.125" tuning plates

[Martyjmc]

I wonder if the grease drips and then burns on the plate? That would add bad flavored smoke wouldn't it?

[Handyfan]

OK, thanks. I'm pretty much a rural guy, so the water disposal's not really an issue. For me, I think it would be much nicer than cleaning out a big hunk of steel at 10 below. Of course, I wouldn't want to forget to drain it while it's still warm . . . That could be bad.

[Pit-for-Brains]

I have given it some thought but it just seemed to be a pain to dispose of the nasty water with grease on top. I don't have much of a temperature difference from side to side with the 2040. It would however give you enough room to do a couple more butts if you needed to cook six at a time. I think the major benefits of 1/4 vs. 3/16 plays more of a factor if you are cooking in freezing weather to minimize temp fluctuations. I can't stress enough how much I love this pit! The only drawback is it taking so long to get it to be ready to cook so you have good clean smoke. I assume most stick burners are similar to get ready to cook.

[Handyfan]

@PfB: I know you told me that you don't use water in the bottom of your Tejas barrel, but I wondered if you (or anyone else out there) have tried it just to measure the difference in temp spreads. Water is an awesome heat sink, and almost perfectly suited for BBQ cooking temps. Plus, Tejas is one of the few manufacturers I've seen that specifically encourages/recommends using the bottom of the pit as a reservoir while cooking (Lone Star Grillz is another). I just assumed that Tejas did it because their 20" pits are 3/16" instead of 1/4" and that 5 gal. of water in the bottom would just about even out the weight difference. But I'm really curious about this because it seems like such a natural fit. Plus clean out would be great - just drain out the warm water into a bucket. Love how it works on my 22" WSM except for what a pain it is to handle the water pan because it's vertically stacked with no drain.

[Pit-for-Brains]

Ya I did a couple dry runs to adjust temp. and try to season them. They were caked with crusties after a 8 hour cook. We cooked 80 pounds of pork butt and I decided to cook two butts on my old grill. The flavor was totally different. The flavor of the briskits I cook was excellent without the plates as well. I figured my grill was built and designed the way it was for a reason. So I will no longer use them. Thanks for the input though.

[Huskee]

You can keep the tuning plates. I did not care for the flavor of the smoke from the fat and juices that dripped on them. It IMO almost ruined 60 pounds of pork butt! It was still good and temp control across the board was nice but I can definitely live without those.

Pit-for-Brains Interesting. Thanks for the feedback. I can't imagine the thickness having anything to do with it, once the metal is heated up it's heated up, unless it just needed a good cleanoff first? I can only suggest that should you leave them in and they get 'seasoned' with some buildup it's not likely to be as big an issue down the road. I have my heat plate covered in foil, but that's for ease of cleaning. But it sounds like they may not be necessary in your case after all.

[Pit-for-Brains]

I wonder if it had anything to do with the .125" vs.25" thickness???? I have read others comment on the black smoke they encountered and didn't like it. I too had same results.

[Pit-for-Brains]

You can keep the tuning plates. I did not care for the flavor of the smoke from the fat and juices that dripped on them. It IMO almost ruined 60 pounds of pork butt! It was still good and temp control across the board was nice but I can definitely live without those.

[Huskee]

Pit-for-Brains Lol, nice one. Same here.

[David Parrish]

Works for me!

[Pit-for-Brains]

I did update my signature. Check it out I hope its considered appropriate. ;-)

[Huskee]

For what it's worth, I find that I only dial back the firebox vents when it's just way too hot. Usually though I keep them between 3/4- full, and I control the overall flow, and thereby the heat at the far end, with the chimney cap. When it's hot and flowing wildly I can put the cap at 1/3 and keep fairly even temps. If I open it wide open the chimney side will actually get a little hotter than the firebox side. Obviously that's on a different cooker and they each have their own system of management, but the point is don't be afraid to play with both to find what to do.

I also will put one or two bread/meatloaf pans of hot water down on the plate under the food grate. I find this help a lot as well with temp steadiness.

Lastly, the BBQ Dragon is a lifesaver on certain occasions. When the wood isn't as dry as you want, or there's a lack of breeze to naturally fan the flames the BBQ Dragon sure comes in handy.

[Huskee]

Perfect plan! I often tell people you can use the temp differentials to your advantage, but when cooking all the same muscles yeah you want as even as possible. I think you'll have a great system with your homemade plates!

[Pit-for-Brains]

We are cooking up 6 or 7 pork butts Sat for the youth group fund raiser BBQ. That's mainly why I wanted to tune it to evenly distribute the heat as much as possible. I like having the hotter side for chicken, sausage, and pork steaks etc. But need to utilize as much space as possible this time. I have been cooking on a 55gal drum homemade pit for the last 16+ years. Replacing the barrel as needed.

[Pit-for-Brains]

Thanks Huskee! I really had my heart set on a Lang and was 90â„… sure I could afford the one I wanted next year. My buddy was looking for a new pit before he just bought it to work and welded up guts. I came across the Tejas looking for him and my wife said just get it! I have done two dry runs and cooked on it three times and I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! lol I figured I would cut my teeth on this for a season or two and get my Lang but I see no need for it now. I am sure I will want a different one eventually and get a Lang. Probably when my son gets his own place I'll hand him the Tejas.