SMOKEY JOE PLATINUM AIR FLOW PROBLEM


 
Originally posted by Bryan S:.. Duno if you ever had the pleasure to eat a steak at Morton's or Ruth's Chris Steakhouse ...
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No, I really haven't. I guess I have to confess to being just too much of a tight wad. I think I could probably afford it, but I just can't bring myself to spending that kind of money on a steak. Maybe I should get over that, but at my age I doubt if I will. I might spring for a 20 to 30 dollar dinner for some unusal meal I would have no idea how to prepare, but I'm pretty satisfied with the steaks I cook at home.

Oh well, what do you expect from a country lawyer.
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Paul
 
Originally posted by Paul G.:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bryan S:.. Duno if you ever had the pleasure to eat a steak at Morton's or Ruth's Chris Steakhouse ...
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No, I really haven't. I guess I have to confess to being just too much of a tight wad. I think I could probably afford it, but I just can't bring myself to spending that kind of money on a steak. Maybe I should get over that, but at my age I doubt if I will. I might spring for a 20 to 30 dollar dinner for some unusal meal I would have no idea how to prepare, but I'm pretty satisfied with the steaks I cook at home.

Oh well, what do you expect from a country lawyer.
icon_smile.gif
.

Paul </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Well you should splurge at least once. I'd choose Morton's just because the steak was better than Ruth's. I ate at Ruth's about a month ago and the Cowboy ribeye was $35.00 for the steak. I also added a lobster tail plus french onion soup and the Layannoise potatoes. My wife had the petie fillet with a crab cake oscar style and the french onion soup and a pina colada. The bill was $145.00. Yes that's alot of $$ for 2 people to eat but we only do this once a year if we are lucky. Try it, it's a great time. Not to mention they kiss your a$$ and i like be treated like i'm king for a day.
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If we're still on the subject of steaks, I grilled some on my Summit C-4 a couple of weekends ago. Prime rib-eye two and a half inches thick over two pounds a piece. Preheated grill to 450. Seared for 4 and one half minutes a side (there were flare ups with this high fat content meat so I timed it carefully and refrained from opening the lid). Then finished the steaks on indirect at 400. I couldn't imagine better steaks. Internal temp just shy of 140. Great sear and grill marks. I've eaten at Ruths; don't have a Mortons where I live. Still at $35 a steak I believe I could not have gotten better no matter what the price.
 
I think I have achieved the best steak I can make. This works on about a 1.75-2 inch filet. I stack all the coals up for indirect heat. I place the filet directly over the coals for a bit. Really sear and crisp up the bottom of the steak. I then...do not flip the steak but move it over to the indirect side and cover until med rare-medium. The reslut of this is amazing. The top of my steak is moist and a terrific texture. THe bottom is seared. IT makes for a great experience on each bite. My favorite part of the filet is that middle pink part. I even eat around it so that is my last bite...so soft and moist. By cooking it this way I have the whole top of the steak with that taste and feeling, but I still get my perfect char on the bottom. So Good!!!!! Just use kosher salt, pepper and olive oil (only on grilled side) for steak.
 
FWIW - I just got a SJP and find the performance to be very good. I'm using about 3/4 full chimney starter of lump and burns hot for me.
 
I use a sjp for tailgating, and it's fine without any mods. I don't intend on doing real high heat cooks, but getting it to maintain 400 or so is easy.
 
Just did the mod to the smokey joe platinum. Couple of obsevations. I used the smokey joe silver bottom vent and hardware and the smokey joe silver ash catcher. I used the unibit #4. Drilled four holes at 3/4" each, and one hole in the center for the screw about 1/4". Before drilling from the outside of the bowl, I taped the area with black electrical tape and blue painter's tape to help keep the bit from wandering. I also traced the holes out using red ink. I used the vent as my template and kept placing the vent over my finished holes to make sure that I was on target. I resorted to eyeballing it while I was lining up one completed hole with the other undrilled holes, sequentially. After getting the 4 vent holes at the correct position and in equal size, I smoothed out the rough edges with some sandpaper and a brass wire brush. I then painted the edges with 1000 degree high temperature paint. I took the stop tabs off of the 4 aluminum vent holes because the vent holes did not line up absolutely perfectly with the drilled holes: two of the vents were completely shut while the other two had ~1/8" of space. After removing the tabs, the vent completely covered the holes when shut. It was not my intention to remove all of the stop tabs. I wanted to keep at least one of them to let me know by feel that they were completely shut or open but after finnessing it a couple of times it weakened the tab and it then broke. I then took my step drill and in each of the two vent tabs, or flaps(the larger ones used to move the vent to open or shut) and drilled a 1/4" hole in each tab. I am planning on getting a stiff wire rod or metal clothes hanger and cutting an 8 inch piece to use as a lever, connecting one end to the tab hole and the other end to the leg when not in use. This will enable me to open and shut the vent without having to put my fingers under a hot bowl where there is little clearance between the vent and the ash catcher. I presume I will maintain the bottom vent open all the way during the entire cooking session, so the vent tab stops will not be that significant. When I am done with my cook and have the lid open I can eyeball the vent to make sure I have it shut. I would suggest therefore to keep one of the stop tabs intact. You may also want to consider the lever idea to make opening and shutting the vent easier. I can't wait to see the difference in performance. I'll let you know. Mike
 
