Brinkman mods/pictures ???


 
J

John Furdyn

TVWBB Pro
Interested in any pictures, anyone might share of the mods they did to their Brinkman Smokers,
El cheapo, Gourmet, or otherwise. I'm familiar with the main websites, that explain the mods etc. I'm looking for your personal pictures of mods to your brinkman. Also those of you have modified a brinkman, and moved up to the weber smokey mountain, what are the main advantages you found. Any info appreiated. I'm still modifying my brinkman and will probably move up to a WSM some day when I grow up.
John
 
Here is a link to some photos of my mods to the Brinkmann Gourmet I had a few years ago. Basically I added a charcoal grate (so ashes could fall through instead of building up and smothering the fire), a thermometer (candy/deep-fry type, stuck through a hole in the side just under the top grate), and an adjustable slider over the vent hole so I could control temperatures by controlling the air flow.

The main advantages I found when I finally got a WSM: (1) Runs longer, at a steady temperature, than the Gourmet did (even with my mods). When cooking butts on the Gourmet, I'd usually have to dump the ashes and add more charcoal somewhere around the 6 to 7 hour mark, but the WSM will cook for far longer without needing more fuel; (2) just generally better quality of materials and workmanship; (3) this board (although I did read and post here while still cooking on the Brinkmann). Minor advantage: it looks a lot better on the deck next to my Weber kettle grill.
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Thanks Larry & Matt.
Larry I see you added side vents on the base, neat idea. I imagine they helped with fire temp control quite abite. I have added some small holes, around the circumference of the stock hole on the bottom, with a damper also. I also added the charcoal grate as you did. This weekend added vent holes on the lid, with a damper as well. I fiqure by the time I learn to cook pretty well with my modified cooker, I'l get a WSM and start all over. Although the operation will be somewhat similiar, I hope.
Thanks Again guys. Happy smoking.
John
 
Originally posted by John Furdyn:

Larry I see you added side vents on the base, neat idea. I imagine they helped with fire temp control quite abite.
Click to expand...

I only added the one vent, and that was mostly because I couldn't really tell how far the bottom vent (the original one) was open. As it turned out, I would usually cook with the bottom vent fully closed, and the side vent open about 1/4 to 1/2 inch, which would give me temps in the 225 - 250 range. I left the lid like it was - the (intentionally) loose fit acted as a vent while cooking. When the cook was complete, I'd remove the center section and carefully set the lid on top of the charcoal pan (it's a tricky fit), and the fire would go out in a short time.
 
Larry,
Good idea to set the lid on the charcoal pan carefully, to let the fire go out. Think I'l try that on my next cook, maybe tomorrow if I'm lucky. Thanks Again
John
 
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