BBQ Guru Smoker Jacket


 
Brian M.

Brian M.

TVWBB Fan
I had some interest in the BBQ Smoker Jacket and wrote to the company with some questions that you can probably figure out from the response.

This is the response from them which was very detailed and quick.

1. It is rated for up to 1100 degrees.

2. The fabric of the cover is impregnated with the silicone. It is not a spray on silicone. We have had the jackets out for about 5 years now and we have never seen one fail. It is made for protection from all weather conditions.

3. There are small eyelets in the top of the cover. Most of the smoke will go down the sides of the cooker and out the bottom of the cover due to the way it sits on top of the handle of the cooker. It billows the cover out over the cooker allowing the smoke to flow down the sides.

4. That will not be necessary to put any more holes.

5. It is only available in gray.


You may notice from another post in this forum I am about to add another vent in the top of my WSM and was concerned about the small grommet hole in the top of the cover. I was wondering if I had to put another hole in the cover and her answer covered this.

Thought some of you would be interested in this.

Brian M.
 
Brian M. said:
I had some interest in the BBQ Smoker Jacket and wrote to the company with some questions that you can probably figure out from the response.

This is the response from them which was very detailed and quick.

1. It is rated for up to 1100 degrees.

2. The fabric of the cover is impregnated with the silicone. It is not a spray on silicone. We have had the jackets out for about 5 years now and we have never seen one fail. It is made for protection from all weather conditions.

3. There are small eyelets in the top of the cover. Most of the smoke will go down the sides of the cooker and out the bottom of the cover due to the way it sits on top of the handle of the cooker. It billows the cover out over the cooker allowing the smoke to flow down the sides.

4. That will not be necessary to put any more holes.

5. It is only available in gray.


You may notice from another post in this forum I am about to add another vent in the top of my WSM and was concerned about the small grommet hole in the top of the cover. I was wondering if I had to put another hole in the cover and her answer covered this.

Thought some of you would be interested in this.

Brian M.
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I never thought about it billowing out. reverse flow lol.
 
Please report back on your experience using the smoking jacket. I am also thinking of buying one and had the same question about how the smoke would come out of the top. I am also worried about how I will use the jacket with my Maverick ET-732. Any thoughts about that?
 
david brociner said:
Please report back on your experience using the smoking jacket. I am also thinking of buying one and had the same question about how the smoke would come out of the top. I am also worried about how I will use the jacket with my Maverick ET-732. Any thoughts about that?
Click to expand...


David, I just ordered the jacket on Thursday and will keep you posted. I had replaced my ET-732 with 6 foot probes which are the same size as the probes on the BBQ Guru. I'm sure we can slide them up under the cover at the bottom by the slit for the GURU and then slide them in my probe eyelets that I added. That way you can easily remove the cover without touching the probes. If you stay with the shorter probes you may have to place a grommet where you want to insert the probes.

I was also wondering how the unit worked without a ATC because it looked like the cover went down over the intake vents. I was wrong. Lisa sent me a picture of one in their showroom and it does not cover the vents. She said many people who do not have ATC's have purchased, and are happy with the unit. Also you should know their return policy is only if you don't use the cover.
 
Brian M. said:
I had replaced my ET-732 with 6 foot probes which are the same size as the probes on the BBQ Guru. I'm sure we can slide them up under the cover at the bottom by the slit for the GURU and then slide them in my probe eyelets that I added. That way you can easily remove the cover without touching the probes. If you stay with the shorter probes you may have to place a grommet where you want to insert the probes.
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6 foot probes? Could you give me more info? Thanks. I've got a Guru PartyQ which I can use to monitor grate temp but I need to use the Maverick for the meat probe.
 
This afternoon the air temps were around 50F. There were some wind gusts but nothing too extreme. I was intending to smoke a single rack of wings and had my clay saucer in place, no water pan. My fuel was R/O lump and I lit it in one location using my torch. I let the temps come up to 250 using both dome vents wide open as well as the 3 bowl vents open. I installed the GURU blanket and left it on for 30 minutes. I wanted to see what temps I might achieve considering the blanket should hold in the heat. 30 minutes and there was no temp change. The amount of smoke being given off reduced noticeably.
I loaded the single rack of wings put the GURU blanket back on and left the smoker running wide open. Sixty minutes later the temps were still at 250. Smoke had decreased from where it had been before I installed the cover. I had two chunks of apple wood on. Smoke was coming out of the bottom of the cover and the single grommet but nowhere near to the extent as it was without the cover. The other thing I noticed was the cover was dripping wet with moisture from the smoke condensing against the inside of the cover. The smoker had water droplets on the outside of it. Moisture in the meat was condensing on the inside of the blanket. I continued to cook the wings but could not get the temps over 250.
This was my first attempt with the blanket. I think for a single dome vent, it will operate reasonably well but for HH I don’t think given the way it is set up with only a single grommet that it will allow enough airflow to generate the temps needed for HH. That may not be the case with an ATC. My main concern is that condensation will increase as the outside temps drop. I have some alterations in mind that will allow the vents to exhaust into the air rather than against the underside of the blanket but I will try it one or two more times more before I decide for sure.
 
