Another Alien Mod

Alien BBQ · Posted: May 27 2009 Post subject: Another Alien Mod

This is an interesting hobby/profession we are all engaged in. My daughter wanted a gas grill for her new house and I just could not see me paying $500 for something that will sit on the porch and just produce grilled food. Sure, a gas unit is convenient and in fact I have one and love it. But she grew up with daddy smoking twice a week and she deserves a good smoker but�� in reality she will not spend the time to correctly learn how to use it because she stays busy. So, my dilemma was �what smoker is out there that is easy to use, easy to fire up, and won�t cost an arm and a leg sitting on the porch?

Nothing I could think of came to mind until I remembered that I bought out all the BBQ Pro units from Kmart last summer when they went on 75% off. I still had a few unopened boxes, maybe I could put something together. Well I scrounged up some of the parts I had laying around and I put together a unit that is easy to light, adjust the heat, and produce some good �Q� on a budget.

This first photo shows the completed unit. As you can see the gas enters from the cooker side. The gas line you see below the fire box is a propane assist. Its function is to provide just enough heat to smoke chips.

I salvaged the gas controls from an old 1980�s Kenmore unit. I made a stainless box and mounted the controls at the end of the cooker.

This is a close up of the igniter for the firebox. As I said earlier, it is only for smoking chips. The real heat for the unit comes from the burner in the cooking chamber.

Inside the cooking chamber is a dual tube stainless universal burner. It provides more than enough heat for the entire unit.

I did not want her cooking using direct heat (I do have some standards) so I drilled holes in the charcoal grate that came with the unit and filled the pan with lava rock to give it mass and disperse heat.

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CrazyChef · Posted: May 27 2009 Post subject:

Wow, talk about "thinking outside of the box"... That is a GREAT idea for your daughter's situation. NICE WORK!!! Very Happy

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"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits" - Albert Einstein

k.a.m. · Posted: May 27 2009 Post subject:

Alien BBQ, sweet job and well thought out. Very Happy

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Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Hybrid Cooker

BBQMAN · Posted: May 27 2009 Post subject:

Where are the make-up air holes for using the gas grill with the lid down?

I didn't see any, and that is a huge potential issue.

If you intend to overcome that by telling the kids to leave the firebox lid open, that might be safe- until someone forgets and leaves it closed...........................

Probably something I missed, but then again it never hurts to be safe!
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BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005.

Alien BBQ · Posted: May 27 2009 Post subject:

I punched three more holes in between the twin tubes to allow air in as well as the air inlet on the firebox is ran wide open.
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Phinnay · Joined: 07 May 2009 Posts: 7

That is a terrific idea, And when she's got more time to do some proper Q it wont be that hard to turn it back around!

It looks pro too, if you can whip off a couple of those a month I'm sure you could make a pretty penny.

Alien BBQ · Posted: May 28 2009 Post subject:

A good friend of mine reminded me that I do a lot of experiments and mods that some folks should not attempt. When you are dealing with gas you have the potential for a small to very large explosion. In fact, on some commercial grills, people have been known to blow their hands off because of letting the gas build up in the smoker and then hitting the ignition switch. What you see on many of my projects are nearly complete to complete mods. What you don't see is the tuning stages where I had the gas go out and had to deal with what to do quickly. I also have two ignition sources in this grill so when one goes out, the other will eventually light it back up again. (You might want to read between the lines on that one).

So in the interest of safety the following disclamers apply:
DO not do this at home
Stunts done by trained professionals on a closed course
Results may vary
If you are not careful, you can poke an eye out
and my favorite....... I will respect you in the morning.

So bottom line is don't do this mod unless you are sure of what you are doing and your wife has the EMS on speed dial.
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