Brinkman?


 
D

D Reinknecht

TVWBB Member
I currently have a weber VB and love it. As a gift for xx years of service with my current company I have a choice of gifts, one of which is a brinkman smoker (unfortunately no weber..)
Has anyone used a Brinkman and are they any good? I only need two smokers a few times a year...but when I do it would be nice to have a second one..and if someone else will buy it...
Any thoughts you have would be appreciated
David
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We bought 2 Brinkmann smokers before buying the Weber. The first was a box-like smoker and the door wouldn't even shut all the way. When we finally did get it to shut, the lever stuck in place and it was all we could do to get the door open again. The walls were way too thin to hold any sort of heat for any amount of time, and the charcoal area was virtually inaccessible when loaded with meat. We didn't even make it past the seasoning phase. The second one we bought was a bullet-style smoker. We got it halfway together, then realized that the handles were already cracking, the door wouldn't seal for anything, and the lid had a good 1/2" gap all the way around the top that would let out way too much heat to be an effective cooking machine, so we took it apart and took it back before even using it.

Now, the Brinkmann they're giving you may be of higher quality, but I have yet to see one that I'd mess around with. Weber has us spoiled.
 
David,

I have one of the Brinkmann "Smoke 'N Grill" smokers (which I got as a free gift). I used it a couple times before I got my WSM. Now, I only use it's large water pan in my WSM....or if I want to smoke a side dish. I made the baked beans from the cooking topics on this board. Everyone raved about the beans, but it was a short cook...and I wasn't concerned about temp for a long period.

Other than that, I wouldn't use it.
 
David,

I have used the Brinkmann Gourmet smoker for a little while now and it works fine after a few modifications. Here are a few picutes of the mods I did.
 
I also had a Gourmet, which I modified (not as neatly as Wayne did, though). If you modify it so you can (1) control the airflow (which controls temperature), (2)keep the ash buildup from smothering the fire, and (3)monitor the actual temperature inside (the built-in temperature gauge is pretty much useless), you can cook for several hours at a time, at a constant temperature. Here's a link to my crude mods (which resulted in some pretty good bbq): Mods

By the way, the gap around the lid is there by design. It serves the same function as the WSM's lid vent. As long as you control the air coming in at the bottom, there is no need to try to seal off the gap around the lid.
 
I had a Gourmet Brinkman and it produced great bbq. It was a lot of work keeping it running. I now have a WSM and I wouldn't go back to the Brinkman. It's a good smoker to start with, because it's cheap and if you don't like smoking you're not out a lot of money. If you like it move up to a WSM. Here's another modification site.
 
Interesting mods, like the pictures. Wayne 2 questions, How much charcoal can you put in your basket arrangement, and how long will it cook ? Also how close is your fire to the bottom of your water pan ? I have a similiar cooker Cook N Cajun same I believe as yours minus the access door. I have raised the added charcoal grate as you did although not as high. Thanks for you inputs. Happy smoking John
 
John,

Thanks for asking. I've never measured the amount, via a chimney, I pour into the charcoal basket. For a rib cook, I fill it half way and for butts I fill it full. The expanded metal ring is 6" high and the grate is a replacement for the cooking grate of the Smoky Joe...if I remember correctly. I use Rancher from HD and burn times at 250 for 12 hours are not a problem but remember this is south-east Georgia also. February is our winter season! Using 5" carriage bolts and 6" high charcoal ring, it leaves 1" from the bottom of the water pan. I don't use water...just foil it all over. As you can see from the pictures, I have sealed the air-flow around the lid using a cut-off section of a charcoal pan from an electric smoker. I control my air flow by placing a tinfoil cover over the hole lcoated at the very bottom of the smoker and poking a hole in it the size of a 1st graders pencil and then close or open the hole on the lid where the useless thermometer was located....using more tinfoil of course. Hope this helps.
 
David,

I also started with a Brinkmann “Smoke ‘N Grill” that I bought at a garage sale for $5 and I actually had a few successful smokes with it. The problem was the heat and smoke as Luke & Bethany C. mentioned, was coming out around the access door and also around the gap between the lid and the smoker. The other bummer was no air was getting to the coals and I had to constantly check the temp, not fun on a long smoke. I’m using the charcoal pan from the Brinkmann as a water pan in the WSM but for fun I may do some of the mods as noted by Larry and keep it as a back up. Keep smokin!!!
 
