hamiltont
is Blowin Smoke!
@hamiltont,
Liked your mods. What size hex bolts did you use to keep the charcoal pan off of the lava rock pan?
Thanks!! I don't recall for sure but they were prolly 5/16" x 2", maybe 1 1/2". Cheers!!!
@hamiltont,
Liked your mods. What size hex bolts did you use to keep the charcoal pan off of the lava rock pan?
Thanks. I wound up getting some screws that were 1/4" x 2" since they were stainless steel and not zinc coated. I'm gonna see if those work. I also ordered the lava pan, which comes with the one vent hole in it already. It looks like you drilled 1, maybe 2 more holes in it for better air flow. Is this correct? My biggest drill bit is 1/2", but what size roughly were the holes and did you leave these open or cover them with a piece of metal or something? Thanks again for the clarification.
I use both lump & briquette in it. I like the lump for the minimal amount of ash but it won't last long enough for a pork butt w/o reloading. Actually I don't think the briquettes will last long enough in the bowl either. I didn't prop up the WSJ grate but I really don't recall the smokes with the "swiss cheese" bowl because I quickly built an expanded metal basket. That works WAY much better. With a full load of briquettes in the basket I can easily get a 12 hour burn @ 250-275F. It works perfect for 2 butts. I can do 4 butts on it but I have to stand them on edge and use a couple Bamboo Shish Kabob skewers through the top corners to prop them up. They sorta keep each other from falling over. Cheers!!!
This photo may or may not help you but this is the charcoal pan and base of my modified Gourmet. The expended metal is about 5" tall, and is simply secured using some rebar wire, and nothing else.