Cajun Bandit (Weber Grill Mod)


 
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John -

I talked to Chris at the contest in Huntsville a few weeks ago and mentioned to him that I had picked up a used Weber with the three bottom vents for $5 off of CL.

He thought that would be the ideal Weber to use with the CB because of the three bottom vents.

I wouldn't worry about the top clearance. I can't imagine cooking anything on the top grate that would crowd the lid. If you're cooking beer can chicken or anything else that might crowd the lid, you can cook it on the bottom grate, which will give you plenty of clearance between the bottom and top grates.


The CB really is a well-conceived, well-made product that is a nice compliment to the Weber Kettle.

Pat
 
John:

Robert is correct, the CB will not work using the bottom of the kettle for a top.

Please note that the height of the CB is 18.5 inches. The distance between the bottom cooking rack and the top rack is 9", the clearance from the very top of the Weber vent to the top cooking rack would be 10", allowing 2-3 inches air space above the rack would give you at least 7" clearance while cooking on the top rack. You might also consider acquiring a Weber Rotisserie ring, which would give you another 6", then add a rack on the very top of the ring. I have a ring and it is a very tight fit. See my prior post and photos of the ring installed on the CB. I found the ring, new, on CL for $78, still in the box.

If you want to add a third rack, might consider ordering without the water pan and rack holder installed, and I think there would be enough room to drop the water pan about 2". If you choose to use a ceramic planter base, that would also free up a lot of space, since the water pan is huge.
LDW
Chris, J.Key, anyone else...

I have a couple of older 22 (and a 18) kettles laying around of which I seldom use both at the same time but once a month I cook pork butts for a non profit (100-150 people) and could use extra space.

Looks like your product could work out well for when I do the extra meat.

Question is as follows..

We all know that a WSM is just the bottom pieces of the corresponding sized kettles with a 3rd piece in the middle.

One of my older 22s is a Bar-B-Kettle which the bottom piece has the metal handles and 3-4 hole vents on the bottom. The other is a one touch 22 (fin vent).

Because the Bar-B-Kettle has the 3 vents on the bottom, I thought this should be a superior top piece with the One Touch on the bottom and Cajun Bandit in the center not only because the ventilation is already there but becaue it gives it more room to cook something taller like a big turkey or maybe even add another rack.

I would add 3-4 vents on the sides of the One Touch like the standard WSMs.

Let us know how you feel the Cajun Cooker will fit with a bottom kettle used as a top piece. The currect 22 WSM center piece should allow this to fit as I know the 18 does.

John[/QUOTE]
 
I (finally) ordered my Bandit yesterday, and got a notice that it shipped today. Tip for anyone who's been on the fence on one of these: They're in the process of switching over to a stainless access door, so right now you can pick up one of the older models with a painted steel door for $150 plus shipping. That's a $20 dollar savings over the original price. Make sure you look at the bandit website, not their original ebay listing.

There was a little bit of confusion about the shipping cost, and they called me right away to straighten it out. Now I just can't wait for it to get here so I can assemble it and finally put the ECB out to pasture.
 
I shall call it the Silver Bandit.

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I got my CB today. First impressions...
1. Wow, this thing is big. I've never been around a 22.5" WSM, only my stepfather's 18.5. I expect this is the shock that WSM owners felt when the 22.5 was first released.
2. The build quality seems really good. There are a couple of details that make me think this thing is going to work really well.

I think I'm the first person to do this mod based on a One Touch Silver, so I put together an assembly and first impression photo gallery.
 
Jake:

Good job! Now get to pimping, thermometer, wheels, bigger handles?

I see that Chris is still using the small aluminum handles although he indicated that he was looking for a replacement. I replaced with the Genie garage door lift handles, like $4.75 a pair, at Lowes. Since the spacing is different, I plugged one of the handle holes with a pop rivet, drilled another to get the spacing right, mounted horizontally, using larger bolts. The Genie handles are much more substantial, easier to grip, stand farther away from the barrell.

I have now done 4 smokes on my CB, found it a little harder to adjust the bottom vents for long smokes, than my old WSM, but have finally got the hang of it. I still think that the ideal kettle to do the mod would be the old model kettle, with the round wheel type bottom vents. On my OTG kettle, I have thought about adding a couple of vents from the WSM, but the One Touch system presents a problem in installing, since its movement limits the area where it would be installed.

LDW
Mesquite, TX
 
I know in the photo gallery, I had a couple of little complaints, but I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. The build quality on this thing is excellent. Heavier gauge steel than I expected, tight fit at top and bottom, etc. I carried the center section down two flights of stairs fully assembled, and there was no chance of a grate shifting or the water pan falling out.

When I talked to Chris Byrd (the other half of C&C Grillin) to straighten out shipping, he knew who I was from my posts in this forum. I'm sure the new model with a stainless door is a response to the positive comments about building a stainless WSM door. They may make more improvements based on our comments (like better handles), as long as they can still assemble it economically.

Larry-
Handles are a priority. I'm going to see if the handles from my ECB can be used, so I don't have to buy more parts.

