I have recently purchased a Backwoods Smoker Party and I almost decided to toss an old verticle smoker away. It was once electric and even the element couldnt keep it at temp. It's a really cheap model that was given to me a decade ago and I now know why. Well, it is no longer a POS and whenever I want to smoke something and not haul and clean the Backwoods out, I will use this. Here is what I did:
1. New charcoal grate Bought a Weber grate and cut it to size. This keeps the lit charcoal off of the pile of ashes and gives the coals air space underneath.
2. New hardware for the door The old stuff was falling apart and not sealing very well when I closed it.
3. Moved the waterpan into the meat chamber Originally, the holder clips for the pan were on the bottom chamber. The water pan is now in the middle/meat chamber and can be removed together with the meat in case I need to get to the charcoal pan.
4. Mounted 2 chamber thermo probes One for each side on the top of the meat chamber. We all know the analog gage on these smokers is worthless. I can now monitor the temp of each side using my Maverick wireless thermo.
5. Mounted a fan to the side of the charcoal pan I had a cheap desk fan sitting on my workbench for years, never used. I bought a 4 to 6" ducting coupler at Lowes along with the inside 4" connecting coupler. Screwed the fan inside the 4 to 6" coupler. Cut out a hole in the charcoal pan. Installed the 4" coupler then the 4 to 6" coupler with fan slides right in. I can detach for storage.
6. Sealed off all vents except for top vent on lid This POS smoker had so many vents within the charcoal pan, it's no wonder it couldn't keep a temp.
I light up not even half a chimney of charcoal and place it the charcoal pan. I turn on the fan and open up the top vent all the way. I actually have to wait for the temp to come DOWN before putting on the meat. I fill up my water pan then add the meat. I adjust the temp with the top vent. If I see the temp going down, I open up the vent slightly, and vice verse. I add about 6 new briquetes and a chunk of wood every hour or whenever the temp is coming down with the vent fully open. I maintain around 230 in this thing fairly easy, each side fluctuating temps for whatever reason (air flow from the fan to the vent, maybe?) All-in-all, I hooked it up for 20 bucks and cooked some of the best ribs I have ever done. (pictured below) If you have an old smoker laying around or want to get a new one, go cheap and hook it up right!
1. New charcoal grate Bought a Weber grate and cut it to size. This keeps the lit charcoal off of the pile of ashes and gives the coals air space underneath.
2. New hardware for the door The old stuff was falling apart and not sealing very well when I closed it.
3. Moved the waterpan into the meat chamber Originally, the holder clips for the pan were on the bottom chamber. The water pan is now in the middle/meat chamber and can be removed together with the meat in case I need to get to the charcoal pan.
4. Mounted 2 chamber thermo probes One for each side on the top of the meat chamber. We all know the analog gage on these smokers is worthless. I can now monitor the temp of each side using my Maverick wireless thermo.
5. Mounted a fan to the side of the charcoal pan I had a cheap desk fan sitting on my workbench for years, never used. I bought a 4 to 6" ducting coupler at Lowes along with the inside 4" connecting coupler. Screwed the fan inside the 4 to 6" coupler. Cut out a hole in the charcoal pan. Installed the 4" coupler then the 4 to 6" coupler with fan slides right in. I can detach for storage.
6. Sealed off all vents except for top vent on lid This POS smoker had so many vents within the charcoal pan, it's no wonder it couldn't keep a temp.
I light up not even half a chimney of charcoal and place it the charcoal pan. I turn on the fan and open up the top vent all the way. I actually have to wait for the temp to come DOWN before putting on the meat. I fill up my water pan then add the meat. I adjust the temp with the top vent. If I see the temp going down, I open up the vent slightly, and vice verse. I add about 6 new briquetes and a chunk of wood every hour or whenever the temp is coming down with the vent fully open. I maintain around 230 in this thing fairly easy, each side fluctuating temps for whatever reason (air flow from the fan to the vent, maybe?) All-in-all, I hooked it up for 20 bucks and cooked some of the best ribs I have ever done. (pictured below) If you have an old smoker laying around or want to get a new one, go cheap and hook it up right!
