Brinkmann Smoke n Pit Mods

[comyers331]

I am relatively new to smoking and new to the pit but i picked up a Brinkmann smoke n pit professional off Craigslist for free (I know they arent the best smokers but it was the right price and figured it would be good to tinker around with as i learn some of the basics). Pic below are the "before pictures"

I am planning a few modifications in the hope that it will actually produce acceptable results:

1. Sand out rust and paint with ceramic high heat coating (rustoleum)
2. Extend smoke stack to grate level
3. Add a tel tru thermometer at grate level
4. Use a airfryer cookie sheet as a baffle
5. Maybe raise the grates in the firebox for increased air flow and add a damper and ash catcher underneath?
5. Seal with stove gasket sealant/lavalock padding

Any other suggestions or advice would be appreciated! I know its not the best cooker but I am trying to mod it out to something acceptable for $100-200

Thanks in advance

[Huskee]

I would try to add some sort of heat sink with your baffle, such as bricks (if they'll fit) or sand. Once that cookie sheet heats up it won't do too much by way of heat protection (airflow, yes), but with something else of substance you'll likely have a better time evening out temps. And maybe leave a small gap right up against the firewall side, so that some hot air can make it through and there isn't too much protection resulting in a potential cool spot. If you can use a couple smaller cookie sheets leaving a gap between them, this would likely help you as well. This would mimic what's known as "tuning plates" in other stick burners. You can orient them as needed to level out temps as you like.

Next, a welding blanket over the firebox will help keep more heat inside and going into your cook chamber, just don't cover your firebox's handle...ask me how I know that one! If you can cover your cook chamber too, so much the better, but if only one then insulate your firebox with a blanket first.

[comyers331]

Thank you! And good point on the use of bricks or cookie sheets as tuning plates.. I was thinking foil covered bricks (as i already have those materials handy) vs lava rock or tuning plates. Thoughts?

I was thinking through how to insulate the firebox and a welder blanket is a great idea - thanks again

[Huskee]

comyers331 Foil covered would be helpful with cleanup for sure. Experimenting with diff setups will be helpful until you find the sweet spot.

[Huskee]

Another thing I found helpful was to buy a fireplace log rack for inside my firebox, to keep the wood off the bottom of the firebox and keep it from getting surrounded & snuffed out by the ash. Depending on the dimensions/height of yours you might be able to find one to fit on Amazon, or some other similar device.

[comyers331]

Thank you - i am going to look into that - i like that idea instead of cutting a whole in the bottom of the firebox to give ash an outlet and create room for air under the fire

[FireMan]

Free is good, very good. You will learn the fantastic way, sorta the hard way, although not to hard. Light a Fire & keep cookin! Ya

[comyers331]

Thats the plan!

[bbqLuv]

: I Bought the Cheapest Offset Smoker at Home Depot and Made a Brisket - YouTube
Perhaps cheap has more to with longevity than function. Looks like a fun project for the unlazy.
Happy Grilling to you.

[Bruceski44]

Nice score! I used one of those for 20 years or so and made some pretty good Q on it. I'm sure you'll do the same.

I extended the smoke stack all the way to the bottom using corrugated aluminum dryer vent tube. That way it'll draw the hot air and smoke from the top all the way down to exhaust it. It reduced grate area slightly, because I shifted the grate leftward so the tube could reach the bottom.

I added that thin silver insulation (as shown in the photo below and found at Lowes) to the right side of the cooking chamber, including the end. If keeping your cook temps to 225-275 F, it won't get hot enough to damage that stuff and it will really reduce the temperature difference right to left.

I used common bricks in the bottom to add more thermal mass which seemed to reduce big swings.

I bolted a common bread loaf pan to the inside on the left just above the hole to the fire box and filled it with hot water periodically throughout the cook. (note the teapot on top of the fire box.

I used lump charcoal (usually one large chimney's worth, less if really hot out) and added wood chunks for smoke. The chunks were pretty small and didn't add thick smoke. I pre heated the chunks on the firebox before adding. To get the smoker started, sometimes I would add two chimney's worth one after the other to get it good and hot right away.

I laid the firebox grates on top of more common brick to get it off the floor and closer to the opening.

I tried using a plate between the firebox and cooking chamber to direct the heat, but it really cut down on heat. I learned to keep the firebox hole wide open, with no obstructions into the cooking chamber to reduce my fuel use. Throttle down the air intake (just a 3/4" crack or so) to the firebox and throttle down the exhaust stack slightly. I read somewhere once where you should extend the stack higher to get more airflow, but found that was using too much fuel and drying my meat. I did use a dryer vent stack 3' extension to get the thing going, but then removed it and kept the airflow low to keep the heat constant, use less fuel and keep more moisture in the chamber. get the most heat in as possible and exhaust it slowly.

The temp side to side was usually within 10 F, but top to bottom was a higher spread. Using rib racks where the ribs are vertical usually ended with uneven cooking where the tops were overdone. I started just laying everything flat: two spare rib racks, or two spatchcocked chickens or two butts or one brisket at a time. I'd run that thing for several days in a row to get enough food for our annual Independence Day family BBQ.

I also added some high-temp rope insulation (found online) to keep air leaks down in the cooking chamber. I attached it using JB Weld and burned it in, just to be safe.

[comyers331]

This is VERY helpful! Thank you and i will be sure to follow up with how it ends up

[Bruceski44]

You're welcome! I forgot to say one large chimney of lump will go about 90 minutes more or less. Don't dump it from the chimney into the firebox until all lump is fully lit and ashed over.

[Redwng]

If you aren't quite ready to (or don't care to) undertake the outside you could apply some food grade mineral oil to it, at least that will stop the rusting and it will look a lot better.

[comyers331]

Thank you everyone for the advice - I am at the point where the smoker has been disassembled, cleaned, re assembled and a few modifications have been done (listed below). I am considering using a welder or insulation blanket and raising the firebox grate closer to the opening/removing the baffle depending on how the first cooks go.

Modifications:
- Extended smoke stack to grate level
- Added baffle (half of a pizza cooking pan) to the firebox/cooking chamber opening
- Used bricks wraped in foil on the bottom of the cook chamber for heat retention
- Added lava lock gasket tape to the firebox and cooking chamber doors
- Added a Tel Tru thermometer closer to grate level
- Bread pan added to far left that will be filled with hot water to keep moisture in the cook chamber as well as direct air flow down and towards the meat

I wanted to give you all an update and thank you again for the support

[FireMan]

Oh man, nice work! Can’t wait fer the first cook after ya got it lookin so purdy like.
Free just got even better!

[comyers331]

Thanks! I will post back with first cook notes and updates. Appreciate ya!

[Bruceski44]

That'll do! Nice job!