S J. Gold Mini WSM Smoker


 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Originally posted by J Reyes:

I use a basket filled with coals/briquetes in a Silver with additional Gold holes drilled out. If I put my aluminum pie pan (diffuser) on the steamer insert, temps settle in at 260-280 with all vents open 100%.

If I move the diffuser up (on a rack) so the diffuser bottom sits about 3 inches below the top grill, temps rise to above 300, settling in at 330-340.

I'm speculating the added space for air below the diffuser must give the coals room to breathe, thus creating a hotter fire.

John
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up John. I can't wait to try this out on a chicken later this week.
 
Thanks guys for the info. I have done the can mod for the vent cover under the charcoal, but chose not to use it on this first cook to see how the ash buildup would look and work. Next cooking session, I will start using it. As far as the temp, it was most likely a quantity of charocal issue, but I wanted to check if there were any real difference between Kingsford and Stubbs.

Walter, thanks for the info on the WD40. I went real light on it, so it seems like it has worked out OK.
 
dk, reguarding the type of fuel used in the SJ smoker, I have pretty much stopped using Kingsford all together. I now only use Stubbs briquettes. I have found that Stubbs burns hotter, longer, and with less ash build up. Try it, I know you won't be unhappy! Asfor the amount of lit coals used to get the smoker up and running, I start with about 10/13 lit coals in my mini. I found that 10/13 lit coals is plenty to get the mini up to temp.
Good luck,
Tim
 
Stubbs is my favorite fuel. Consistant predictable, and as Tim said, burns hotter, longer and with less ash. I keep trying other types of fuel, but I always come back to stubbs...

Stubbs was the first charcoal I used, and I keep thinking I can do better, I can't.

Originally posted by Tim (the grillaholic):
dk, reguarding the type of fuel used in the SJ smoker, I have pretty much stopped using Kingsford all together. I now only use Stubbs briquettes. I have found that Stubbs burns hotter, longer, and with less ash build up. Try it, I know you won't be unhappy! Asfor the amount of lit coals used to get the smoker up and running, I start with about 10/13 lit coals in my mini. I found that 10/13 lit coals is plenty to get the mini up to temp.
Good luck,
Tim
Click to expand...
 
Just ordered the pot and an extra cooking grate so I can make one this weekend. Any tips from those that have made a few? This is a huge post and I'll give it a more in depth read later. I read that it is better to drill holes in the bottom of the pot than to cut the bottom out.
 
Originally posted by Gerry D.:
Just ordered the pot and an extra cooking grate so I can make one this weekend. Any tips from those that have made a few? This is a huge post and I'll give it a more in depth read later. I read that it is better to drill holes in the bottom of the pot than to cut the bottom out.
Click to expand...
Hi Gerry,
A couple things come to mind.

I did cut the bottom out (and am happy with that solution.) The material is really thin and cuts easily. Don't apply excessive force and bend the pot. If the holes vs. open bottom issue concerns you, then drill holes and try it out that way. Should you decide you prefer to cut it out you can still do that. The advantage to me is that my water bowl (large stainless pet water bowl) extends below where the drilled bottom would be. If you plan to use a clay saucer, drilled holes may work better.

The mod most important to me is the can that keeps ash away from the vent holes. If you have an SJ with the bottom vents on the side, this won't matter.

My smoker had round legs which were not sufficiently supportive. I made my own from flat material similar to the ones that come on some SJs.
 
Gerry, welcome aboard. I guess the first question is do you have a SJ Gold, or SJ Silver? From there, there are about as many different ideas, as there are keys on your keyboard! I like the idea behind just drilling the holes in the bottom.(for ease and use of transporting things inside the pot) That being said, I do not plan on traveling (very often) with my mini, so I cut the bottom out of mine. I posted several pics of my build on page 24 of this post. I started out using a terra cotta plate but didn't like the thought of wasting heat heating up the clay plate. Now all I do is foil the steamer tray and that is all I use as a heat shield. With my set up, (SJG, Bottom cut out, foiled steamer tray as a heat shield, and burning Stubbs briquettes) I can get 8/9 hours @ 225* out of my mini!
Good Luck,
Tim
 
I have a smokey joe silver so looks like I'll be eating some tuna before I start the project. My plan is to try the holes first. So I drill the holes in the bottom and just put the pie plate in the bottom and then drill the holes for the grates. I would like to have three grates so how far a part should I put them and how close to the top of the pot? What type of hardware is everyone using for the grates to sit on?
 