Thermometer is not an emergency. I can always put my Performer thermo through the lid vent. I do want to get some eyelets installed pretty soon, so I can use my probe thermometer. Anyone know of a solution other than ordering Guru eyelets? I was looking for some little threaded inserts at Home Depot when I went for BBQ paint yesterday, but I didn't find anything that looked useful.

I'm almost scared to add wheels. The thing already looks like a giant robot overlord come to rule my patio, so if I add wheels, it will just be able to chase me down. Kidding aside, if I get motivated I may make a little cart, rather than adding wheels directly to the legs like you did.
 
First cook on the Silver Bandit:

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Here are my impressions as a novice. All my previous smoking has been on an ECB, and I've been so frustrated with it that I've only smoked twice in the past 2 1/2 years.

I used the CB for the first time last night. Did a 4 1/2 hour smoke with a couple of slabs of ribs using the TVWB Basic Baby Back Ribs recipe. I used two chimneys of unlit Kingsford Comp, 1/2 chimney lit, one large chunk of cherry, a big chunk of apple, and a handful of apple chips. I wish I had used 3/4 or a full chimney of lit, because it took a while to come up to temperature. Otherwise, it performed wonderfully, and the only downsides were strictly operator error.

I set it up with the Weber 9815 thermo from my performer in a cork through the lid vent, and my cheap but accurate probe thermo lead squashed under the lid. I also managed to set it up with the handle for the One Touch behind the smoker, but I didn't notice that until it was too late. One more argument for wheels of some sort.

Both vents were wide open until it came up to 250, about 30-45 minutes. When the temp was right, I closed the bottom down to about 10-20%. I adjusted the vents every 30 minutes or so, but that was only because I was seeing how fine my control was. With the frequent adjustments, the temperature stayed dead steady. If you don't mind a 10-15 degree variation, I'm sure you could check it every hour or two. The only smoke leak was right around where my probe lead ran under the lid, which was expected. I'm sure after I find a better way to rig that, it won't leak at all.

Ash buildup was not a concern on this short cook, but it could be on a longer one. I just realized that the ash pan is installed wrong, so hopefully it will be more stable after I fix it.

A few people have asked about goo on the outside, since the lid fits over the barrel, rather than inside on a WSM. Yes, there was a little bit of goo. A small amount dripped off the rim opposite where the probe went under. My theory is that the probe lead put the lid enough out of level to make the goo run down to the opposite side. There were also two small streaks below the corners of the access door. One of these made a goo puddle on the patio about the size of my hand. (I picked up a hot water heater drip pan at HD today to take care of that for the future.)

The temperature was pretty easy to get back under control after I started checking for doneness every half hour. I just put the lid in the slide aside, checked and sprayed the ribs, then put the lid back on and closed all the vents for a few minutes. When the temperature came back down, I opened the top full and the bottom back to 10% or so. After the first time checking, I kept the temp closer to 265 each time. I was hungry.

After I pulled the ribs, I closed down all the vents. When I went back downstairs after dinner (I live in a 3rd floor apartment), the fire was dead out. The amount of charcoal I used was definitely overkill, but I didn't know and didn't want to risk running out of fuel my first time out.

I also posted a photo gallery with more commentary. I'll do a follow-up gallery with pics of goo, fixed charcoal pan, etc soon.

Mods/Add-ons:
performer thermo through vent
slide aside lid holder
water heater drip pan

To come:
lid-mounted thermo (opinions on tel-tru BQ250?)
Handles from ECB (The bolts are only 1/2" farther apart on center than the CB rivets. I can adjust that)
Some sort of wheeled contraption (maybe some 2x4s and locking casters under the drip pan?)
Eyelets of some sort for my probe
 
Have a whole pork picnic in the Silver Bandit right now. Put the meat in at 6:30 am, up to temperature and last vent adjustment at 6:50 am, just came downstairs to check (9:50 am), and the grate temp is holding steady at 246 degrees.

I may have found a good temporary thermo solution. I picked up a BGE thermometer with clip for 18.95 at the BBQ Barn in Arlington, MA. Modified the clip so it slips under the vent wheel and the shaft goes through the lid vent.

Update, 12:10 pm: Went out to check. Temp at grate was down to 222. Used the one touch to sweep out some ash, then set the vent back to about 10% open. Temperature was climbing slowly when I left.

Update, 4pm: Checked a couple of times since the last update, and the temp was good. Went out about 20 minutes ago, and it was down to 190. Swept some more ash, then set the vent to about 25%. Temp came back to about 240, then started sinking slowly. May be getting low on fuel. I'm about to go flip and baste the meat. I'll see if I need to add charcoal while it's open.

Update, 6pm: Didn't add charcoal last time I had it open. Just stirred the coals and basted. It's been very hard to keep the temp up, though. Sweeping ashes frequently, adjusting vent every 20 minutes or so. Just now, I opened it up to baste again. While I had it open, I shook the charcoal ring, pulled it out and swept the kettle clean through the bottom vent. Added about 3/4 chimney of unlit. No more temp problems for now. The meat's at 182, so it shouldn't be much longer.

