Windbreak And More Room For Ribs

[Dan C. (Trooper69)]

Had 20 mph winds over the weekend so had to come up with a quick windbreak for my Sunday cook. Started with a very tall dog crate from my Great Dane. Here's how it went:

Started with the sides.

Added insulation board to the inside using zip ties.

Then put on the door.

Done!

Now for more smoking space. Attached brackets to add a middle grate.

Flipped over a new grate onto the top grate to make a 4th shelf.

And finally cut a notch for probe wires and also wire tied charcoal grate to ring.(no pic of that one)

Thank you to my new family for these awesome ideas. I'll post pics of the 12 racks of baby backs and beans in the photo gallery.

 

[G Savrnoch]

Great work........I may borrow the "mid-rack" mod idea some day myself unless you've got a patent . Oh, nice Ram 2500...Cummins?

 

[Dan C. (Trooper69)]

Great work........I may borrow the "mid-rack" mod idea some day myself unless you've got a patent . Oh, nice Ram 2500...Cummins?

I got the idea for the rack from the "Operating Tips and Mods" link at the top of the page. It was well worth adding the extra space. As for my Dodge, it's a Hemi. My 2001 had the Cummins and I wish I stuck with a diesel.

 

[Gary Hodgin]

Nice windbreak and mod. 12 racks on an WSM is great.

 

[RJ Banks]

Nice job on the mods.

 

[Frank H]

Whole buncha good ideas there. I like the windbreak a lot. Looks like it would work well and be easy to store away.

 

[~Mark~]

Great build! Thanks, I'm going to make one of those wind breaks. I could have used it this Christmas.

 

[Andy K]

Thanks for taking the time on the pics- I never remember to do that in anything I do! I love the concept, very easy and efficient, even if I don't have a Great Dane (an awesome dog too!)
I do have a couple questions on the concept-
1) How well did this work for the cook? Was the temp gradient significantly different than your past cooks?
2) Any lessons learned on using your method? For example, would you raise-up one, two, three or all four of the panels to allow an updraft to occur since it appears the panels sit flush with the ground?
3) how convent was it to access the smoker- could you get to it from the top or did you have to open it up every time?
4) Would a smaller crate serve the purpose better?

I know its a lot of questions but I think the idea is a really good one so lessons-learned are invaluable to noobs like me!

Cheers!

 

[Dave S]

I like that double top grate

 

[Jay]

Had 20 mph winds over the weekend so had to come up with a quick windbreak for my Sunday cook. Started with a very tall dog crate from my Great Dane. Here's how it went:

Started with the sides.

Added insulation board to the inside using zip ties.

Then put on the door.

Done!

Now for more smoking space. Attached brackets to add a middle grate.

Flipped over a new grate onto the top grate to make a 4th shelf.

And finally cut a notch for probe wires and also wire tied charcoal grate to ring.(no pic of that one)

Thank you to my new family for these awesome ideas. I'll post pics of the 12 racks of baby backs and beans in the photo gallery.

hey there,nice mods and thanks for the pics. i noticed the gaskets around the door and the top of the smoker,how are the gaskets working for you?

 

[Dan C. (Trooper69)]

Thanks for taking the time on the pics- I never remember to do that in anything I do! I love the concept, very easy and efficient, even if I don't have a Great Dane (an awesome dog too!)
I do have a couple questions on the concept-
1) How well did this work for the cook? Was the temp gradient significantly different than your past cooks?
2) Any lessons learned on using your method? For example, would you raise-up one, two, three or all four of the panels to allow an updraft to occur since it appears the panels sit flush with the ground?
3) how convent was it to access the smoker- could you get to it from the top or did you have to open it up every time?
4) Would a smaller crate serve the purpose better?

I know its a lot of questions but I think the idea is a really good one so lessons-learned are invaluable to noobs like me!

Cheers!

This setup worked out great. Once it got to temp I shut the door and she held a solid 250 degrees the rest of the cook using my Cyberq wifi. In past (windy) cooks the temp would fluctuate even running the Cyberq. As far as raising panels for more air I didn't have to because the atc draws it's own air. If your not running an atc you can just crack open one of the grate doors to provide more air. All 4 doors on my windbreak are hinged so I would be able to open any of them in either direction and still block the wind. With all 4 doors hinged you can open the doors as wide as needed for access. A smaller crate would definitely work as long as it fit around the smoker and was high enough to block wind from the vents. Here are some pics of the hinge and open doors showing the accessibility. Hope they help. Thanks for your questions and let me know if you have any more.

 

[Dan C. (Trooper69)]

hey there,nice mods and thanks for the pics. i noticed the gaskets around the door and the top of the smoker,how are the gaskets working for you?

Gaskets are definitely working, sealed up all the leaks no problem and wasn't that expensive. Worth doing!!

 

[timothy]

Looks great and the WSM looks nice and toasty inside.
I would suggest you add some type of tape like duct tape to the exposed edges. Those foil faces can be pretty sharp and can cut you easily, and the foam core when rubbed turns into a fine powder which irritates the skin. I wouldn't want any of that blowing onto you're food.
I'm not being critical, just a Carpenter who has worked with that stuff a lot.

Tim

 

[Dan C. (Trooper69)]

Looks great and the WSM looks nice and toasty inside.
I would suggest you add some type of tape like duct tape to the exposed edges. Those foil faces can be pretty sharp and can cut you easily, and the foam core when rubbed turns into a fine powder which irritates the skin. I wouldn't want any of that blowing onto you're food.
I'm not being critical, just a Carpenter who has worked with that stuff a lot.

Tim

Always open to good suggestions. I have plenty of duct tape I can cover the exposed board with and take care of the edges at the same time. Thanks for a good idea!

 

[Jay]

Gaskets are definitely working, sealed up all the leaks no problem and wasn't that expensive. Worth doing!!

thanks,good to know,i will be doing the gaskets also