4.99 . cant wait for the weekend to use all these helpful hints' going to keep it simple and try some bb's.


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## sandtazam (Sep 16, 2010)

I have the same meter. Its done some strange things like reading different temps from the one in the smoker to the recieving one. It's kind of a PITA but all in all a good unit. I especially like the dual zone feature.


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## buffalobob52 (Sep 17, 2010)

By adding fuel I mean I have to add additional charcoal briquettes about every 1/2 hr.  I found that if you add to many coals you just get high teperatures and then you spend all your time opening vents n doors to get the unit cooled down.  I am going to try something tomorrow.  I picked up some expanded metal screen/grate material from Home Depot.  A 12" x 24" pc. was $10.00.  I cut a 9 1/2" diameter circle section and put in into the original coal pan. Keep in mind that I drilled air holes in the bottom of the pan already, I am going to drill several more in the sides below the screen.  This will give me about a 1 1/2" space below the screen for ash to collect. I do not think it will improve over what I just posted but if it works it is a simple way for anyone to duplicate the results.


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## billy48 (Sep 18, 2010)

cant wait for tommorrow will be doing some bb's . I hope all the tips and tricks  i've learned here help . i'll keep you posted.   may need some advice as i go along.


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## billy48 (Sep 19, 2010)

do you open vents or close vent to lower temp. I'm at 275 would like to get it down to 225. any help would be great.


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## billy48 (Sep 19, 2010)

playing with vents got it down to  250. learning as we go .


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## billy48 (Sep 19, 2010)

got the temp at 225-245. been adding fuel as i go .controlling the temp alot easier this time also new charcoal pan making a big difference.


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## billy48 (Sep 19, 2010)

BB's came out really good 2-2-1 method works well .they were falling off the bone. keeping temp around 200- 225 alot easier with the new pan .i needed to raise temp at times and just added a few briquettes. used some hickory chunks this time much better taste then mesquite.used apple juice to keep moist. all in all a good smoking lesson today.


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## shoe (Sep 19, 2010)

I purchased 1/4 inch fiberglass gaskets that use a screw driver to push into the spaces around the doors. That plus a slotted charcoal pan have made my Brinkman a dream. I load the charcoal pan with hot coals that last an hour. Each hour I add water and replenish the charcoal. I smoke Boston butt 3 hours then put it in the stove at 250 for a couple of hours.


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## rustywedges (Sep 25, 2010)

picked up some lump charcoal.  Smoking a couple of racks of Spares tomorrow.  I'll LYK how it goes.


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## nysmoke (Sep 26, 2010)

I have one of these Brinkman 2 door smokers. I modified a small kettle type charcoal grill by replacing the legs with bolts for legs so it would fit in the bottom of the smoker. I also added a different temp gauge to the side which is more accurate then the factory unit. If you buy a replacement temp gauge check it by sticking the end in boiling water. I used a modified version of the Minion method the cook ribs using the 3-2-1 method. I took both end out of a coffee can, set it in the center of the little grill. I then poured lump charcoal around the can, lit a chimney, dumped it into the can and then removed the can. Then I placed the grill into the smoker and got the temp to stay between 200-225 for 6 hours with the addition of a couple large hands full of charcoal and some air directly on the fire after about 4 1/2 hours.


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## desertdenizen (Nov 1, 2010)

I ran into essentially the same problem. Replaced the charcoal pan with a grilling wok, put the briquets in there, got the starters going in the chimney, dumped 'em on the briquets when ready and then left for about 15 minutes. Came back and the temp was up to 350! Still trying to bleed off some of the heat. May simply have to start my turkey breast later than I planned. Good thing I'm not working today.