Wayne
I like the idea of the expanded metal, as well as, the tin foil for controlling the air flow. I think I know where I can get a hold of a piece of metal like you used, guess I'l have to try it. It never ceases to amyaze me the good ideas some people, like you, come up with. These Brinkman smokers were pretty much useless as they came out of the factory as far as I can tell. After raising the added charcoal pan and getting the heat up, I decided maybe I could smoke after all. Always looking for good ideas. Thanks, John
 
John,

All the mods hardware was bought from HD except the guru eyelet for the ET-73 and the charcoal pan from an electric (red) gourmet. Normally you would want to control air-flow from the bottom to prevent "stale smoke" at the top but sometimes you just gots to do what you gots to do. Doug's idea of covering the bottom hole like he did was a great idea...I just never thought of it. Using my method of no air flow control from the bottom, sealing the gap around the body and lid was a must...keep that in mind if it's just using tin foil vs the pan I cut. Good luck and keep in touch...I don't 'push' the ECB here but I'll be glad to help any way I can.
 
Wayne Thanks again. You know, I'm not the handiest guy, but if I keep with, I seam to get the job done one way or the other. Can you buy the expanded metal, in 6 in withs at HD or how is it sold ? I'm going to tinker with this cooker thru out the winter, cooking a little, when the weather is somewhat suitable inbetween. Then this spring If I'm brave enough I might try to give this old cooker a coat of paint. It's got some rust as well as some greese spot etc. on the out side. My concern is in preparing the surface well enough, so the paint will stick, and not peel off. John
 
John,

I bought the expanded metal as a 1'x2' piece and cut it in half length-wise. You'll use both halves with a little overlap at each end held together with 12 gauge copper wire.

This thread seems to be down to just you and me - email me with any further questions please. My address is in my profile. Thanks for the interest.
 
Thanks to everyone for all the advice/suggestions. Sounds like if I started with just the Brinkman then graduated to a weber I'd be ok...but having started with the weber, it doesn't sound like I'll ever be happy with the Brinkman.....
Happy Holidays to All
David
 
Originally posted by Reinknecht D:
I currently have a weber VB and love it. As a gift for xx years of service with my current company I have a choice of gifts, one of which is a brinkman smoker (unfortunately no weber..)
Has anyone used a Brinkman and are they any good? I only need two smokers a few times a year...but when I do it would be nice to have a second one..and if someone else will buy it...
Any thoughts you have would be appreciated
David
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Click to expand...

David i used a Brinkman water smoker for a few years Updated to a Brinkman SMOKE N PIT PROFESSIONAL offset 18 years ago. I think i used the ws as a fire pit after 2 yrs or maybe i gave it to one of my in laws
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. Sorry im not a hater could chalk it up to being new to water smokers at that time.As one grows older so does patience.Would love to try a wsm .but for now its me and OTG and SnPP.
 
Like Larry and Tony(an others) I had a Brinkman Gourmet as a starter. I used it for about a year or so to see if I liked Qing. I did a lot of chicken on it and ribs a few times. It was some work keeping the temps under control. I learned not to over smoke chicken as well as the 3-2-1 spares on the ECB. I never did a long smoke(over 6hrs) on it. Well the CEO and the kids liked the Q, so I got a WSM last spring. I have done both short and long cooks on the WSM with little effort on the temp control. Doing overnight cooks have been fairly easy. I am very new to this type of cooking. There is a ton of info and help here.


Cheers,
Ed

Weber Silver C
WSM
 
Hey Dave - what are your other choices. I know when I retired from Verizon (AKA Bell of PA) I had choices as well. Knowing what I know now, I really don't think I would have picked a smoker from the list if a WSM wasn't there. No joke. Pick a clock, silverware or something and learn on the VB you have. And see if you want to step up to a really nice horizontal on your own. Hey, and look at my sig. Even though I like the CG Pro SFB for a number of things, it has been just that a learning experience. So I would say learn the WSM as your first "learning smoker" and skip any Brinkman bullet. Then figure out if you want to spend the $$ to get a really good horizontal that doesn't need mods or tinkering. Or - figure out which grill out there would best augment your cooking style/situation for the right $$

My 2 c
 
I started with a ECB many years ago. The only thing I ever cooked on it was chicken and turkeys. When it rusted out I didn't replace it because of the trouble it took. Meaning - I stopped trying to smoke for quite a few years. Accidently found TVWBB - started reading about HOW to bbq etc. Last June I gave myself an early BD present and bought the WSM.

Most of my cooks are overnite (butts). The staying power of the WSM blows my mind especially when compared to the brinkman. I've had cooking temps in the bullet 17 hours after starting with the MM.

Brinkman or WSM - I stopped bbqing when I had the ECB! NO Weber - NO SMOKEE!
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