I just bought the SJP at Ace for $20 (hard to pass that up), but haven't used it yet. It seems though, if it has heat problems, it might be the distance between the charcoal grate and the cooking grate. I just wondered if one could purchase a 22 1/2" charcoal grate which would sit higher (possibly too high)to the air vents and also the cooking grate thereby increasing the heat. If you need a slower cook one could use the original grate. Has anyone tried this? If so, how did it work? If not I may have to buy one and try it.
 
I haven't compared the two as of yet, but I will if I get the chance. I think the ratio would tell more than the actual measurement due to the size difference between the two. It also might be a good comparison if I measure the one touch silver/gold 18 1/2 inch. It may be the same, but since the air vents are in different locations on the SJP, raising the charcoal may allow for more oxygen without having to drill holes, etc..
 
Remember you have two factors here:
1. Surface area of coal grate allowing more coal.
2. Proximity of coal grate to cooking grate.

I always find the small grills don't have enough distance between the cooking grate and the charcoal grate, meaning one has to keep a better eye on the vents. Someone pointed out in one of the other posts that the SJ Gold (Tuck'n'carry) has greater gap than the SJ silver and my G-A is very tight (though I'm toying with changing the charcoal grate level).
It would be very useful to have a table of the gaps - anyone want to start the ball rolling?
 
Bob,

Did you ever end up modifying your SJ Gold and if so, how did it end up affecting the performance. I have a gold and after I put the lid on, the temperatures take a dip. If I want the temps to come back up, I take the lid off for a few minutes. I really want to fix this with the vent mod.

Thanks,
Troy
 
i got one of those ace specials and 'am happy i did. i think it fits a niche that it does
well at. for those that want a better air flow
why not just modify a regular 18" kettle?
cut the legs off, modify the ash catcher,
rig up a clamp for the lid and yer all set.
seems easy and ya got all the pluses ya yearn for. i plan on doing one just for the heck of
it once i get a cheap one on craigslist.
 
Originally posted by Mike Batsarisakis:
Just did the mod to the smokey joe platinum. Couple of obsevations. I used the smokey joe silver bottom vent and hardware and the smokey joe silver ash catcher. I used the unibit #4. Drilled four holes at 3/4" each, and one hole in the center for the screw about 1/4". Before drilling from the outside of the bowl, I taped the area with black electrical tape and blue painter's tape to help keep the bit from wandering. I also traced the holes out using red ink. I used the vent as my template and kept placing the vent over my finished holes to make sure that I was on target. I resorted to eyeballing it while I was lining up one completed hole with the other undrilled holes, sequentially. After getting the 4 vent holes at the correct position and in equal size, I smoothed out the rough edges with some sandpaper and a brass wire brush. I then painted the edges with 1000 degree high temperature paint. I took the stop tabs off of the 4 aluminum vent holes because the vent holes did not line up absolutely perfectly with the drilled holes: two of the vents were completely shut while the other two had ~1/8" of space. After removing the tabs, the vent completely covered the holes when shut. It was not my intention to remove all of the stop tabs. I wanted to keep at least one of them to let me know by feel that they were completely shut or open but after finnessing it a couple of times it weakened the tab and it then broke. I then took my step drill and in each of the two vent tabs, or flaps(the larger ones used to move the vent to open or shut) and drilled a 1/4" hole in each tab. I am planning on getting a stiff wire rod or metal clothes hanger and cutting an 8 inch piece to use as a lever, connecting one end to the tab hole and the other end to the leg when not in use. This will enable me to open and shut the vent without having to put my fingers under a hot bowl where there is little clearance between the vent and the ash catcher. I presume I will maintain the bottom vent open all the way during the entire cooking session, so the vent tab stops will not be that significant. When I am done with my cook and have the lid open I can eyeball the vent to make sure I have it shut. I would suggest therefore to keep one of the stop tabs intact. You may also want to consider the lever idea to make opening and shutting the vent easier. I can't wait to see the difference in performance. I'll let you know. Mike
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Nice write-ip.

Would it be easier to do the 1/4 hole first and actually attach the vent and then drill through the holes so that every thing is lined up?
 
Originally posted by Lee James:


Would it be easier to do the 1/4 hole first and actually attach the vent and then drill through the holes so that every thing is lined up?
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Yes, That's the best way to get them lined up perfect, and how I did mine.
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Yes, it would be easier to put the vent on first and then drill the holes, but, initially, I didn't want to take the stop tabs off to do that. However, I ended up taking them off later to get a better fit.
 
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