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## taweste (Nov 14, 2010)

I have one of these smokers as well. I was quite frustrated in the beginning. My first problem was getting the temp up, and this was cured by modifying the coal pan by cutting out the bottom and welding in a piece of expanded steel. I then purchased the ET-73 and realized that the stock thermometer was 50-75 degrees off. I now had a hell of a time keeping the temps in the 225-250 range. After some research I tried using the minion method, but I still could not keep the temps down. I assumed the problem was caused by a bad seal around the doors and the air vents.

Still frustrated, I remembered that I had some aluminum (I assume it's aluminum) tape around, and I sealed one of the bottom vents with the tape. I then sealed the doors from the outside, thinking that I would need to replace the tape everytime I had to open the doors. Surprisingly there was just enough "stickyness" to seal the doors, but to also open the doors without having to replace the tape each time. I have only used this method once, but I was able to maintain proper temps for approx 2 hours at a time before needing to reload. Not the prettiest thing, but it works great!


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## omahared (Nov 14, 2010)

the Labyrinth keeps the coals from igniting each other into one huge fireball.  It makes them burn a little at a time, sort of a way to control the chaos.  gives you a longer cooking time also, well, gives ME a longer cooking time. 

RED

guess i was a bit late on the trigger there, sorry folks.


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## squirt (Nov 16, 2010)

I love my new Brinkman Vertical.  I had an ECB that rusted out and was looking to replace it with the same, but when I saw the vertical at Wally World I figured I'd give it a shot.  This thread was very helpful, suggesting mods to the unit.  I got it Wed. night, put it together, Thursday night I seasoned it, and used it to cook all weekend, no problems. 

First thing I did was remove the thermometer and check it in boiling water.  The thermometer was reading 250º when the water started to boil. (checked with digital, at 209º), so I just "calibrated it in my head that 250º on my thermo meant 212º and if I wanted 240-250º, it should read about  300º.  I checked while seasoning with digital thermometer and my "calibration" method worked perfectly.

I did the charcoal basket mod, using a SS wire basket used for grilling veges and stuff.  I used my old water pan from the ECB set on the bottom of the smoker to catch the ashes and set the basket right on top.  I might fabricate a new shorter ash pan to allow me to lower the charcoal basket a tad, to be able to get wood chunks and fresh charcoal into the basket, and to keep the fire away from the water pan.  I found 1 chimney of Kingsford blue briquettes lasted me about 2.5 hrs, and maintained about 250º  with the top vents wide open and the bottom 1/2 closed.  I also drilled three 1/4" holes into each of the sides, +/-1 inch down from the top and put 3 pieces of 1/4" threaded rod through the unit with nuts on the outside, to hang sausage/bologna.  I can get 9 sticks of deer bologna in there at a time, hanging so they cook evenly and the juices drain into the water pan.  My deer bologna turned out wonderfully Friday night.

The only negatives I see with the unit is the water pan is too small and the unit itself is just a tad small.  Even though 1 chimney of charcoal lasted 2.5 hrs, I found I had to add water at about 1.5 hours into the smoke.  Had they used the same sized water pan as an ECB and made the unit 2" bigger all around and slightly thicker steel, it would be the bomb.  Also, my unit has wire racks.  The Brinkman website says the one at Walmart should have ceramic coated racks, mine didn't....they were chromed wire.  Ceramic racks, or even cast iron, would last longer I believe.

Squirt


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## smokeless (Dec 24, 2010)

I have the same smoker but with the twist lock handles. The miniature round table top charcoal grill that you can find at home centers for around 19-20.00 and will fit perfectly in the bottom of this square smoker and has a charcoal grate and holes in the bottom that you can clear out with a stick when the ashes get built up over long smokes. It will fit in the bottom with the legs attached and will move the fire up higher, hold more charcoal and burn cooler and use less charcoal than that wok. I use two of them. When one gets too full of ash, I start more coals in the second one and trade them out. That way, I can control the ashes and the ideal level of charcoal more consistently and suffer less heat loss while waiting for new charcoal and added wood to recover from smothering the coals initially. It will also raise the bottom holes under the charcoal grate to where the inlet vents actually feed the fire instead of just drafting cold air into the top of the smoker.