Brian, thanks for the link, I ordered 6' probes for both the grate and the meat. Even if I never buy the smoking jacket, this will make set up easier.

Gary, please let us know if you make any mods to the jacket. Sounds like you need a better way to vent at the top. I like to cook at 225 so maybe my experience would be different (obviously, I'm not making wings). Thanks for a very informative post.
 
Gary S said:
This afternoon the air temps were around 50F. There were some wind gusts but nothing too extreme. I was intending to smoke a single rack of wings and had my clay saucer in place, no water pan. My fuel was R/O lump and I lit it in one location using my torch. I let the temps come up to 250 using both dome vents wide open as well as the 3 bowl vents open. I installed the GURU blanket and left it on for 30 minutes. I wanted to see what temps I might achieve considering the blanket should hold in the heat. 30 minutes and there was no temp change. The amount of smoke being given off reduced noticeably.
I loaded the single rack of wings put the GURU blanket back on and left the smoker running wide open. Sixty minutes later the temps were still at 250. Smoke had decreased from where it had been before I installed the cover. I had two chunks of apple wood on. Smoke was coming out of the bottom of the cover and the single grommet but nowhere near to the extent as it was without the cover. The other thing I noticed was the cover was dripping wet with moisture from the smoke condensing against the inside of the cover. The smoker had water droplets on the outside of it. Moisture in the meat was condensing on the inside of the blanket. I continued to cook the wings but could not get the temps over 250.
This was my first attempt with the blanket. I think for a single dome vent, it will operate reasonably well but for HH I don’t think given the way it is set up with only a single grommet that it will allow enough airflow to generate the temps needed for HH. That may not be the case with an ATC. My main concern is that condensation will increase as the outside temps drop. I have some alterations in mind that will allow the vents to exhaust into the air rather than against the underside of the blanket but I will try it one or two more times more before I decide for sure.
Click to expand...

I wonder if it would work better with a ATC forcing air into the pit
 
I think it might create the added air pressure necessary but for my purposes I do not intend on buying an ATC. I'm not liking the issue of condensation and so I'm thinking I will open the blanket up where the dome vents are but before I do I want to make sure the material will not separate or unravel in any way or if so I will have the openings properly sewn.
 
Gary S said:
I think it might create the added air pressure necessary but for my purposes I do not intend on buying an ATC. I'm not liking the issue of condensation and so I'm thinking I will open the blanket up where the dome vents are but before I do I want to make sure the material will not separate or unravel in any way or if so I will have the openings properly sewn.
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Any shoe/canvas repair place should have a HD sewing machine that will laugh at the jacket.
 
Okay so I made a couple of test cuts into the material. No fraying, it was easy to cut with an exacto knife. I decided to go all the way and make the changes I thought would be the best for what my needs are.
IMG_1191.jpg
[/IMG]
IMG_1188.jpg
[/IMG] The metal can chimney as discussed in another thread under this forum
Got to know where my smoker is while working under cover
IMG_1186.jpg
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This opening will allow some ventilation from the second dome vent if I need it. I have not cut the second vent opening until I have the opportunity to try the changes I have made.
 
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Really interesting Gary. I got my cover in on Monday, but will not have cook time for a few days. I am following your posts here and will keep you posted on my results. Thank you for posting

Question... Did you sew around the holes you made. I thought your remark about being concerned about the thread was a good one.
 
Brian M. said:
Really interesting Gary. I got my cover in on Monday, but will not have cook time for a few days. I am following your posts here and will keep you posted on my results. Thank you for posting

Question... Did you sew around the holes you made. I thought your remark about being concerned about the thread was a good one.
Click to expand...

There does not seem to be a need the material is very well bonded. I'm just going to leave it for now and see how it works. I will be keeping an eye on it and I will have to see what threads are available.
PS the chimney can is now painted black!:cool:
 
Just reviving an old post. Unfortunately I have not used my blanket over the winter until this past weekend. I was away for a while and for the cooks that I did it seemed the kettle was better suited to my needs.
Anyhow this past weekend I used my WSM, smoked two 12 pound briskets and a butt. I used the blanket for both cooks. I'm glad I opened it up for the top vent and the thermometer. The two cuts I made have not frayed. The material looks like it will be unaffected. The blanket does an excellent job of holding in the heat to the extent that I had a great deal of difficulty stablizing temperatures, in fact I was at it constantly. I could not seem to achieve a steady temp no matter what I did. The tendency was to overshoot always. There was no wind and temps here were in the 25-30 range warming up yesterday to near 40. By cutting access for the dome vent it l eliminated any moisture build up under the blanket. Access to see the thermometer was really helpful. I would have been flying blind otherwise.
I believe these blankets are better suited to someone with an ATC.
 
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