rabeb25
Full Fledged Farker
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2008
- Location
- Albertville, MN
So I REALLY Like my vault, but I thought there were a few things that I could improve upon.
First it bothered me that the water pan was getting a beat down from the firebox, I poured water in the pan one time to correct an overshoot, and it warped it quite a bit. I noticed that there was a channel in the firebox, almost like it was meant to hold a diverter plate, so easy enough I went and got some 1/4" steel plate and put that in. SO much Better!
Next up was finding a suitable place for the Stoker and the Wifi. I wanted this as neat as possible, and I wanted to semi-protect it from the elements. I chose to mount everything underneath the unit. I then taped all the probes together and routed them cleanly. Here is what I came up with.
Next up was a BIG one for me, I REALLY disliked the vault's air intake setup. It was a slide, but it was loose and full of air gaps. And even when completely shut the pit would go until it was out of fuel. I was also having some issues with temp control with the stoker if it was windy out. I like ball valve controls, so I set out to fab something up. I came up with this.
Orange line being the slider pipe that sticks out on the vault and the pocket is for the welds.
I went out and had it CNC'd for free (helps to have friends!) out of a block of billet Alum. It came out great and I just put a light coat of high temp silicone, for a perfect airtight seal.
Its nice to have precise control over your smoker. I am testing it now with out the stoker, I have a nice 15mph wind so lets see what this thing can do.
Thanks
Bryan
First it bothered me that the water pan was getting a beat down from the firebox, I poured water in the pan one time to correct an overshoot, and it warped it quite a bit. I noticed that there was a channel in the firebox, almost like it was meant to hold a diverter plate, so easy enough I went and got some 1/4" steel plate and put that in. SO much Better!
Next up was finding a suitable place for the Stoker and the Wifi. I wanted this as neat as possible, and I wanted to semi-protect it from the elements. I chose to mount everything underneath the unit. I then taped all the probes together and routed them cleanly. Here is what I came up with.
Next up was a BIG one for me, I REALLY disliked the vault's air intake setup. It was a slide, but it was loose and full of air gaps. And even when completely shut the pit would go until it was out of fuel. I was also having some issues with temp control with the stoker if it was windy out. I like ball valve controls, so I set out to fab something up. I came up with this.
Orange line being the slider pipe that sticks out on the vault and the pocket is for the welds.
I went out and had it CNC'd for free (helps to have friends!) out of a block of billet Alum. It came out great and I just put a light coat of high temp silicone, for a perfect airtight seal.
Its nice to have precise control over your smoker. I am testing it now with out the stoker, I have a nice 15mph wind so lets see what this thing can do.
Thanks
Bryan