Lone Star Grillz Vertical Insulated Cabinet Smoker-For the new Owner
- Thread starter mikes1212
- Start date
GrillsGoneWild
is one Smokin' Farker
What was the water usage like during that smoke?
clweed
Knows what a fatty is.
Heat Deflector
I installed the deflector and used it without water for ribs over the weekend.
I will try it with water on my next overnight cook
The install is very easy, the charcoal basket slid in and out without hanging up on the rounded off legs .
It did take a little longer for the pit to heat up. I use lump charcoal and usually just use one weber cube to start the fire.
Next cook I will preheat the Weedburner and that should eliminate the longer heat up time.
For me the biggest benefit will be protecting the water pan, I don't know if it would ever rust or burn through but the extra protection is a good thing.
I installed the deflector and used it without water for ribs over the weekend.
I will try it with water on my next overnight cook
The install is very easy, the charcoal basket slid in and out without hanging up on the rounded off legs .
It did take a little longer for the pit to heat up. I use lump charcoal and usually just use one weber cube to start the fire.
Next cook I will preheat the Weedburner and that should eliminate the longer heat up time.
For me the biggest benefit will be protecting the water pan, I don't know if it would ever rust or burn through but the extra protection is a good thing.
pyroman175@yahoo
Found some matches.
Sorry forgot to mention that. The last time I opened and looked at the level was 11:30 and it still appeared to be just over half full. So after starting it at 6:00 and leveling out at about 7:00 that gave me 4.5 hours of usuage running at 275. I'm figuring about 8 hours on the water pan. The nice thing was there was no condensation build up in the chamber when I looked. so for the guys cooking at 250 water should last longer
jrben1
Knows what a fatty is.
Deflector Plate
Finally got a nice day for Queing and smoked 2 racks of loin back ribs yesterday. I think the new deflector plate is a worthwhile addition.
I had a little trouble getting it in because I sprayed it with Pam first - pretty slick. The firebox doesn't slide in as far as before but far enough to clear the door without any difficulty.
I followed my usual routine. No preheating. 6 1/2 gallons of cold water. One chimney of lighted briquettes and used the T-plates. Ambient temp 60 degrees. It normally takes 60 minutes to come up to my cooking temp of 225 degrees. Yesterday it took 50 minutes, so it looks like the deflector plate doesn't interfere with getting up to temp.
I didn't notice any difference in cooking times or quality of product. There is less steam in the exhaust smoke. No smoke out the water fill for 5 1/2 hours and definitely more water left in the water pan when I emptied it, although I didn't take measurements.
One other problem which the deflector plate solved. I had been having a wet firebox chamber bottom after a cook, requiring me to dry it with paper towels and spray with Pam. I thought it was due to water boiling over the edge of the water pan and settling on the bottom of the firebox chamber. I checked the bottom this morning and it was dry - Hallelujah. This will help prevent a rust problem.
All in all, I think the deflector plate is a good addition. Need to check it with a longer cook.
Finally got a nice day for Queing and smoked 2 racks of loin back ribs yesterday. I think the new deflector plate is a worthwhile addition.
I had a little trouble getting it in because I sprayed it with Pam first - pretty slick. The firebox doesn't slide in as far as before but far enough to clear the door without any difficulty.
I followed my usual routine. No preheating. 6 1/2 gallons of cold water. One chimney of lighted briquettes and used the T-plates. Ambient temp 60 degrees. It normally takes 60 minutes to come up to my cooking temp of 225 degrees. Yesterday it took 50 minutes, so it looks like the deflector plate doesn't interfere with getting up to temp.
I didn't notice any difference in cooking times or quality of product. There is less steam in the exhaust smoke. No smoke out the water fill for 5 1/2 hours and definitely more water left in the water pan when I emptied it, although I didn't take measurements.
One other problem which the deflector plate solved. I had been having a wet firebox chamber bottom after a cook, requiring me to dry it with paper towels and spray with Pam. I thought it was due to water boiling over the edge of the water pan and settling on the bottom of the firebox chamber. I checked the bottom this morning and it was dry - Hallelujah. This will help prevent a rust problem.
All in all, I think the deflector plate is a good addition. Need to check it with a longer cook.
Sergeant Smoke
Knows what a fatty is.
Sergeant Smoke
Knows what a fatty is.
Chris handed me one yesterday when I picked mine up :clap2:
Sergeant Smoke
Knows what a fatty is.
getyourrubonbbq
Full Fledged Farker
Nice thread, got an email into LSG on leadtimes. I'm thinking this may just suit my needs very well
darkoozy
is Blowin Smoke!
Nice thread, got an email into LSG on leadtimes. I'm thinking this may just suit my needs very well
Best design/features and capacity in all the insulated cabinet smokers I could find...You will be very happy!
darkoozy
is Blowin Smoke!
Heat diffuser plate
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...
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...
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
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?
darkoozy
is Blowin Smoke!
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.
jrben1
Knows what a fatty is.
lonestargrillz
Knows what a fatty is.
getyourrubonbbq
Full Fledged Farker
Don't see the deflector on the website, is this an option or standard item with this smoker? Just curious, may pull the trigger on one first of the year. Doing all my research now and from what I've read other than a few little quirks this is a stand up unit.
dpuryear
Well-known member
FINALLY Got My Baby (with pr0n)
My LSGVIM finally arrived today, after 11 painful weeks of waiting. It was delivered at 11:00 am, and I just got my seasoning burn going (after taking a break to run to Wally World to buy 3 cans of veggy oil spray, and a trip to the hardware store to buy adapters to us on Guru on the 2: ball valve). Baby is parked in he driveway (in my daughter's parking spot, heh heh) and is at 211 degrees after about 20 minutes. I put 14 lbs of briquettes in the fire box - that filled about 1 1/2 rows with 3T-plates in the box
I didn't put any water in the pan because I want it to season - I'll have to keep an eye on he temp.
I called Amber at LSG last Thurs. and asked if they could include the heat deflector to avoid having to pay separate shipping, and they did!
Glad it came today, because I have a comp this weekend to break it in at. That'll be fun.
Thanks to all the thread posters who helped me make my purchase decision.
My LSGVIM finally arrived today, after 11 painful weeks of waiting. It was delivered at 11:00 am, and I just got my seasoning burn going (after taking a break to run to Wally World to buy 3 cans of veggy oil spray, and a trip to the hardware store to buy adapters to us on Guru on the 2: ball valve). Baby is parked in he driveway (in my daughter's parking spot, heh heh) and is at 211 degrees after about 20 minutes. I put 14 lbs of briquettes in the fire box - that filled about 1 1/2 rows with 3T-plates in the box
I didn't put any water in the pan because I want it to season - I'll have to keep an eye on he temp.
I called Amber at LSG last Thurs. and asked if they could include the heat deflector to avoid having to pay separate shipping, and they did!
Glad it came today, because I have a comp this weekend to break it in at. That'll be fun.
Thanks to all the thread posters who helped me make my purchase decision.
Attachments
jrben1
Knows what a fatty is.
Exhaust Vent
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.
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.
darkoozy
is Blowin Smoke!
I have not seen this issue on mine. Having said that, I dont like keeping my exhaust vent half closed. I prefer to leave it open, but my temps seem to climb when I do this. How open is your intake?