This is the grill that fits. Leave the catch cup off the bottom which will fully expose the holes in the bottom, which are the same configuration as the side vent holes you see in the picture. Pretty much an ideal fix for this poor little smoker.

http://common.csnstores.com/common/products/KGS/KGS1026_l.jpg


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## sdsmoker6 (Feb 20, 2011)

I need some help, i can never get my temp above 120 degrees, its driving me nuts.  I've put about 20 holes in my charcoal pan, i keep messing with the vents trying to get the temp up and it doesn't seem to work.


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## SmokinAl (Feb 21, 2011)

sdsmoker6 said:


> I need some help, i can never get my temp above 120 degrees, its driving me nuts.  I've put about 20 holes in my charcoal pan, i keep messing with the vents trying to get the temp up and it doesn't seem to work.




Welcome to SMF. There are a lot of very friendly & knowledgeable folks here to help you. I urge you to sign up for the free E-course. It will give you the basics, & even if you are an experienced smoker you may learn something new. Then start asking questions. Good luck & glad to have you aboard. Don't forget we all love Qview! Now, if you would, go to the roll call section & introduce yourself, so we can give you a proper welcome. Let us know where you are located and what kind of smoker you have. We need more info to answer your question.


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## smokefoo (Mar 16, 2011)

Timleo

What material was used to build the labyrinth? It appears that it may be wood.


timleo said:


> I have the same unit and made a few mods myself.  The one that worked the best was to start using a labyrinth in the charcoal pan.


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## wbrian (Apr 3, 2011)

I think they're patio pavers.  Looks like they chipped or cut them to have an angle to match the pan.  I'll be trying this soon!

Later,

B.


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## justpassingthru (Apr 3, 2011)

I would say they are fire bricks and they are specially made to not explode or crumble when exposed to heat.

Gene


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## bobh127 (Apr 4, 2011)

I am not trying to one up anyone, nor am I shilling for the manufacturer of my grill. However just to let you know how I do it, I'll tell you about doing 2 butts recently. I set my Kamado (TM) ( I do not recommend the Kamado (TM)) (But I do recommend this type of cooker) (anyone who wants to know why I don't recommend Kamado (TM) can PM me) On with the cook (AKA kook), I set the grill up with about 8 pounds of hardwood lump Saturday afternoon around 4PMm and got it to around 200 degrees. I then hooked up the BBQ Guru and set it for a cooking chamber temp of 210F, and the internal temp of the meat to 195F. Set the meat to kooking at 6:30pm. Slept all night long and checked the grill around 6AM Sunday, and all was good. ( no need to add fuel0 Went off to work and around 10am the wife called and said the Guru was beeping. Told her to just unplug it. Came home about 12:30PM and took two beautiful butts off to pull. Took the pulled pork of one butt to work and shared, kept the other. Froze some and still have about one meal left.  Once the ceramic cooker gets up to temp, she stays there unless the coals go out or there is too much draft. A guru is not necessary, but it sure makes it easy. All long cooks I do with the guru, shorter cooks like a roast, (beef, pork or chicken) I just know how far to open the damper and draft for what I want. Usually I do roasts and baking potatoes at 400F. that means about the width of 2 quarters on the draft door, and a 3/4 turn on the damper. Charcoal last a looooong time do the the heat sink of the cooking chamber walls.


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## johnyd (Apr 13, 2011)

i use one with great success. i love the flavour you can get into your food wether smoking or just grilling. I think you may be using way too much coals. And thats why the temp really cranks up.

i light mine with 3 -4 heat beads (like whats on a webber) and then run just 3 or 4 lumps of HARD charcoal. add a lump or two every time i think it needs it.

I can run at 120 as long as i want then add a bigger pile of charcoal and let the temp run up to 180 or whatever for finishing.

