What was the water usage like during that smoke?
I was also one of the lucky 10
I will post pics and results as well. I will plan a cook next week end, so I will behind some of you guys...Let us know how the heat diffuser goes.
Nice thread, got an email into LSG on leadtimes. I'm thinking this may just suit my needs very well
Weather was awesome this weekend for some bbq...
I finally got a chance to use the heat diffuser plate, and I am very happy with the results. Its a great addition to the smoker.
I made sure to keep everything the same to see if things came out different.
I planned an overnight cook with a 17lb prime brisket packer, 5 lb brisket point, 8lb pork butt, 3xslabs of St. Louis rib, 10xhot links, and 42 bacon wrapped jalapenos.
First off getting the heat deflector in place was not fun, I sprayed it down with pam which made it dangerously slippery to handle and then realized the ears were bent from shipping. I would recommend Lone Star Grillz look into methods of protecting the ears from getting bent out of shape from the UPS guys tossing this around. I hammered the ears straight so they would fit properly. The notch on the left side that holds the diffuser over the rails needs to be a little deeper and wider so it sits in place nice and snug. I managed to get it in place with no obstruction to the charcoal box. The charcoal box slides in and out all the way with no issues for me.
I filled the the charcoal box as I normally do, with 40lbs of kingsford (2x20lb bags). I filled the water pan full with boiling water, about 1/4" from the rim. I lit the left front corner (a la minion method), approx 8" across of lit coals, opened all the vents, and waited for the temps to hit 125 before closing things down and letting the Guru stoke the fire the rest of the way to my target of 225.
The pit came to temp as usual just under an hour. This was no different than before. The heat diffuser did not get in the way of reaching temps from past experience.
The water consumption is definitely better. I cook at 225 at all the time, and my water consumption was always around 1 gallon per hour. I used to run almost empty in 6 hours. Things were much better this time around. I lit the fire at 5:30pm and at midnight I was half empty on the water pan. I wont say that water consumpton is twice as slow as before, but its close. Definitely happy there, and can get some more sleep on overnight cooks. Also, the water was not boiling off violently. I also noticed that when I opened the door, I was not being blasted with hot steam A very nice surprise.
As for fuel consumption, this was definitely better as well. I think I have close to 7 to 10 lbs of unburnt coals left, just eye balling the charcoal basket this morning. I closed the vents off at 5pm, nearly 24 hours later, I still had plenty of fuel left to go.
All in all, I think its a great addition and definitely worth having in the smoker to help insulate the water pan from the heat source during cooking, and definitely helps save on fuel. I am glad I had the privilege to test it out for everyone and for Lone Star Grillz...
Darkoozy - I didn't get a chance to cook with it this weekend. However I plan to do so this weekend. It's good to hear about your fuel consumption. Could it be because you were cooking at 225 instead of a higher temp? Also did you open your door often? I plan on doing turkeys this TG for customers using my insulated. Looking forward to not using so much fuel. In the past I would allow my pit to come up to temp before adding water. Why do you guys add water first?
First off getting the heat deflector in place was not fun, I sprayed it down with pam which made it dangerously slippery to handle and then realized the ears were bent from shipping. I would recommend Lone Star Grillz look into methods of protecting the ears from getting bent out of shape from the UPS guys tossing this around. I hammered the ears straight so they would fit properly. The notch on the left side that holds the diffuser over the rails needs to be a little deeper and wider so it sits in place nice and snug. I managed to get it in place with no obstruction to the charcoal box. The charcoal box slides in and out all the way with no issues for me.
One of the ears on my deflector plate was bent beyond a right angle - maybe 110 degrees. I thought it was supposed to be that way.
How about the rest of you guys. Are both ears bent at a right angle - 90 degrees???
First off getting the heat deflector in place was not fun, I sprayed it down with pam which made it dangerously slippery to handle and then realized the ears were bent from shipping. I would recommend Lone Star Grillz look into methods of protecting the ears from getting bent out of shape from the UPS guys tossing this around. I hammered the ears straight so they would fit properly. The notch on the left side that holds the diffuser over the rails needs to be a little deeper and wider so it sits in place nice and snug. I managed to get it in place with no obstruction to the charcoal box. The charcoal box slides in and out all the way with no issues for me.
One of the ears on my deflector plate was bent beyond a right angle - maybe 110 degrees. I thought it was supposed to be that way.
How about the rest of you guys. Are both ears bent at a right angle - 90 degrees???
The tabs should all be at a 90 degree angle, a couple of these didn't ship well, in the future I will need to come up with a way to protect the ears.
Thanks
Chris
Lone Star Grillz
Cooking at that low temp, typically uses less fuel for sure. Just eye balling the fuel left over, seems the diffuser helped conserve some fuel as it buffered the water pan. I have not had a chance to cook hotter cooks yet. I rarely open the door. It ran for 6 hours before I opened the door to put the butt in, then 6 hours later to wrap the brisket. Hours go by between opening the door, until food starts coming out.
I add hot water before I start the fire to slow the ramp up to temp to prevent going over 225. Seems to work for me, and keeps the water pan from getting super hot. If your target temps are higher, it's better to add water after you get close to your higher target temps.
I have smoked with the exhaust vent fully open for many years before getting my LSG. I have been closing the exhaust vent halfway on the new cooker as per instructions.
The problem I have had is that steam condenses in the exhaust stack and a black liquid drips down, staining the meat in the center of the cooker. Not very appetizing!
I left the exhaust vent fully open on my last cook and it seemed to mostly solve this problem. It did not make any difference in maintaining my 225 degree cooking temp, cooking times, or fuel consumption. I plan to continue leaving the exhaust vent fully open, as most barbecuers do.
You might need to clean the inside of the exhaust vent with a wire brush. Place a pan on the top shelf to catch the droppings.
Incidentally, this was my second cook with the deflector plate. The cooker came up to temp in 45 minutes. It used to take 60 minutes.