Mini Smoker Mod
- Thread starter chris schnautz
- Start date
George Curtis
TVWBB Olympian
i would still lift the pan off of the plate/diffuser by using a trivet or any other means that do not restrict the flow. its how i and most others do it and so far it works like a champ. also, on the sj you need to use a drilled can so that the air holes do not plug up.
George I'm not following you on "lift the pan"
The drip pan sits on the orginal steamer insert which is about 2 or more inches above the bottom of the pot.
I drilled double the amount of holes around the edge of the steamer insert, so now there are 32 holes.
The drip pan is 11 inches which leaves about 1+ inches around the drip pan so that there is unrestricted air/smoke/heat flow around the drip pan.
Re. the air holes plugging, on the Gold that is not an issue as the holes are on the side.
I will try the Silver again in a few days to see how that performs but at least on the Gold it's hard to get temps up.
John
The drip pan sits on the orginal steamer insert which is about 2 or more inches above the bottom of the pot.
I drilled double the amount of holes around the edge of the steamer insert, so now there are 32 holes.
The drip pan is 11 inches which leaves about 1+ inches around the drip pan so that there is unrestricted air/smoke/heat flow around the drip pan.
Re. the air holes plugging, on the Gold that is not an issue as the holes are on the side.
I will try the Silver again in a few days to see how that performs but at least on the Gold it's hard to get temps up.
John
George Curtis
TVWBB Olympian
when i say lift the pan up, i do mean lift the drip pan up off of the steamer tray/baffle. needs to be at a inch or so. just try it. as to the gold, yes, they do seem to have air flow issues. i think they are ok for low temps. i just got one a while back and have not tried it yet. the can trick is for the silver.
Got another smoke with the SJ Gold. Raised up the drip pan about 1.5 inches above as recommended above. Temps slowly rose to about 225 in about half an hour and stalled there.
When temps started dropping some, I then switched everything over to the Silver bottom with bottom vent open 100%. No doubt this made a difference, the temps steadily rose to 290. By that time the chicken leg quarters were done so I'm not sure how high it could have gone to.
So it appears the temp issue I had is with the SJ Gold as previously reported on other threads.
After a couple of hours I still had a lot of coals left over.. maybe could have gone another 2 hours or more.
May try a butt again and see how long I can go before refueling.
John
When temps started dropping some, I then switched everything over to the Silver bottom with bottom vent open 100%. No doubt this made a difference, the temps steadily rose to 290. By that time the chicken leg quarters were done so I'm not sure how high it could have gone to.
So it appears the temp issue I had is with the SJ Gold as previously reported on other threads.
After a couple of hours I still had a lot of coals left over.. maybe could have gone another 2 hours or more.
May try a butt again and see how long I can go before refueling.
John
Brian Moriarty
TVWBB All-Star
I am patiently awaiting the arrival of the Mini Cajun Bandit, and have a Weber Tuck n' Carry (wood handle no less) that will be the new donor kettle!
I made a BDS 1427 Mini clone drum smoker out of a 15 gallon drum and the Smokey Joe lid fits perfectly on the drum. I have 2 different charcoal baskets, one is expando 8" tall secured to the SJ charcoal grate and the other is a 6x6x6 square made from perf sheet steel.
It is a direct cooker, and it kicks a$$! Take a look at the Big Drum Smoker site and go to the forum and check out the Mini 1427 test cooks-Rocky documents some incredible photos of all the drums in action and big meats should be no problem with the Mini Cajun Bandit as far as I can see.
It has been my experience with drum smokers that the size of the charcoal basket doesn't really matter-most people want a large basket for 16 hour+ burns, but I've never cooked anything on a drum over 10 hours and still have a lot of fuel leftover! I use small baskets the majority of my cooks, and that goes for my 22" WSM as well (I use an 11" and 14" dia. rings to conserve fuel) So the C&C Mini charcoal ring looks sufficient for the size of the cooker.
Part of me wants to persuade C&C to not add the door, because I never add water or need to add fuel, but if you want to get FAST rising temps the door works better than using the vent. Either way, they will undoubtedly have a winning combination.
I made a BDS 1427 Mini clone drum smoker out of a 15 gallon drum and the Smokey Joe lid fits perfectly on the drum. I have 2 different charcoal baskets, one is expando 8" tall secured to the SJ charcoal grate and the other is a 6x6x6 square made from perf sheet steel.
