Joe Thompson (JT.Smoke@aol.com)
Sun, 19 Nov 1995 06:47:40 -0700
I've been cooking on a New Braunfels type smoker for a while and
I have made a modification to it that might be of interest to
you. Extend the bottom of the flue to the top of the cooking grill
or just below it. I did it by building a new flue on the end of
the cooking area. It really eliminates the hot and cold spots
on the smoker...... Also move the thermometer down to the level
of the food to see what the actual temp. is. Hope this helps.
Ben Bailey (Ben.Bailey@bridge.bst.bls.com)
Fri, 8 Dec 1995 10:40:15 -0700
I've noticed the problems you described in my Hondo(?) New Braunfels
smoker also. I learned to adjust -50 deg for the high offset of
the temp gauge - that seems to work pretty well. I also place
a standard oven therm on the grill to keep track of the temps,
and that's how I learned the 50 deg adjustment.
I've had a problem with burning wood directly at a cool enough
temp of 225 or so. The meat is getting a bitter black coating
on it. Some notes I've read indicate that this is the result of
incomplete combustion, such as the black smoke out of a carburetor
if it's too rich - too much fuel, not enough oxygen to support
complete burn.
However, if I open the inlet air throttle to let in more air,
it burns hotter than I want. I end up with these tiny wood fires
that require constant attention.
A Usenet article recommends adding a damper to vent the firebox,
so that the excess heat can be exhausted without restricting
the inlet oxygen.
ANY IDEAS?
Joe Thompson (JT.Smoke@aol.com)
Sat, 9 Dec 1995 08:13:57 -0700
Another modification I made. I have a trailer mounted smoker fashioned
after my little one. I added a flue to the firebox and found I
can vent the sooty smoke from the firebox before it hits the cooking
area. This made the food less blackened and you can control the
heat and fire easier. You might try that. Turkey skin usually
blackens real bad, but after this mod, it was a nice golden brown
so I know it works... Hope this helps....
mike scrutchfield (scrutmi@gvi.com)
Wed, 20 Dec 1995 18:12:17 -0700
Forget all the wood! you'll cook much better if you use a lot
more charcoal and add small amounts of the wood you want! Mike
RE/MAX is Cookin' Now!