Building a mini smoker from a BBQ i found for £5 - couple of questions

[GarethG]

So my mini WSM project is a little smaller (30cm across - about 12inches) but i've found parts/pots etc to fit it so no issues on that front. Luckily I found a £5 kettle to start it from. I think it should be plenty big enough to do some ribs and pulled pork in though!

From what i've read I need to use a waterpan - I was wondering how far this should be from the top of the coals. As mine is a little smaller it would end up sitting a couple of centimers (about an inch) above the coals. Is this too close, I can try and move that part up to where the steamer level was, which would make it around 5inches from the top of the coals - is this too far?. Or does it not matter too much?

I'll try and take pictures of the build as I go along - been held up because I bought the wrong type of jigsaw blades for my jigsaw!

 

[TOM BAUER]

Did your pot come with the steamer insert? The pot that I bought did, and I haven't been using a water pan, I flipped the steamer insert so it is higher than the bottom ring of the pot, and just use that. Top vent wide open, and adjust the bottom vent and able to control temps very well using RO lump as the fuel. Great results so far with this method. Now use it more than my bigger WSM's..

 

[Tommy B]

From what I understand and how I cook on my mini, most people do not use "water pans." I use a clay pot wrapped in foil as a heat diffuser. Put the heat diffuser towards the bottom of the pot. They are small units so your heat diffuser will be pretty close to the coals. The heat diffuser makes the smoker an indirect cooker. With out it you would have a tall Grill. I would think it would be tough to use a water pan because it would not hold much water and you would constantly have to refill. My heat diffuser sits on bolts about 1 inch from the bottom of the pot. You can find pictures of my build here. Keep us updated with pictures.

 

[GarethG]

Did your pot come with the steamer insert? The pot that I bought did, and I haven't been using a water pan, I flipped the steamer insert so it is higher than the bottom ring of the pot, and just use that. Top vent wide open, and adjust the bottom vent and able to control temps very well using RO lump as the fuel. Great results so far with this method. Now use it more than my bigger WSM's..

It has that little level with holes in? yeah it came with one of those, will that let enough heat through?
This is like mine http://homebrewhead.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/41C-L7k1w6L__AA260_.jpg

 

[TOM BAUER]

That's it, that's what I use!! A clay saucer perhaps might keep the temps steadier, but I have probably done close to 100 cooks and seems pretty easy to kept the temp pretty consistent. Try it a few times like I mentioned, and if it doesn't work out, you could go the clay saucer route. By the way, I figure 20 or so degrees either way works for me by the way I cook..

 

[GarethG]

I found a clay saucer, I think I might put the grate just under where the steamer level would've sat, just to give the heat a bit more room to get into the main chamber (its pretty close to the width of the hole i've cut..)

 

[GarethG]

That's it, that's what I use!! A clay saucer perhaps might keep the temps steadier, but I have probably done close to 100 cooks and seems pretty easy to kept the temp pretty consistent. Try it a few times like I mentioned, and if it doesn't work out, you could go the clay saucer route. By the way, I figure 20 or so degrees either way works for me by the way I cook..

I think its going to be a case of trying a few builds like you said and seeing how it runs.

 

[GarethG]

I've got a couple of tweaks to make still but its more or less done - the grill fits on the bottom screws but is prone to slipping off so i need to curl these up or stop it potentially moving as much.

I'm waiting for my thermometer to arrive from china (I thought i'd ordered in within the UK but annoyingly it was a Chinese seller) so i might order a second one while i wait. I managed to get 2 kettle BBQs for £7.50 which i wanted for the spare grills, but it means I have enough material to build a second smoker at some point too which I may do after i've given this a test run.

Anyway pics.

This took longer than expected as I had to wait for different blades to arrive but wasn't too bad otherwise

As this is quite a small build and my dish was bigger than i thought, i created a level about 1.5inches above the bottom of the steamer so the heat can still get in.

I also put a level about 2 3/4 inches from the top, and may put another level right at the top. I'll see how the usual pork shoulders I buy fit in this thing.

Has anyone had any issues with putting the thermometer under the grill, does fat drip on it and ruin it?

Costwise this thing has cost me

£1.99 for the dish
£5 for the kettle bbq
£1 in screws
£24.99 for the steamer
£6 for the thermometer

so its been a super cheap build.
I have had to buy a second hand jigsaw and some metal drill bits, but that kind of stuff will always come in handy on a future build.

I'll try and update again when its 100% finished

 

[Doug Selman]

Looking good Gareth, you'll love how well these Minis work! Welcome to the forum. If you haven't done so yet, when you get a chance, you should go over here and introduce yourself.

 

[GarethG]

Did a test run with it just doing some Chicken thighs - 2 hour smoke or so (then finished in the oven for 15minutes as it was late)
I need more coals to start off with - and I REALLY need the thermometer installed but other than that it came out really nicely and seemed to stay fairly stable, I need to move the coals away from the vent too as it caused some paint and burn marks, I don't think it was designed for direct heat.
Impressed with the little build so far!

 

[Chris Arnold]

Gareth - you might want to locate a Weber Smokey Joe on eBay (or other used sites)
that will handle the heat better - but they are slightly larger and i know folks have struggled to find pots big enough in the UK.

 

[GarethG]

Gareth - you might want to locate a Weber Smokey Joe on eBay (or other used sites)
that will handle the heat better - but they are slightly larger and i know folks have struggled to find pots big enough in the UK.

It should be fine, the bbq came with an internal "bucket" for the coals but i got cocky and made my own. I think it should be fine if i leave a gap between the edge and the coals so I might repurpose the little bucket. I'll have a play with it tonight and see what I can do. But I'll have to see on a longer smoke.