Dummy "block" to save fuel?


 
L

Lawrence M.

TVWBB Super Fan
Hello, I was just wondering if anyone has ever put a large hollow object such as a pail and lid or pot and lid inside a larger smoker to conserve fuel. Hollow just so it doesn't need to heat up.

The idea is the concentrate the smoke around the meat chamber instead of an empty rack. Thoughts?
 
Lawrence,with the WSM,most people fill the charcoal chamber,do the cook,then close all the vents to choke off the coals. The leftover coals can then be used for the next cook. I'm not sure if this answers your question,or if you are talking about putting something on the cooking rack to take up space. I've never heard of that,but you could be a trend setter if that's what you are talking about. HTH
 
"Thoughts?" Ok:

Charcoal is cheap.
More meat means more moisture in the cooker.
Microwaves are great inventions to bbq-ers because leftover bbq sandwiches are better than bologna.
Chicken leg quarters are cheap and multi-purpose leftovers....and can even be cooked low-n-slow.
I've got a stuffed jalapeno rack that fits through the door of my wsm.
Your neighbor might appreciate some bbq.
My wsm has two racks and sometimes three.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Lawrence M.:
Hello, I was just wondering if anyone has ever put a large hollow object such as a pail and lid or pot and lid inside a larger smoker to conserve fuel. Hollow just so it doesn't need to heat up.

The idea is the concentrate the smoke around the meat chamber instead of an empty rack. Thoughts? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Lawrence the majority of energy used in smoking is to maintain temp in the face of heat loss through the vent, and in conductive heat loss through the walls of the cooker. Realistically anything like you describe won't work.
A wind break or an insulating jacket are the only easy ways to change fuel consumption.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> conserve fuel. Hollow </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">concentrate the smoke </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

These are two different proposals.

Conserve fuel - Let's say put an empty cooking pot in the bottom. Because the heat will be absorbed by the pot and heat up inside as well as outside, no energy savings. You could save energy when you open the wsm as the heat in the pot won't dissipate. Similarly when you have a full refrigerator, all of the cold air won't disappear when you open the door (as opposed to an empty refrigerator).

If you put a couple of insulated thermos's in the pit, you could save some energy as the inside of thermos wouldn't be heated.

Concentrate the smoke - Putting a heat proof balloon in there would concentrate the smoke. The balloon would affect the air flow considerably and would cause more problems that benefits.

my 2 cents.
 
Lawrence, i only use the top grate, i smoke without the water pan, saves lots of fuel, very easy to control temps, no need for a heat sink in the wsm waste of fuel heating water, clay saucer, sand etc...also the meat cooks perfectly no burnt ends or over cooked ends is more like it. The meat is far enough away from the coals using the top grate only. If using the lower grate then you will need the water pan.
 
Hello guys, you all make fine points. I bring it up because I have the little wsm and would like to explore some longer cooks. My charcoal ring only lasted 8 hours last time and I had to add more charcoal to finish off a butt.

I'll explore packing it more, switching to lump, etc., but it was just a random idea I had.
 
Lawrence, there's nothing wrong with adding more charcoal if you have to. What did they do before Jim Minion came up with his method?

Before I went to the Brinkman (ECB) charcoal pan so I could heap up the briqs, I often had to add some once the next morning since I cook a good bit at a time on both racks. No big deal. I just lifted the whole stack off and added a bunch instead of using the door to add briqs. You just gotta be REAL careful, and do it with the water level down a good bit to be safe.
 
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