Learn Me How To Use A Vortex....


 
John_NJ said:
But not for long?

I noticed that with the vortex cranking out the heat, the coals burn out faster.

I cooked chicken thighs last night, indirect with the vortex.

Around 40 minutes and the skin was nice and crispy.

I brined some fresh eggplant from the garden and wanted to do a quick direct sear on them, but the heat had died down.

Took longer than I expected.
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my medium vortex filled with lump (not briquettes) burns for well over an hour.
 
Jim Weber said:
Nice! Thats CLASSY redneck there!
I notice the leather gloves on the table.... I know why and will add to my grilling equipment.

It 'looks' like you also removed the top rim of the bowl too?...? I'm guessing that was to get the height right? I hadn't considered that part of the equation.... I kept thinking making only one cut on the base of the bowl to get the height and possibly losing too much taper.... I'll keep that in mind now.

Running wide open the whole time?
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Thanks, it was a fun little project. Got the clever IKEA bowl idea on this forum by member Yair Halamish. I thought I'd give it a try since I already had some of the IKEA bowls around. Just one cut to create hole on bottom of IKEA bowl. No lip on top of bowl to mess with. It fits my 22" and 18" Kettles. Yep, I run it with all vents wide open and lid closed. I've only cooked wings and drumsticks so far.

IKEA Bowl: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/blanda-blank-serving-bowl-stainless-steel-50057254/

Bowl diameter is 11", New hole is 6 3/8", New height is 4 1/4". It rests about 1/2" beneath grill grate.

IKEA converted hole size.jpgIKEA converted height.jpg

To mark line for cut... place bowl on flat surface, place Sharpie at desired height stacked on top boxes or books, and make mark while rotating bowl.

To cut hole... I tried an angle grinder but it just melted metal. But that turned out to be good because it created a line of thinned metal that snips could more easily cut through. Used angle grinder to clean up edges. To finish it off... most time was spent to deburr and round edges with a hand file.

IKEA bowl conversion progress.jpg

BTW... the IKEA bowls are great for quickly thawing meat under dripping water in about the time it takes to fire up the charcoal. The simple leather work gloves are good to handle charcoal, ash, grimy grates, and heat. The basic long tongs are a must.
 
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Yeah --- I found the bowl on their website... surprised to see no rim. Its a shame that it is ~75 mile round trip for me to Ikea or I would grab one ---- thinking I'm gonna go the amazon route. Its surprising how small of a base those bowls have --- you really had to take off quite a bit to get a decent opening.

Those stainless bowls are TOUGH **** ---- I remember just trying to drill - I was ready to resort to using a gun it was so hard. I'm betting a jig saw wouldn't fair much better --- probably gonna have to burn a disc or three.
 
The medium vortex is probably cheaper elsewhere but seen it on Amazon for a quick find on sale for $43.00
By the time you get an alternate piece of steel, and buy it, and ship it and wait and use up discs or whatever it takes to make it you may be ahead to order one. Time is money too.....Amazon shows up next day......and there is no guessing or accidentally cutting yourself ect.
 
QuliMetal medium is $25 and often has a coupon or a sale bringing the price down a few bucks.


edit: this is the one I have, and I bought it for $19.99
 
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When I bought the Vortex, iirc there was a little note thanking me for making the purchase and supporting an American company making products with American labor.

I would guess the Chinese company making the QuiliMetal knock off probably has a note thanking the purchaser for supporting a product made in a country actively seeking to destroy the USA?

I know…”don’t go there”..,
 
Ok --- so I refreshed the page for the bowl on amazon and they dropped the price $2 down to $8 for the 10.25" bowl...... I had to order it. Now I'm wondering if the 9" bowl at $5 would have been ok and saved charcoal...

Half the fun of all this DIYing is doing it yourself and getting to play with your tools! Also the $$ saved can go towards charcoal and meat!
I'm also thinking the 10" bowl should work really good in the WSM18 if I flip it over too....
 
John_NJ said:
When I bought the Vortex, iirc there was a little note thanking me for making the purchase and supporting an American company making products with American labor.

I would guess the Chinese company making the QuiliMetal knock off probably has a note thanking the purchaser for supporting a product made in a country actively seeking to destroy the USA?

I know…”don’t go there”..,
Click to expand...

Same as you, I bought the Vortex brand and paid extra for Made in the USA. Well worth the investment of $17 additional ($26 china vs $43 USA). Vortex medium at $43: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D3B4QWW/?tag=tvwb-20
 
DanHoo said:
edit: changing what I initally wrote as it sounds like I'm a know-it-all no, the vortex gets the heat going. I mean GOING

I don't think a pile on the side will get as hot as a vortex. I've used piles in CBs on the side and they get hot, but not this hot. I could be wrong but the vortex really gets the fire GOING. /end-edit

this was a mix of leftover lump coal and briquettes vortex on the coal rack on the lower level of the WSK E6.

View attachment 75221

View attachment 75222
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Dan, do you typically use on the lower grate on the summit instead of the upper? Notice any difference?
 
So my stainless bowl came this morning.... and its already cut! Chicken is seasoning and getting ready for tonight!
20230729_142816.jpg20230729_142823.jpg20230729_143218.jpg

I was kinda worried that 10.25" bowl would be a bit too big.... but it looks like its just slightly larger than my 'can' was - so I'm good with that. I tried to cut just the 'flat' off the bottom of the bowl because ---- well I don't know - I figured I can always take more off it later if I want to open up the top diameter. I'll see how the cook goes tonight as to whether that is needed.... I'm thinking it could benefit from a ~3/4" bigger opening.

Cutting it wasn't all that bad with the grinder --- hardest part was trying to make a circle on the flat bottom without making a mess. Took a while with the dremel to round it out so it didn't look too bad. Probably took ~ an hour total.
 
Jim Weber said:
So my stainless bowl came this morning.... and its already cut! Chicken is seasoning and getting ready for tonight!
View attachment 75758View attachment 75759View attachment 75760

I was kinda worried that 10.25" bowl would be a bit too big.... but it looks like its just slightly larger than my 'can' was - so I'm good with that. I tried to cut just the 'flat' off the bottom of the bowl because ---- well I don't know - I figured I can always take more off it later if I want to open up the top diameter. I'll see how the cook goes tonight as to whether that is needed.... I'm thinking it could benefit from a ~3/4" bigger opening.

Cutting it wasn't all that bad with the grinder --- hardest part was trying to make a circle on the flat bottom without making a mess. Took a while with the dremel to round it out so it didn't look too bad. Probably took ~ an hour total.
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That turned out really good. How did the maiden cook go?
 
Creating your own is fun for those of us who like to tinker. If someone doesn’t want to go to the hassle, the fastest and proven way by many here is to buy a Vortex.

Vortex has various sizes. Here is their chart:

Vortex BBQ Sizing Chart | Indirect, Direct and Infrared Heat

Does your smoker fit the Vortex? Using the table listed, you can find the right size Vortex that is perfect for your grill.
vortexbbq.com vortexbbq.com
 
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