My cheapy Brinkman was only 60 bucks and they sold a heap as seconds, but the temp gauge seems to be good. i can cook meat at 180 on the gauge then use a temp spike on the meat and its about 160, so I think thats pretty good.


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## timleo (Apr 17, 2011)

They are fire bricks I got at the Menards


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## oldsmokeguy (Jul 5, 2011)

I agree with BobH127.  You can have any size pile of charcoal and it should not affect temperature much.  I cut my teeth learning to plug air leaks on an ECB barrel smoker.  Once I had modified the firebox the smoker ran up over 450 degrees on the first try...with no water.  But I had air leaks aplenty.  Worked on the side door to get it tight.  Using a light bulb at night I moved it around the outside seams while peering down into the smoker looking for light.  I did find some air leaks.  After much effort bending metal along the lip of the fire pan I got the temp down to 330 degrees and so I knew there was still some air leaks.  Next I hung that light bulb down inside the smoker at night and crawled around the base of the smoker and found some more air leaks.  Finally, I bought some tape stove gasket via ACE online and using stove adhesive I reduced most of the air leaks to a manageable level.  I had fabricated an air damper valve or slider valve to regulate intake air.  That made a big difference.  I was able to easily get the smoker to cruise at 220, but the damper was almost closed to maintain that temperature.  That means there is still the possibility of some air leaks, but how much I do not know.  ( I did use a good long probe temperature gage).

What I did learn was that a vertical ECB barrel smoker cruising at 220 degrees with a fully loaded firebox will run all night.  Water evap is much slower at 220 than at higher temps, but I still had to add water one time.  I had made a 2 & 1/2 inch hole near the center of the cover lid and adapted a metal flag pole base from Home Depot as an exhaust.  This allowed me to look down into the smoker with the water pan removed to look at the fire.  Only a very small glow was to be seen and only in a small area of the loaded charcoal pan.   That observation explained to me what the reality was of a 220 degree burn.  A 220 degree fire is a very small fire and control of the air is what controls the size of the fire.   So.  To reach that 220 degree burn in a large pile of charcoal means you have tight control of the air.  To me, getting control of the intake air is the whole game in operating a smoker.  That vertical ECB barrel smoker was a real challenge getting it under control.  Here is a web site of a fellow who did a classy mod job to accomplish air control of that smoker:

http://home.comcast.ent/~day_trippr/smoker_mods.htm       Your browser security controls may not allow you to click on it.  If not, copy and paste.

I am letting my ECB barrel smoker go at a garage sale.  In it's place I have bought the ECB two door cabinet smoker and it has air leaks aplenty.  Mainly, the two doors are huge air leaks in this rig.  I plan to remove the stock hinges and install some small gate hinges to get the two doors to center properly.  Also will attempt to install tape stove gasket around both door frames.  There is way too much vent work in this stove.  Like the fellow above I may plug the upper two side vents for just one vent on top of the stove with an exhaust pipe type of port....using another flag pole base...if I can find one again.  I will permanently close one of the side vents at the base of the smoker.  This smoker is somewhat flimsy.  I wish the metal box was stronger, but I like the concept of this smoker and its ease of use.  The price was an attraction as well.  My needs are for a small smoker.  My wife and my neighborhood relatives are not fond of smoker meats...apparently.  So, the size of the smoker is about right for me.  With the grill wok fire pan mounted closer to the floor of the smoker there will be plenty of room for anything I want to throw in there.  Once I have this smoker fully dressed out I will post a photo.  My goal is to be able to keep a 220 degree fire running all night on one load.  Ha.  We will see.


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## jacox (Dec 13, 2011)

What is the product you used to seal the doors, and which store did you find it?


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## jomadav (Jun 8, 2013)

Soooo.....did any of you come up with a "magic bullet" to solve the high temp issue? I have the exact same smoker, exact same mods, and exact same problems. I am thinking of switching smokers...any ideas under 300? mod'd or not, I just want a dependable one.


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