It is a direct cooker, and it kicks a$$! Take a look at the Big Drum Smoker site and go to the forum and check out the Mini 1427 test cooks-Rocky documents some incredible photos of all the drums in action and big meats should be no problem with the Mini Cajun Bandit as far as I can see.
It has been my experience with drum smokers that the size of the charcoal basket doesn't really matter-most people want a large basket for 16 hour+ burns, but I've never cooked anything on a drum over 10 hours and still have a lot of fuel leftover! I use small baskets the majority of my cooks, and that goes for my 22" WSM as well (I use an 11" and 14" dia. rings to conserve fuel) So the C&C Mini charcoal ring looks sufficient for the size of the cooker.
Part of me wants to persuade C&C to not add the door, because I never add water or need to add fuel, but if you want to get FAST rising temps the door works better than using the vent. Either way, they will undoubtedly have a winning combination.
Hopefully, this works.
This is a large pie pan instead of the std pan, and a damper handle for adjusting inlet air.
A 10x4 charcoal basket that acts as a chimney.
Brackets to hold the pan and the racks.
Pot mounted on smoker.
Foiled terra cotta plate used for drippings and water.
First rack mounted.
Second rack set in place. I turned each rack so as to be more evident.
Third rack set on the brackets.
Top rack in place.
Finished product.
This is a large pie pan instead of the std pan, and a damper handle for adjusting inlet air.
A 10x4 charcoal basket that acts as a chimney.
Brackets to hold the pan and the racks.
Pot mounted on smoker.
Foiled terra cotta plate used for drippings and water.
First rack mounted.
Second rack set in place. I turned each rack so as to be more evident.
Third rack set on the brackets.
Top rack in place.
Finished product.
George Curtis
TVWBB Olympian
looks great. i like yer pan and lever mod. i really need to do that. whats with the funny pot cover and streaks ?
Funny pot cover? That, sir, is a genuine Smokey Joe Silver Weber Kettle lid! Streaks are from too much smoke and low temperatures. Seems it condenses under the lid. If only I could bottle it. I like to run at 210 to 225 for boston butts. The charcoal left over in the picture is from an 8 hour burn. About 35 bricketts, 4 chunks of wood, and lit coals inserted in the center with the can method. Bottom vent is about 40% open and I clear them with a wire once in a while. I'm trying to find a can for the ash vent and see how that helps, if it doesn't affect the burn.
George Curtis
TVWBB Olympian
my bad. i ment pot color. the perfect size can i found was a corned beef can. ones from brazil. hard to find. try a asian food store.
chris schnautz
New member
PJ, I like your take on this mod!!
Pie pan ash catcher is cool! Gonna have to do that.
That's a long burn for 35 briqs!! My charcoal ring is expanded metal...usually put in 60 for a load of butts (and often add a few more mid cook)! I wonder if your charcoal basket might be the answer...solid walls restricting air vs. the open expanded metal??
Pie pan ash catcher is cool! Gonna have to do that.
That's a long burn for 35 briqs!! My charcoal ring is expanded metal...usually put in 60 for a load of butts (and often add a few more mid cook)! I wonder if your charcoal basket might be the answer...solid walls restricting air vs. the open expanded metal??
The stacker grills (with the legs) are from Academy, and I ordered an extra weber grill for the two that sit on the brackets. I do have to angle a little to get the bottom one in, but the stacker almost drops in. The thermometer is the biggest obstacle. I also added handles to the top grill for ease of removal. I haven't tried to get higher temps with this, as I have the big kettle for that. I can run the One-Touch at 300 degrees and up, so this is for temps below that. I used to cold smoke fish at 110 degrees so this is 'hot' compared to that.
I intentionally made the basket to fit outside the charcoal rack so it seals. That way I can control the combustion rate with the bottom damper. I smoked some chicken legs (all 4 racks) that normally take 1 hr 15 min on the One-Touch, in 5 hours and it looked like half of the coals remained. I might have to try something longer just to see how low and slow I can go!
Charcoal basket is old stove pipe I burned off in a fire. I couldn't find 10" so I made it from two 4" tall pieces of 8".
I just finished a loin on the mini, and for kicks, I ran the temperature up to see where it would go. I shut it down at 400 degrees. Anything over this, will be direct on the one-touch.
