Using all the grate surface

Hey all,

I'm looking for advice on getting the temperature on the grate near the
firebox close to the rest of the grate. I can maintain roughly 225 on
the far side with no troubles, but at that temp, the first foot is way
too hot to smoke. It's great for wings or sausage, but I'd like to be
able to lay three big turkeys down without having to shuffle them off
the hot spot every few minutes.
Any ideas? Thanks for any advice.

ibk

On Oct 30, 1:43*pm, ibrokit <[Only registered users can see links. ]> wrote:

I don't know that you can do anything to baffle the heat from the mass
of a firebox other than distance. I suppose you could try some sort of
curtain/baffle set about an inch away from the firebox, but in no way
attached to it, or as little as possible anyway.
Never heard of anyone doing anything for this.

ibrokit wrote:

Whoa -- never mind. Just saw some ideas a few threads up. Thanks anyway.

ibk

Your grill is always going to be hotter on the end nearest the fire. Try
lowering the overall temp, and you won't run as much risk of overcooking
the bird at the hot end. I wouldn't think you'd need to rotate more than
once or twice.



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In news:I%oOk.75922$[Only registered users can see links. ].easynews.com,
ibrokit <[Only registered users can see links. ]> typed:

You might try lining the bottom or lower grate with firebrick. It won't
change the fact that there will always be more heat closer to a fire, as
that is basic physics. However it might even out the temps in the cook
chamber somewhat. Note that if you make baffles, in many smokers you need to
account for the redirection of the air flow. On smokers like NBBDs and other
NB models, as well as many other offsets, there is a bigger problem with all
the hot air rising to the top of the cook chamber. You can get up to 100
degrees diff between a thermometer at the top, and one on the bottom grate.
So the best baffles serve to redirect heat in a lower stream, and also you
will get a benefit from extending the chimney in the interior of the
cookchamber down towards the lower rack. You can do this by just taking a
sheet of roof flashing metal and rolling it up, and sticking it down inside
the chimney to make the extension.

MartyB in KC

Nunya Bidnits wrote:
Good stuff, thanks. I'm using the Bar-b-chef at the moment, until I get
my hands on a larger smoker. It does the job for now, though, and has
most of the mods you mentioned.

Thanks,

ibk