Originally posted by Gerry D.:
I have a smokey joe silver so looks like I'll be eating some tuna before I start the project. My plan is to try the holes first. So I drill the holes in the bottom and just put the pie plate in the bottom and then drill the holes for the grates. I would like to have three grates so how far a part should I put them and how close to the top of the pot? What type of hardware is everyone using for the grates to sit on?
Click to expand...
Get a can of tomatoes. You want something tall enough to stand above the ash that will fall. Mine is just under the grate. I'd measure it but I just started a fire.
icon_wink.gif


Spacing. Measure the height under the cover to the sealing surface (where it sits on the pot lip.) measure the distance form the lip to the bottom grate. Divide this in three and that's the spacing you want between grates. (Betcha didn't expect difficult word problems.
icon_biggrin.gif
)

Mounting. I used a small machine screw and nut. #6 or #8 and 1/4" long. The grills fit snugly inside the pot so a small screw protruding into the pot is all that is necessary. I used 4 evenly spaced around the pot.
 
Welcome Gerry....I have the SJG and what a little smoker this is.I know you'll love it.
I driiled holes in mine and use a 12 inch pizza pan that I sit on top of piece aluminum foil rolled up and made into a ring.Works great.
I put a grate on the indent on the bottom and a grate on at the top.....split the difference and thats where the middle one is.
I am not a water man !!!!
 
One thing that works really well for the vent cover on the Smoker Joe Silver is a puppy food bowl - I got a couple of stainless steel bowls from a yard sale for 50 cents each a while back. I drilled four holes - about the same size as the vent holes in the bottom of the Weber, just below the "top edge" of the bowl (the top edge as the bowl is inverted). That really helped with the ash issue.

Pat
 
OK. So its done. I decided to drill holes in the bottom of the pot for easier transport. Now about the heat sink. I have a couple of pie plates. Do you put the pie plate directly on the bottom of the pot?
 
Originally posted by John Ford:
I left the bottom in my pot & made mine with the SJG to make transporting easier.
At home I use a top foiled flower pot base & tailgating a 9 in steel pie pan.
Why? Just like an empty aluminum fry pan can overheat & warp if heated empty I want a heat sink on the aluminum bottom to try to prevent it from melting. So far so good
Click to expand...

I also drilled holes in the bottom of my pot. Do you put the foiled pie pan directly on the bottom of the pot? Do you add any liquid? I am toying with the idea of adding screws or bolts to hold the pie plate off of the bottom if necessary.
 
Originally posted by Gerry D.:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by John Ford:
I left the bottom in my pot & made mine with the SJG to make transporting easier.
At home I use a top foiled flower pot base & tailgating a 9 in steel pie pan.
Why? Just like an empty aluminum fry pan can overheat & warp if heated empty I want a heat sink on the aluminum bottom to try to prevent it from melting. So far so good
Click to expand...

I also drilled holes in the bottom of my pot. Do you put the foiled pie pan directly on the bottom of the pot? Do you add any liquid? I am toying with the idea of adding screws or bolts to hold the pie plate off of the bottom if necessary. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You can put it there or place it on top of the steamer insert. On mine I cut out the bottom, drilled more holes in the steamer insert and use it to hold the pie pan.

If you find that you don't get enough heat cut out the bottom and use the steamer insert to hold the pan. This allows more air near the charcoal. I also cut out additional holes like a Gold (2 holes each side) so that I can get consistent air to the coals.


John
 
Originally posted by J Reyes:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Gerry D.:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by John Ford:
I left the bottom in my pot & made mine with the SJG to make transporting easier.
At home I use a top foiled flower pot base & tailgating a 9 in steel pie pan.
Why? Just like an empty aluminum fry pan can overheat & warp if heated empty I want a heat sink on the aluminum bottom to try to prevent it from melting. So far so good
Click to expand...

I also drilled holes in the bottom of my pot. Do you put the foiled pie pan directly on the bottom of the pot? Do you add any liquid? I am toying with the idea of adding screws or bolts to hold the pie plate off of the bottom if necessary. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I also cut out additional holes like a Gold (2 holes each side) so that I can get consistent air to the coals.


John </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I was just planning on doing this tonight for my cook tomorrow. Any advice? Just use painters tape and give it a shot?
 
Just to let folks in TX know, I found my IMUSA 32qt tamale steamer (made in China) at HEB for $21.62 out the door. Will be working on my Smoker Joe next week!
 
Just a quick hello. I made my smokey joe smoker 2 weeks ago and am loving it. My last cook was baby backs, abt's and hungarian sausage. when my cook was done, I let it go to see how long I could get out of 1 batch of coal. I set the alarm on my Maverick to 200 degrees. I got a little over 9 hrs before the temp dropped. I was shocked. Coolest little smoker, and awesome site.
 
Welcome Mickey.
Like I've said before....these little mini smokers are unbleiveable.Economical,easy clean up,and will cook a load of meat.9 hours is inpressive...what kind of charcoal and was you using the minion starting method.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top