Cooking under a Shade Canopy.....Am I Nuts?


 
Steve Whiting

Steve Whiting

TVWBB All-Star
I am looking for a way to barbecue in the rain. I know my WSM will do just fine but I want to also use my Big Drum Smoker. Rocky at BDS doesn’t recommend cooking with the BDS in the rain-probably because it is not stainless steel or porcelain coated.
This may sound crazy but I was wondering if it would work if I cooked directly under one of those shade canopies you see at special events and things like that- Just 4 posts and a top covering, no walls. Does anyone have any experience, good or bad with doing something this or am I nuts for even considering it?
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Steve,

I cook under one of those "tents" routinely. Have never had any issue with it.

I like it obviously for rain, but I also like to use it for mid-day summertime cooks to keep the sun off the smoker. Makes temp control easier I think.

A lot of times when I do overnighters, I set it up just for good measure. Here in the southeast, a 0% chance of rain in the summer means we probably won't have a shower pop up sometime....you never know.
 
I've cooked under them just fine at the house, especially if I'm not sure about the rain chance. One thing I do is use a box fan to blow a light breeze through the canopy to help with smoke. It doesn't blow it all out, but it helps a little bit.
 
Originally posted by craig castille:
I've done it, just beware of a strong wind.
Click to expand...

Agreed - make sure you have it anchored down well or you could find it in the neighbor's yard.

I'm into overkill, so I anchor mine the following way. I poured concrete 2/3 of the way up a 5 gallon bucket and set a long bolt in it. I insert the leg of the canopy in the bucket, with the bolt through the hole in the leg. Secure it with wing nuts and it's good to go. Haven't had any trouble yet.
 
Originally posted by Pat McCreight:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by craig castille:
I've done it, just beware of a strong wind.
Click to expand...

Agreed - make sure you have it anchored down well or you could find it in the neighbor's yard.

I'm into overkill, so I anchor mine the following way. I poured concrete 2/3 of the way up a 5 gallon bucket and set a long bolt in it. I insert the leg of the canopy in the bucket, with the bolt through the hole in the leg. Secure it with wing nuts and it's good to go. Haven't had any trouble yet. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I've seen similar buckets attached to pop-up tents hurled across a race track paddock by wind, ruining cars and trailers and luckily not killing anyone.

My recommendation is to either tie the tents down to immovable objects like cars, trailers, etc with proper straps or stake the tent into the ground. I've seen too many nitrogen bottles and concrete weights thrown around like kids toys by a strong burst of wind.
 
I use two EZ-ups in my business. One in the front of the pit and one over the body with a gap of about a foot between for the stacks. I anchor them by sliding the bottom portion of the leg out and running it through a 50 lb weight before putting it back in. I would say it has held up to a 35-40 mph wind, but really, if it gets that windy, take it down.
 
Originally posted by B.Watts:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Pat McCreight:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by craig castille:
I've done it, just beware of a strong wind.
Click to expand...

Agreed - make sure you have it anchored down well or you could find it in the neighbor's yard.

I'm into overkill, so I anchor mine the following way. I poured concrete 2/3 of the way up a 5 gallon bucket and set a long bolt in it. I insert the leg of the canopy in the bucket, with the bolt through the hole in the leg. Secure it with wing nuts and it's good to go. Haven't had any trouble yet. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I've seen similar buckets attached to pop-up tents hurled across a race track paddock by wind, ruining cars and trailers and luckily not killing anyone.

My recommendation is to either tie the tents down to immovable objects like cars, trailers, etc with proper straps or stake the tent into the ground. I've seen too many nitrogen bottles and concrete weights thrown around like kids toys by a strong burst of wind. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Each bucket weighs 50 pounds. Somehow I think that is stronger than a stake. But like Dave says, this isn't designed to hold up in tornadoes.
 
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