Modified fire box

[jbauch357]

A common and frustrating experience I was having was the wood directly over the firebox holes would ignite and smoke like mad, then the rest of the wood would sit there and do almost nothing.  So in effect I was going from very thick and heavy smoke production, to almost nothing - not ideal in my opinion.

I started experimenting first with wood size and placement, but still had generally the same experience that I could either get charring away from the holes or torrential smoke on top of the holes.

Little by little I started adding extra holes to the fire box, as I didn't want to go to far and have to buy a new one right off the bat.  After at least a half-dozen test smokes, and a few actual cooking smokes what I ended up with is below.  I align my wood hunks so just a tiny bit is over the edge holes which are right above the element, and the rest is sitting above the middle holes which are further from the element and provide longer more consistent smoke production.

This probably won't be a popular modification and I'm sure people will mention never having issues with their stock firebox - but this change has made a huge difference for me, and if/when I burn out this firebox I'll do the same thing with the next.  Figured I'd share since it was mentioned a few times and I'm finally at a finished state.  Oh, I also do the ramp up like others have mentioned of setting at 175 for 30 min then going up to 225 from there - that's also made a big difference in regulating smoke production for the long term.

 

[gregbooras]

Josh,

I may consider doing the same thing, thanks for the photo.

Greg

 

[Pork Belly]

I am going to have to list this in the "If it makes you happy, go for it" category. I don't see the need, while I have often found more wood remnants in the fire box that I would have expected it was never a cause of concern. I have never had a chunk of wood that appeared partially consumed or unburned. All the chunks or blocks I used were complete ash or greatly reduced in size and complete charcoal.

I didn't clean my smoker all winter it was a bit of a project last weekend. With five months of use without cleaning the inside lid of my firebox did not look as charred as you. That is a pretty heavy layer of smoke and creosote.

It's your smoker and if your happy, that's cool. But it appears to me you took a mighty fine electric smoker and made it into a stick burner.

 

[jbauch357]

With five months of use without cleaning the inside lid of my firebox did not look as charred as you. That is a pretty heavy layer of smoke and creosote.

Indeed it was a thick layer and result of multiple nights of experimentation, many of which were failures.  I cleaned all of that crap off when I re-foiled it last night.

 

[SuperDave]

I am going to have to list this in the "If it makes you happy, go for it" category.

What makes me laugh about your comment is that I'm working on plugging the existing holes I've got to reduce air while someone else is adding more holes.  We certainly gotta do what makes us happy. 

 

[gregbooras]

I guess everyone has their own twist on life and things

Greg

 

[DivotMaker]

Mods and experimentation are the seeds to a ripe harvest of ideas and innovation!  Go for it, guys!

 

[NDKoze]

Mods and experimentation are the seeds to a ripe harvest of ideas and innovation!  Go for it, guys!

+1

 

[S and M]

I'm new to smoking_it but have done probably close to a dozen smokes.  I have a perception that my units runs cooler than it should.  I'm only relying  on this because my smokes always take longer than most of these blogs suggest.  (Last night 6.5 pork shoulder, smokerII set at 230, and it took 15 hours to get to 191, and that was only after turning the heat all the way up for the last two hours.  After seeing this article on the smoke box, I was wondering if anybody can tell me it my box  appears normal or would you expect a different burn?  Three chunks of mesquite (totaling 5.1 oz) relatively equal spaced.  One to ash, the other two to charcoal.

Always appreciate info.

 

[SuperDave]

S&M, your wood looks representative.  There are hotter spots in the element.  And speaking of element, do you know if you have the 700W or the new, 800W element?  The #2 has just started coming out with a hotter element.  You might think about an upgrade?

 

[S and M]

I got my unit at Christmas and according to the ID tag on the back it says 700w.
Is there element easy to change out?

 

[SuperDave]

I got my unit at Christmas and according to the ID tag on the back it says 700w.
Is there element easy to change out?

A couple of nuts and a wire connection. 

 

[NDKoze]

It has been pretty well documented here that smaller butts 6.5 and lower tend to take as long if not longer than bigger butts.

My smoker tends to run a little cooler than most here too and I haven't worried about it because I have had phenomenal results on virtually all of my smokes. So, I am not going to try to fix what does not appear to be broken.

Before you start drilling holes or spending money on a new element, I would recommend that you try the steps outlined in the following guide from the SI website:
http://www.smokin-it.com/v/vspfiles/files/HeatControllerAdjustmentInstructions.pdf

 

[DivotMaker]

The 800w element upgrade will not make a 6.5 lb butt cook faster, but it will get it to cooking temp much faster than the 700w element - twice as fast.  It used to take me 40-45 minutes to get to 225+, now it takes 15-20.  100 watts doesn't seem like much, but it sure is in the #2.  I am more than pleased with the difference!

 

[1stlink]

I got my unit at Christmas and according to the ID tag on the back it says 700w.
Is there element easy to change out?

Steve, I converted my model #2 700W to a 800W and have better performance. I would suggest that you shoot an email off to Steve at smokin-it. Make sure to mention your model number and element size, etc.