Update, 7:20pm: Meat is done. Took it off with an average internal temp of 190-195. It's foiled and resting, and I will pull it in about 15 minutes.

Update, after dinner: the finished product...
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what is the pan you have the CB sitting in?
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That's a 24" hot water heater drip pan that I picked up at Home Depot for $18.95 plus tax. It fits the Bandit like they were made for each other.
 
Hey guys, I have a few things I need to throw out here, first, I had a new customer who told me that because of this site/post he made the decision to buy our product, and recommended that I give ya’ll a shout out, so thanks every body for all your input and feedback its really been a big help in our development, it has personally helped my smoking skills with recipes and techniques, Thanks. Second, if anybody is on the fence about our product because of shipping expense, we have included a flat rate of $25.00 in the cost and removed the shipping, that’s the best we can do. Last, but not least, for those waiting on the WSM replacement door, its finally here for the 18” older model, I don’t know if the new model is the same, so if anybody has any info I would appreciate it, the 22” door is on its way. The doors should be posted for sale on our site this weekend, Thanks again to all the people involved in this post and the Virtual Weber website. C. Perres
 
I just noticed a feature of the CB. I was browsing the charcoal grate mods page, and I noticed that a couple of them are supposed to let you shake the charcoal grate/chamber to let you separate the ash.

The charcoal ring on my bandit has tabs stamped and formed into the bottom. You put the charcoal grate inside the ring, it sits on the tabs, then you just pick up the whole ring and shake out the ash.

I'd definitely used that feature, I just never realized it was something the WSM didn't have. If I had more energy right now, I'd go down and take a picture. As it is, here's a cropped and enlarged shot from when I first took it out of the box. You'll just have to imagine how it fits together.

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This is a nice little feature. Being able to pick up the ring with the grate attached has turned out to be quite handy.
 
Jake re. your 6/13 post.. that's exactly what I thought may happen. From my experience trying to cook long low and slow cooks on a 22 kettle the ash build has a potential to clog the holes.

Thought a decent mod would be to add 3-4 (4 hole) vents in the sides of the webber bottom just like a standard WSM. This way air is coming in from the sides as opposed to the bottom. This leaves the standard clean out to be used to clear ashes after the cook is over.

Also the older bar-b-kettle with only the 3 (4 hole) vents at the bottom of the kettle will have the potential to clog for same reasons. This type of bottom could make an excellent top though.

John
 
Sweeping ashes frequently, adjusting vent every 20 minutes or so. Just now, I opened it up to baste again. While I had it open, I shook the charcoal ring, pulled it out and swept the kettle clean through the bottom vent. Added about 3/4 chimney of unlit. No more temp problems for now.
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This part was due to it being out of fuel, not clogged at the bottom. Until all the charcoal burned up, it held temperature pretty well with adjustments every 2-4 hours, and I'd sweep some ash with the one touch every time I adjusted. I've never used a WSM, but I was impressed with how steady the CB is. Adding vents higher up above the charcoal grate would probably help, but I don't think it's necessary.
 
Originally posted by C.Perres:
Hey guys, I have a few things I need to throw out here, first, I had a new customer who told me that because of this site/post he made the decision to buy our product, and recommended that I give ya’ll a shout out, so thanks every body for all your input and feedback its really been a big help in our development, it has personally helped my smoking skills with recipes and techniques, Thanks.
Click to expand...
I figured since I am the above customer I should probably write in to say hi and thanks myself! I've been a long time lurker and wanted to thank everyone for their help and advice over the years. I'll post an introduction on that part of the forum shortly...

Regarding my experience with the CB, I have few complaints. Mine did arrive nicked in one place on the barrel, so I would reiterate the need to work on the shipping issue. It assembled quickly and easily - the only problems I had were due to using an ancient Weber that needed some non-CB replacement parts that were rusty and not wanting to be parted with the grill. Otherwise, it was a breeze. I smoked 12 racks of babyback ribs and the CB worked flawlessly. I had a bit of trouble controlling the temperature, but I think that's just me getting used to the unit. I had similar problems with my Bullet until I got the hang of where the vents needed to be... All told, I was considering the 22" Weber, but am very glad I stumbled onto this thread. Thanks again guys.
 
Due to this thread about the cajun bandit, I bit the bullet and went for one with the steel door that featured free shipping. Everyone keep sending pictures and mods so I can get mine right. I am going to try installing it on my performer, and perhaps an old 3-hole weber. I also have an e-z que which looks like it might work also----
 
Tom:

Of the mods I have done, since acquiring the CB about 90 days ago, the most beneficial, other than adding a thermometer, was adding casters and Genie door lift handles, mounted horizontally. Since the holes for the factory handles are narrower, it was necessary to drill another hole and plug the unused hole with a pop rivet. The casters are very usefull to move the unit around on my patio, to get it out of the rain while cooking.. I am sure you will enjoy the CB. It does use substantially more charcoal then the 18" WSM, and it took some time to get used to adjusting the one touch vents, more difficult than the wheel type bottom vents.

LDW
 
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