Help me fix this smoker tube....

[Michael_in_TX]

....also known as you get what you pay for. So, in a recent post I made about smoker tubes, I remarked that they have a wide range in price, anywhere from $9.99 to $26.99 on Amazon for what appear to be the exact same tube.

Naturally, I bought the cheapest one at $9.99. And I got what I paid for. Anyone see the issue?



Yes, they used two "open" end caps! One of the sides should look like this:



There's got to be a straightforward way for me to fix this. All I need to do is affix a small metal plate to one end. (I could use a can lid.) But what adhesive could I use that is fire/flame proof?

(Or does someone have another idea? I have no welding capability.)

[STEbbq]

I mean you could probably find the right size grate at Lowes and some JB Weld might do the trick to keep it on. But surely Amazon will just give you a refund with no hassle?

[Michael_in_TX]

Amazon will, but I have to take it to a specific return center. Not a crazy inconvenience, but there is always a long line. (I miss the days where they would just give you a return label to print out and affix and you could drop it at any place that picked up UPS.)

[STEbbq]

Especially for cheap under $10 items Amazon will just refund you the money and tell you to keep it. It probably costs them $25 or so to process the return if you mail it back so they come out ahead. I think you have plenty of better solutions below so just FYI.

[Jerod Broussard]

Is there a way to not fill up the tube so much on the end you are going to wrap heavy duty foil around?

[STEbbq]

Heavy duty foil and some holes definitely could work.

[Michael_in_TX]

Once again the obvious solution eludes me. That's brilliant. And stupidly easy!

[captainlee]

Wire mesh at the hardware store.

[Michael_in_TX]

I think I'll try this, too. I have a roll of this in the garage!

[captainlee]

Exactly

[HotSun]

I would double the mesh, depending on the gauge of the wire. I get some warping on my pellet tube. Otherwise, maybe just replace it as needed.

As a side note, if the tube is horizontal, you'll burn away from the end soon enough. Depending on the length of your smoking, you may not even need a full tube. Experiment with it a little and may run a test or two. You'll figure it out, I'm confident.

[Oak Smoke]

I believe a can lid and a few pop rivets would fix you right up. I think you can still get stainless steel pop rivets at the hardware store. There’s also the option of sending it to me and I’ll fix it and return it. By the time you pay postage it may coat as much as a better one. Either way I’m willing to help if you’d like. If I fix it I won’t use a can lid I promise.

[captainlee]

Wire mesh at the hardware store.

[Jerod Broussard]

Yeah, a good bendable one you double and triple layer, and then cinch it down with some metal wire. Michael_in_TX

[Michael_in_TX]

I give you the Official Jerod Broussard Smoke Tube fix (patent pending):





(I can't believe I didn't think of that. I still may try the metal plate idea down the road.)

[Jim White]

That's why we pay Jerod the big bucks.

[Michael_in_TX]

Eureka!

(Did not intend for this to turn into such an adventure, but here we are.)

I am a huge fan of the Wyze cameras, those little square streaming cameras you can throw anywhere where you want to monitor something on video from your cell phone. I have several.

I remembered that each of them comes with a small circular metal mounting plate. The cameras have a magnetic base, which sticks to the plate, and then you adhere the plate to a wall with some supplied 3M adhesive. I have a spare plate and it is a near perfect fit (even has a "smoke hole")!



So I just need to pick up some JB Weld the next time I am at Home Depot and I should be in business.

[Jerod Broussard]

Dude, awesome!!

[HotSun]

Let us know how the JB Weld works at temperature. I would tap extra holes in the end, maybe a 1/8th inch drill bit, just a thought.

[LA Pork Butt]

I must be missing something. If you already have two end caps I can’t understand the problem, but if you only have one I get it.

[Michael_in_TX]

That's the problem: while it has two end caps, both are identical; that is, both are open. The tube is supposed to have one end cap open and one end cap closed (so the pellets don't fall out).

[Redwng]

Certainly not as cost effective as the smoke tube but my suggestion might be to consider getting a LSG pellet smoker, you wont have to come up with ways to get more smoke. Could order now and you would get it in the spring. Just trying to help.

[STEbbq]

Love it.

[Michael_in_TX]

It would be more effective..... can't argue with that!

[LA Pork Butt]

I don’t have a smoke tube, but have a tray that burns like a snake. I always thought that smoke tubes were supposed to lay dow rather than stand up. If they are supposed to lay down you shouldn’t lose pellets.

[Michael_in_TX]

In theory yes, but I know myself. I'd get distracted, tip it over and have smoldering pellets all over my shoes.

[LA Pork Butt]

Michael_in_TX If it’s laying down then it can’t tip over. Looking at the cap I think it is designed with a hole to start the pellets burning and if you wanted you could start it from both ends.

[RonB]

I have no idea how safe JBW is, so I'd do a good burn in before putting the tube in the cooker with food.

[Michael_in_TX]

I have no idea how safe JBW is, so I'd do a good burn in before putting the tube in the cooker with food.

You bring up a good point. JB Weld is non-toxic once cured, as long as you don't eat it.



(I can't believe they actually call out not eating it.)

I also looked up the melting temp of cured JB Weld. The manufacturer states that the original JB Weld (the two tubes that you mix together manually) is rated up to 550 F.

My welding would be on the outside of the tube and the pellets would be smoldering, but not actually touching the weld.

.....or maybe I take Jerod's idea just one step further and crumple up some foil and smash it down into the bottom of the tube. (There is a lip there.) I simply don't want the pellets falling out. There's no immediate reason for it to have holes; the pellets won't be burning down there until the end and plenty of oxygen would get getting to the rest of the pellets.

[HotSun]

Thanks for calling out the food safety concern. I was thinking about that last night and was a little worried about that. Some things are not safe when they touch food and/or not safe when heated. If I recall, there are certain things used in welding that are food safe, and many that are not.

[Michael_in_TX]

HotSun Yeah, my main worry is that should it begin to melt, it would outgas not so nice things.

[HotSun]

I don’t have a smoke tube, but have a tray that burns like a snake. I always thought that smoke tubes were supposed to lay dow rather than stand up. If they are supposed to lay down you shouldn’t lose pellets.

You are correct, they are supposed to lay down. I'm smoking cheese this morning using a tube (I use a maze/tray like one you mentioned), and I have it leaning just slightly on a piece of lump, at the bottom of my kamado style cooker.

[Michael_in_TX]

And as a postscript to my silliness with this, here is the final solution.

As it turns out, the caps are simply pressed on. I folded some heavy-duty foil around the cap-less end cap, then squeezed the end cap back on. Nearly looks factory lol.



See, us liberal arts majors can too do engineering!

[Jerod Broussard]

Sweetness.