My Brinkmann Gourmet Smoker Modifications

[Jarhead]

Try this:
http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/graphoglas-stove-gasket-replacement-woodstove-door-p-35688.html?ref=42

Edit: Ya beat me again , day tripper
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[day_trippr]

fwiw, I've gotten a few emails from folks who found they could connect the ends of the 'glass rope together (using the paper-clip trick after squaring off the ends with knots) and if they got the length just right they didn't need to use cement.

The loop rides up against the bottom shoulder of that bulge in the lid rim. If the diameter is right it won't slip over the bulge, and apparently won't just fall off when you take the lid off the smoker. That'd certainly simplify that particular modification!

Just take care not to stretch the rope too much because it gets noticeably thinner the more it's stretched, and if it's too thin it won't sufficiently take up the entire gap, and the rope and lid rim will sink down into the cooker body.

Cheers!
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Save the planet: it's the only one with beer!
FrankennBrinkmann ECB
Char-Broil Commercial Gasser

[polishdon]

I ended up using a couple flat SS screws and nuts to hold my rope on, couldn't get that cement to hold no matter what I did.

[jjjonz]

Day tripper,how about some more pictures of your cooks,we thought they were great.
I'm still working on my ecb mod,a couple of questions.
Is the charcoal grate a from a 18.5 wsm and where did you get it.
Have you tried to foil your water pan and use no water?
Do you always use charcoal lump?
I have done a couple of cooks on mine ,chicken and ribs.I used blue K and no water in pan.The cooks went great and easy clean up.
I used( 3 ) 1/2 inch pipe nipples and caps for air inlets and a exhaust vent from old smokey joe take off.Everthing works great.Working on the aluminum legs next.I have had that electric gormet brinkman for years,only used it a few times.
Let me tell you how much I like it.I ordered a PRO Q 20 that's still in the box and it's for sale.This little frankenbrinkmann is all we need.
I'm 66 retired and nobody but my wife and me.

Thanks again for the mod.....JJ

[CRITTERTX]

Thanks for sharing, thanks even more for ALL the details, that helps tremendously.. will be trying this soon..
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[day_trippr]

ahahahahaha! So many questions, Grasshopper Lessee if I can cover them all.

We've been going through a heck of a cold snap along with much of the country, so I've been mostly cooking on cast iron over the last few weeks. But just today I made a "meat run" and came home with a full rack of spares, a couple o' small butts (~5 pounds) and half a loin. The forecast for Thursday says we might just break 30°F for the first time in a long time, so I'm planning on doing the spares then, with some corn bread and cole slaw (yum - my favorites!)

The charcoal grates are Weber p/n 7440, and are for their 18" kettle. I use two of them, oriented 90° to each other forming a grid. I bought one at my local Ace Hardware and later got the other at a local Aubuchon on a whim (glad I did - I get virtually zero lump fall-through). Note: acehardware.com has their part numbers all screwed up for Weber grates, to the point that I'd try to find one in a store and not risk them screwing up an order.

So far I've always filled the water pan with boiling water (I get it going on my gasser's side burner). The hottest ambient I've cooked at was in the 80s, the coldest in the mid-30s, and I had absolutely no issues with holding temperatures either way.

After the first couple of cooks I got a routine/process down, and I strive to keep everything consistent - including the fuel (always Royal Oak), leaving ambient temperature and cook duration as the only variables. Considering I ran this humble cooker 15 hours at 230°F using less than 4 pounds of lump at an ambient down in the 30s (and slept a full 7 hours while that was happening ) I couldn't be happier with its performance, and haven't found any need to change my routine.


