My Mini build, with pics.


 

Jason Beach

TVWBB Member
After reading so many inspiring posts on this forum, I put together a plan to build my own.

I finally finished this a couple days ago. Overall, I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

I had to order the pot online from Walmart, as the ones on the shelf were not the Vasconia brand and didn't have the black handles. ( I really wanted the black handles! ) After reading some current posts about the Vasconia from Walmart, I guess I lucked out and paid under $21 out the door.

I settled on using a 12”x2” cake pan, to hopefully catch most of the drippings and make clean-up a bit easier.

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Using a jig saw, I cut the tabs to make them 2.5” tall, so the cake pan sits ½” above the pot bottom. I will probably install stainless “L” brackets at some point, as I don’t see the thin aluminum holding up to consistent use.

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Lookin pretty good to me…

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Bottom grate resting on the steamer level position.

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I measured and marked a piece of string to get three, evenly spaced holes, to install the hardware for the top grate.

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Installed hardware.

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Everything done for the interior.

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I used a 9” pie pan for the ash catcher.

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I had to wait a few weeks for this to arrive from Weber.

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Finished!

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Unfortunately, I didn't get pics of the painting process. I masked off everything that I didn't want painted black (including the inside haha! ) and used hi-temp gloss black.

A few days after getting it all put together, I had the time to fire it up and test it out. I was just burning charcoal this time, to get a feel for how it would work. The paint held up just fine to the heat, and it smelled like a real smoker after I was done, yahoo!
 
Nice work, I wish I had gone with the upper therm rather than the side one. I find that when moving my racks around because of how long the therm is (2 inches) its a pain. Maybe one of these days ill purchase me another pot, and make a second one while adding the adjustments I want :).

Forgot to ask, what did you pay for the therm from weber? Also what size hole did you drill in order to mount it?
 
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Forgot to ask, what did you pay for the therm from weber? Also what size hole did you drill in order to mount it?

It was just over $16 total for the therm and bezel from Weber. I stopped using the drill bits, when I got to 1/4" and used a Dremel to complete the hole as the next size bit I had was way too big. The hole was just a tiny bit larger than 1/4".
 
Great looking cooker. I got my steamer from WallyWorld too, same one. I put my cake pan on the steamer grate tho, works fine. No paint for mine ..YET... Yours is beautiful!
Happy cooks on the mini.

Mark
 
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Great build. How easy was the jig to use to cut out the bottom? The only reason I ask is I'm looking to build another mini for my arsenal. I used tin snips on my first one, which sucked.
 
Great build. How easy was the jig to use to cut out the bottom? The only reason I ask is I'm looking to build another mini for my arsenal. I used tin snips on my first one, which sucked.

It wasn't a perfect cut, but not terrible either. It was quick and easy. I spent more time with the Dremel and sand paper, smoothing out the rough edges. If I build another one, I will do it the same way.
 
My first practice cook on the Mini.

I started out with a 2.75lb Chuck Roast, that was marinated in a Montreal Steak marinade. I smoked this at 275 for 6-hours total, with three of those hours wrapped in foil. The results were not too bad, the flavor was great, but definitely a bit overdone.

Like others here have said, the Mini holds temp very well, once stabilized. I now know what to expect from the Mini for my next cook.

More pics!

This method definitely keeps the air flowing for long cooks.

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There are 101 briquettes in this pile with some Hickory wood. I put 8 burning briquettes in the middle to get the cook started.

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The foiled cake pan caught 100% of the drippings.

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Here we go!

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It took about 45 minutes to get the temp stabilized at 275.
1-hour after starting the cook.


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3-hours in…
I foiled it just after I took this pic.


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Gunk buildup!

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This is at the 7-hour mark.

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I let it rest in the foil, while I cleaned everything up for the next cook.
Looks promising, but a little too well done…ughh!


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The meat did have a very good flavor and was gone pretty quickly!

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Jason - How big of a hole did you cut in the bottom of the pot? Is it the size of the bottom of the cake pan?

I am about to start my first Mini build this weekend. Your build turned out great. Thanks for sharing with us!
 
Jason - How big of a hole did you cut in the bottom of the pot? Is it the size of the bottom of the cake pan?

I am about to start my first Mini build this weekend. Your build turned out great. Thanks for sharing with us!

I'm pretty sure that I traced the bottom of the pan. The O/D of the bottom is not much smaller than the top, so I don't think it would make much difference. Now that I have a few cooks on my Mini, I'm very happy with how consistent it maintains temp and how little fuel it uses.
 
Nice build. I wonder what the temp difference would be on the weber therm up top against a reading at the bottom grate level? Where did you get the cake pan. Seems so simple but can't find a pan to fit well.
 
Nice build. I wonder what the temp difference would be on the weber therm up top against a reading at the bottom grate level? Where did you get the cake pan. Seems so simple but can't find a pan to fit well.

Hey Matt,

I got the cake pan at Smart & Final.

I use the lid therm to get a rough idea of overall temp inside the Mini. Using time on the smoker and a meat thermometer, I have had great resuls so far.
 

 

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