grills New to me, old Char-Griller Smoker
- Thread starter winland
- Start date
CONGRATULATIONS Winland!!! And WELCOME to the club. She's a beauty a little tlc and she's gonna look like new.
That model was my first smoker when I moved out on my own.
Had many great cooks yer gonna love it.
My old one was left behind on our families farm. My dad said a good family friend was asking about it. Told him to take it and enjoy. Keeping them alive Yyyeeeeeehhhhhhaaaaaaaa!! keep us posted!!
Cheers
That model was my first smoker when I moved out on my own.
Had many great cooks yer gonna love it.My old one was left behind on our families farm. My dad said a good family friend was asking about it. Told him to take it and enjoy. Keeping them alive Yyyeeeeeehhhhhhaaaaaaaa!!
keep us posted!! Cheers
Those aren't that expensive new, I'd have gotten a new one, but I'm sure she'll fix up nice for ya!
PS. When the grates rust it's time for new ones.
PS. When the grates rust it's time for new ones.
Yes it depends my CI grates started to flake rusted metal pieces off, Chinese CI. No fixing.
Ok, so first off I will agree and admit that this is a low end smoker.
Not going to deny that this thing is not a top of the line.
But it should still be functional, I would think.
I cleaned it up a bit, did some sanding and scrapping and put some new "high heat" paint on the must rusted parts.
I added a couple of new thermometers.
Gave it a trial run last weekend with some basic pork ribs.
Initially got the temperature up to about 250F
But after that it was all down hill.
Could barely keep the temp above 200 on the right side.
Left side was down around 160 or so.
Used your basic Kingsford charcoal and some hickory chips.
Lots of smoke leaking out of the covers/lids.
I know this means heat loss.
Should I mark this investment up to the cost of education or
is there any hope for this old smoker?
Not going to deny that this thing is not a top of the line.
But it should still be functional, I would think.
I cleaned it up a bit, did some sanding and scrapping and put some new "high heat" paint on the must rusted parts.
I added a couple of new thermometers.
Gave it a trial run last weekend with some basic pork ribs.
Initially got the temperature up to about 250F
But after that it was all down hill.
Could barely keep the temp above 200 on the right side.
Left side was down around 160 or so.
Used your basic Kingsford charcoal and some hickory chips.
Lots of smoke leaking out of the covers/lids.
I know this means heat loss.
Should I mark this investment up to the cost of education or
is there any hope for this old smoker?
I can't believe I missed this thread. I just went through the same thing (CL smoker hunt lol). Looks like you saved the cast iron grate, nice. I think it needs a little modification to perform like a smoker. If you have access to a angle grinder I would cut out that little windmill vent from the firebox to cooking chamber. I think thats really slowing things down. Cut it into a oval hole like the higher end smokers have. Instead of chips use chunks or actual firewood split down into 2"X2" sticks IMO its ok to have a bit of actual fire on a offset. Finally use one of those disposable aluminum turkey/chicken pans (whatever fits well) half full of water all the way to the right to help spread the heat left and keep things moisty.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
does it have the adjustment valve between the firebox and the main grill wide open? I had the same kind a while back and had great product off of it! The outside air valve on the firebox should be free of debris. I would light it up minion method and I was good. I also put a heat deflector at the firebox and kept the coal tray inside the cooking area about half half way up great for the water trays and keep the stack vent closed.
Hotleg:
I will see if I can get a grinder to cut out the windmill vent between the firebox and the cooking chamber.
I was actually using hickory "chunks" instead of "chips".
Luckydog:
Not sure what is the "minion method" that you refer to.
Are you saying that I should actually have hot charcoal in the cooking chamber of this smoker?
Chuck
I will see if I can get a grinder to cut out the windmill vent between the firebox and the cooking chamber.
I was actually using hickory "chunks" instead of "chips".
Luckydog:
Not sure what is the "minion method" that you refer to.
Are you saying that I should actually have hot charcoal in the cooking chamber of this smoker?
Chuck
Arghh! Don't paint the inside! Toxic fumage and taste! Inside from factory is porcelain enameled. You just needed to season it. You probably want to grind that and burn it out then season.
Minion method is hot greyed coals burning down, on top of unlit coals.
Minion method is hot greyed coals burning down, on top of unlit coals.
I found a trick that works really well for rusted grates is soaking them in vinegar overnight the rust just falls off for the most part.
Also if you are going to be smoking on it really helps if you extend the stove pipe down to about a inch off the grates. I use towels and foil to plug up any holes - I did use a fire resistant spray foam to seal the connection between the fire box and grill.
Also if you are going to be smoking on it really helps if you extend the stove pipe down to about a inch off the grates. I use towels and foil to plug up any holes - I did use a fire resistant spray foam to seal the connection between the fire box and grill.
yeah get rid of that vent between the boxes. With that Chargriiller you can grill (not smoke ) with the brickettes in the cooking chamber on that tray inside.winland said:
As Dan said hot grey coals burning unlit
http://virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html#minion