I like your ingenuity with your mods - and it sounds like they're working great for you! It's cool that you resurrected and converted your 'lectric into something you enjoy using! Recycling at its best

And I know what you mean about how well these little dudes work once you get to "know" them - and that you can actually get attached to them (yeah - that's a little weird - but I think I'd miss my little guy ) to the point that I only half-heartedly keep an eye on the local Craig's Lists to see if anyone is dumping a WSM


You have a couple of years on me and my wife, but we're in the same "boat", and with our boys in their own homes and families for awhile now - just had my first grandson a week ago! Fortunately, it's pretty easy here to find hunks of meat that are size-appropriate for a two-some, and this wee little cooker is just the right size for that job

Cheers!
_________________
Save the planet: it's the only one with beer!
FrankennBrinkmann ECB
Char-Broil Commercial Gasser

[PullinSmoke]

Very nice Tripper and thank you for posting
you think your way through things
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Curtis M
Hershey PA Area
Planning on building Smoker

[treed]

just did the conversion on my brinkman, I put the intake on the side instead of the bottom, and sealed factory hole. I can not get mine to maintain low temps. I fill pan with royal oak and dump about 10 briquetsof hot coals of kingsford on top to get going, can not get it stay below 300deg with keeping intakes less than 1/4 open and ehaust 3/4 open. What am I doing wrong

[day_trippr]

A picture of your intake mods might help diagnose your problem, but in lieu of that, I can only speculate that your intake controls are not tight enough to actually control the cooker.

When my wee ECB is on "cruise" at 225°F, as measured at the top cooking grate, I have just one intake slightly open and the other two totally closed tight. I reckon there's less than one square inch of intake area exposed. So it really is key to have intake dampers that are tight...

Cheers!
_________________
Save the planet: it's the only one with beer!
FrankennBrinkmann ECB
Char-Broil Commercial Gasser

[treed]

I think thats my problem since I put them on the side, couldn't get metal to sit completely flat. Got a boston but in right now, I relit everything about 3:00am and filled up pan with royal oak, and lit chimney of 6 briquets of stubbs and its been holding 240-260 since then.

[F250_Lab_Taxi]

I love it, trippr Great pics and story to go with it.

[PaulOinMA]

Fiberglass gasket rope kits should be available at any fireplace store, if you live in an area that has fireplace shops.

http://www.rutland.com/category.php?category_id=8

day_trippr: I bought a kit to repair a small section of gasket on my fireplace insert at teh grill and fireplace shop over in Sudbury.

http://www.grillsandfireplaces.com/index.php
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[day_trippr]

Thanks, PaulO! I agree, most of the wood stove and fireplace shops I've been in carry the same blister-packed Rutland kits. So if you don't have an Ace or Aubuchon Hardware store nearby a stove store would be a good bet.

'Course, there's a working presumption that a person's geographic region actually supports such notions as "wood stoves" and "fireplaces" (<= that don't run on gas). Folks living in the freakin' desert or tropical jungle may have to order a kit

Cheers!
_________________
Save the planet: it's the only one with beer!
FrankennBrinkmann ECB
Char-Broil Commercial Gasser

[PaulOinMA]

I was thinking the same thing when I posted what I did. Most people on here are probably nowhere near a fireplace shop.

They're all around you and I.
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Pitt's & Spitt's U2436

[hadeze]

Yeah I went to my Ace asking for the rope kit and they had no idea what I was talking about. I ordered it online and had it sent to the local Ace hardware so I don't have to pay for shipping.

[Mr.Prickly]

I found my fiberglass rope at a Menards, but I would imagine Home Depot or Lowes would carry it also....
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"People call me lazy , but God knows I'm only tired."

[Proetus]

I picked up the Brinkman last weekend, made one small adjustment, honestly didn't have time due to the need to fire it up! But these mods are on the agenda. Thanks for all the leg work Trippr

[Proetus]

I finished up the modifications to my Brinkman. I added the rope gasket to the lid as shown here. I also added a few more, i added some flat gasket to the door as well as the intake dampers on the bottom.

[day_trippr]

Wow! That's some hard-core mod work, Proetus! Your ECB must be tighter-than-tight now with all that rope! Looking forward to pictures of her in action!

Cheers!
_________________
Save the planet: it's the only one with beer!
FrankennBrinkmann ECB
Char-Broil Commercial Gasser

[Proetus]

Thanks! Got a test burn planned for later tonight and hopefully a butt going on sat morning at about 1230am!