Stupid Off-set smoker


 
C

Chris A. (Grillilla)

TVWBB Member
I'm burning 10 lbs./hr trying to get to 225F.

I wish my WSM would get here!!!

Anyone have benchmarks and/or comparisons for fuel consumption? At this point I'll spend about $40 to do meat worth $9.

Ouch.

Chris
 
The sun is going down, the wind has diminished, and my temp is going up; fuel consumption a bit reduced, but still seems outrageous for what I'm trying to do. I know they say 9lbs. will more than do the job w/the WSM, and I'm 3X that amount on this cook.

Feedback welcome!

Chris
 
Damn, I think you could use a plain old kettle, some foil in the right places plus the MM and use a heck of a lot less coal than that.
 
My old Brinkman Smoke N Pit would consume 18 to 20 lbs. for a 8 to 10hr cook.
That was in ideal conditions, any amount of wind or cold weather and it was a real PITA to control.
That was what lead me to this site, and the purchase of a WSM.
Hope you get yours soon.
Tim
 
Oh the good old days, my first smoker was an ECB. Chris you are going to be loving life when your WSM arrives and your off to your first cook.
 
I was using a relatively el-cheapo Char-Broil offset smoker; I want to say I paid maybe $175 for it several years ago. What a waste of money. Has produced edible food perhaps 30% of the time.

Last night's cook was a disaster. Hours and hours trying to get close to proper temp, 30 lbs. of coal, wasted apple chunks, and all I got was a tough, dried, disgusting pork rib jerky.

This smoker is going in the trash. I'm done with it. WSM should be here this week, so I'm going over to the new ownwer's thread to continue this--but I'm finished with offsets.

Chris
 
Chris,
I have a good friend who has the same offset. About a year ago I got the bug and my first smoke was at his house, it was his first smoke also. I printed the overnight brisket article from the cooking section and took it over.

Well, we knew what we were supposed to do, it just didnt work that way. I belive it was 18 hours or better, ranging between 200-400 degrees. Complete mess, and all around bad time. The women were cranky, we were lighting chimieys hourly, etc....I'm starting to ramble like my wife now
icon_wink.gif

Needless to say, its now almost a year later, I have a stacked/modified wsm and he still has the char-broil, he just comes to my house to eat
icon_biggrin.gif


one of these days I'll talk him into ownership..

Brandon
 
I think I'll have to buy my mom and stepdad a WSM, since they're getting into outdoor cooking a lot more. They bought an enormous all stainless steel gasser, but from Wally World. The handles rattle, and it looks kinda flimsy even for its size.

They also have the offset smoker I wrote about earlier in this post. They don't use it anymore, cause its a fuel hog, and a PITA to use.
 
There are relatively cheap modifications you can do with your smoker, I'm assuming its a Char-Broil Silver Smoker as you've described. I've gone through the same frustrations as you and have and attended classes with folks who were not enjoying cooking on them either.

Use a piece of flashing or shove a soup can in the stack so its lowered to grate level.
Find a piece of steel the size of a license plate and bolt it over the opening of the firebox opening and bend it so the heat is deflected under the cooking grates.
Make sure you have a tight sealing doors.
Mount a couple thermometers in the cook chameber door at grate level.
Raise the coal grate in the firebox or build a coal basket out of expanded metal.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/100_1466.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/100_1465.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/100_1468.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/100_1467.jpg

I finally sold it and don't regret it a bit.

You'll enjoy the WSM!
 
Brian,

Thanks for the great pictures of your modifications. These should be very helpful for the tortured souls who choose to continue fighting their Char-broil offset beasts.

I had lowered the stack, and didn't notice much difference. I didn't have a way to make the heat deflector you showed, but what I did do was put a large flat aluminum pan with about an inch or so of water in front of the firebox opening, but again, that didn't seem to make much difference either.

I think the main issue is that heat wants to rise, not scoot along sideways. I expect the WSM to be much better for this reason and due to better construction and materials. Soon I'll find out.

Chris
 
I had a New Braunfels Black Diamond that I bought from my dad. He used it for grilling. I tried doing the low and slow method in it. I didn't have much luck....

Sold it and bought the WSM. This is what low and slow is all about!
 
I did all of the above modifications, and I still have to fight the beast to maintain temps. One thing I did on my last rib cook was to use a piece of 24 inch, 6 inch thick insulation on top of the smoker, with a slit to allow the insulation to be fitted around the chimney. I estimate that I used about 10 lbs of Kingsford to smoke 20 racks (shortened by two ribs each to fit in the smoker) of BBs for 6 hours. Still more work than with my WSM, but I needed the volume. My wife does prefer me to use the WSM, but sometimes you just need more room. This weekend I wil be doing beans in the WSM and about 10 tri tips in the offset. If I remember, I will update this with photographs of the setup.

John
 
Chris, I feel your pain. I bought a Char-griller Pro offset last year as a starter. I replaced it with a WSM this year. I was burning sticks and it would get so hot to maintain temps that it burned all the paint off the offset and it started to rust. What a mess! Now I use it to set my chimneys' on when I start them.
 
Hi John,

I was thinking of using the old beast for the same purpose, but I would like to have the space back on my small patio, so I'm trying to find a willing victim to take this off my hands for little to no investment.

Took some pictures today, and when I learn how to host them someplace, I'll put them up here for everyone's amusement.

Chris
 
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