Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Char Griller COS mods

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Char Griller COS mods

    I recently bought a Char Griller COS. I needed some additional cooking space for an event I was grilling burgers and hot dogs for, and it was on sale for $100, so I got it knowing it wasn't high quality, but it would work. Plus it fit in the back of my mini van (Yeah, I used to be cool) if I took the top off. After reading up on some mods that others had done, I decided to try to make it better for smoking. This is the finished product from outside.
    Click image for larger version

Name:	Photo Jul 28, 2 51 34 PM.jpg
Views:	312
Size:	403.2 KB
ID:	578534

    As you can see I added two thermometers to monitor the heat on both ends.
    I also used a high heat felt type gasket to seal around the edges and put bolts in all the unused holes to help hold heat and smoke a little better.
    Then I got a piece of steel, cut it to fit inside the unit, and cut out some on the edges to allow heat and smoke to come up around the edges. My other cooker is a BGE, so I patterned it roughly after the plate setter in the BGE. This did a couple of things. First, when making the fire in the fire box, it distributes the heat more evenly instead of having high heat where it comes out of the fire box. Now both ends are within about 5 degrees of each other. It also allows me to build a fire inside the grill and still have indirect heat available. It has to be for shorter cooks, as I can't easily add more fuel, unless I just put it in the fire box, which is always an option. The baffle sits on bolts at each end and 2 bricks in the middle.
    Click image for larger version

Name:	Photo Aug 12, 12 53 36 PM.jpg
Views:	220
Size:	385.3 KB
ID:	578535
    That's pretty much the extent of the mods. It still leaks smoke a bit, but it's acceptable. I definitely have to monitor the heat and fuel more than I do on my BGE, but that's ok too. This allows me to become better familiar with offset and stick burner techniques while giving me more cooking capacity. Some day I'll get a higher quality offset, but this gives me the utility I need for now. I can use my BGE, and/or this and have plenty of capacity for most cooks I do. If I need more capacity I have access to an American Barbeque Systems Judge (pictures on another post of mine from a few weeks ago) than can handle more than I need to cook. Total cost for the mods was about $45 for the thermometers and $25 for the steel sheet, plus the $100 for the COS.

    #2
    So how has it performed cooking?
    Joe

    Comment


    • Keiferr
      Keiferr commented
      Editing a comment
      Been too busy with other stuff to really try it. Have just done test fires without food. I was happy with those. Ribs are coming up soon tho!

    #3
    Nice pit, like your ideas.

    Comment


      #4
      Very cool, Brother!

      I'm lookin forward to some cooks from yer Char Grill...

      Comment


        #5
        I bought one of these from HemoDepot. It was my first smoker, and I had little to no knowledge about smoking anything. I figured the more white smoke it put out, the better. The temperature distribution in the cooking chamber was very bad and my fixings were as equally awful.

        I think your heat management plate is a big improvement there. Hopefully it will prove to be a very nice upgrade for you.

        I just want to share one suggested improvement I read about, which makes lots of sense, and it has to do with the exhaust. The chimney is flush with the top of the cooking chamber. You may want to install an extension that will force heat and smoke to accumulate and stay in the cooking chamber for a longer period of time, instead of exiting right away.

        I did not perform any modifications to the unit, but did find some tips online. I don’t have a photo to show you what I’m talking about here, but do a quick google search and you will see how most folks install a flex pipe to extend the exhaust and force hot air and smoke to accumulate before exiting.

        That should significantly improve performance.

        Cheers,

        Ricardo

        Comment


        • Keiferr
          Keiferr commented
          Editing a comment
          Thanks for the suggestion! I've seen that but just haven't tried it yet.

        • Henrik
          Henrik commented
          Editing a comment
          Yep, I can vouch for that one. Easy to do, and makes all the difference. A LOT of commercial smokers get the chimney size and placement wrong.

        #6
        I’ve heard people extend the opening inside the grill using a metal flexible dryer duct.

        Comment


        • JGo37
          JGo37 commented
          Editing a comment
          jecucolo Great reply, and Keiferr that baffle is tip top!

        #7
        That looks like a good job to me.

        Comment


          #8
          Hahaha, your profile pic is you sitting next to an open cargo door on a C-130........I think you get a pass on the mini-van. LOL.

          Nice work on the mods! It would be cool to see a pic with it running, to see how much better the smoker seals up.

          Comment


          • Spinaker
            Spinaker commented
            Editing a comment
            That’s ever cooler! @Keifer

          • Keiferr
            Keiferr commented
            Editing a comment
            Spinaker, the first picture is actually of it working. Smoke is coming from the stack. The biggest leaks are in back. Had to double the gasket.

          • Spinaker
            Spinaker commented
            Editing a comment
            Nice! Well it looks like the mods are working! Keiferr

          #9
          The 'dryer ducting' mod is awesome. I'm doing one now on a rectangular cooker and will document it for a post.

          Maybe try some toggle clamps on everything to seat the lids against the gaskets, and gasket the side box as well, including where it mounts on the main if it's still removable.

          Click image for larger version

Name:	CSB 2.jpg
Views:	218
Size:	100.2 KB
ID:	578774

          Click image for larger version

Name:	CSB 4.jpg
Views:	221
Size:	86.1 KB
ID:	578775

          Comment


            #10
            Did a few mods to my vertical offset smoker a handful of years ago that made it perform much better. A lavalock gasket helped a ton...no smoke leaking. I also added clamps to the door which, with the gasket, seal the door very well.

            Recently started to "store" my FiL’s (father-in-law) COS. I use it for brisket...don’t have to cut it in half first like I do on my vertical. Installed a metal heat diverter (though not notched like yours!) and always run a big water pan right in front of the firebox. I also added an extension to the chimney - inside and out - for better flow.

            Rigt out of the box COSs are pretty lousy, but with a few inexpensive mods they are pretty good!

            Comment

            Announcement

            Collapse
            No announcement yet.
            Working...
            X
            false
            0
            Guest
            Guest
            500
            ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
            false
            false
            {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
            Yes
            ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
            /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here