Hey-
I was wondering for those that use or know about putting a brick or 2 in the BS to keep/get temp up quicker- do you warm the brick before putting it in or just let it heat during warm-up to help keep temp stable after opening the door. How do you heat the brick? Oven, microwave, blow torch?[^][^][^]
gotbbq (http://www.dow-mgc.org/smilies/Launch63.gif)
You could heat it up in your oven inside if you want. When I get off the blocks and do this myself, I am just going to heat up the BS with brick inside. Once it is hot, it will maintain the heat. Can't see carrying a hot brick out to the smoker from inside. Too far and too hot to handle!
Bill
<i>There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.</i>
i ues 1 brick in my bs, i leave it in there and heat it with the warm up of my bs, dont use a fire brick it wont hold the heat use a regular brick,
This is just a thought about "Fire Brick" from a guy that was "Hod Carrier" through college. The masons I worked with said fire brick was mainly used because of the high heat and it's inability to to expode or crack onder those conditions. This is why I would use this brick, personally. The question about being an insulator is correct but also it does not loose heat either(at least for what we are talking about). I think it would be fine using a fire brick. The neatest idea yet for a heat mass comes from WhiteTailFan, a bowl of ceramic brickettes is the best I heard yet. Just my thoughts and nothing more....
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SmokeOn,
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mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie
If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...
I use just a regular brick. The brick was from an old building that had been torn done. Many were irregular sizes, so I had to find one that would fit.
It would help to preheat the brick first, but I don't. Just seems like one extra step to say 10-20 minutes of preheat time.
Man, am I lazy [:(]
How about a piece of "Pizza Stone", That sucker has one hell of a heat holding capacity. Heats up slow but holds heat forever and a day. [:)] Bill
If you can eat it, you can smoke it.
I tried microwaving the brick for a fast hot. I was a little nervous with any moisture in the brick, possibility of explosion. Anyway, worked fine. Wrapped in a towel before heating. Think i'll just heat it in the bs when preheating. Thanks all-[^][^][^]
gotbbq (http://www.dow-mgc.org/smilies/Launch63.gif)
I managed to pick up some ceramic brickettes unbelievably cheap from a BBQ store going out of business up here. Just as WTF said, they work great as heat retainers. I'm too lazy to pre-heat them--I just stick them in the BS during the pre-heat.
John
Newton MA
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by JJC</i>
<br />I managed to pick up some ceramic brickettes unbelievably cheap from a BBQ store going out of business up here. Just as WTF said, they work great as heat retainers. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">Even cheaper at WalleyWorld, you get a HUGE bag.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I'm too lazy to pre-heat them--I just stick them in the BS during the pre-heat.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote"> I'm with you on this John.
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SmokeOn,
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mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie
If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...
I use a couple of terra cotta tiles I had laying around.They seem to work well I do pre heat them in the oven to about 220f.
<b><font face="Comic Sans MS">KEEP ON SMOKIN</font id="Comic Sans MS"></b>
<b><font face="Comic Sans MS">Mike</font id="Comic Sans MS"></b>
after reading these articles from all, was thinking of using brickets, what do you set them in a bread pan or disposable pan, because they are skinny.
Open for suggestions.
Harpo
I use a brick, and that slides in next to the water pan (on the right side), so you can also do the same with the brickets.
Harpo,
I would follow Habby's advice & keep them under the light tube in the flat drip tray. If you put them in a pan on the first-from-the-bottom rack, make sure you have adequate clearance around the sides for the smoke & HEAT to circulate freely. Trap too much heat & you risk smoker meltdown.[:(]
Not to mention re-decorating parts of your house, as Emeril likes to say.[;)]
Kirk
http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?
Thanks for the comeback Chez & Habby,
I went to wally world to pick up a ham for my trip to Conn. While there I picked up the brickets they were $ 3.97, and a aluminum mini loaf pan they come in a set of 5 they are the disposable aluminum. They fit right next to the water pan on either side and are 5 in long 3 1/2 in wide and 2 inches deep. Did not fill it with brickets yet but it sure looks pretty.[:p]
Harpo
One thing I have done too hold heat is to use a larger water pan. Try a aluminum foil cake pan or turkey roaster pan. It helps hold temp when you open the door. It also eliminates the need to open the door to empty water pan multiple times during long smokes. The stock water pan will go dry in about 2-3 hours then smoldering pucks are no longer exinguished.
When in doubt smoke it.
I change out the water to get rid of the acrid taste that the spent pucks in the water exudes into the smoker.
Not smoking much over the temp of 210° water doesn't boil so doesn't evaporate.
I just did a 24 hour smoke, changed out the water after 4 hours of smoke, and still have water in the pan after 20hrs at 205°. Given the choice in changing the water or not, I would always opt to change it. JMHO. To each their own.
Bill
<i>There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.</i>
I tend to smoke overnight and even at 160 degrees it will evaporate. It does not have to boil to evaporate. Maybe mine dries out faster due to how dry the air is in TX.
When in doubt smoke it.
msiler
My water boils at 214° in the El Dorado Foothills here in California. Proabaly in Texas, for the most part, at 212°.
My cabinet temp of 205° for this smoke, in combination with the meat itself putting out moisture into the cabinet seems to make the changed water last. I do fill it to the very top while in place. I also do most of my cooks with the vent only about 1/4" cracked. Maybe you are opening up more?
There wasn't much water left in may cabinet but still some, of course with a layer of fat floating on top!
Would like to use a larger water resevoir but something that would nest inside brick to hold in the heat a little better. One day I am going to do get some unglazed tile and go to work on layers of tile cut out in the middle for the pan to sit down in. While you were accross the pond, one of the guys added a salamander heating element that he wired into his guru/raptor controller. Nice setup and also a larger pan for the water.
Check this out if you haven't done so already:
http://bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=794&SearchTerms=salamander
Pretty cool set-up and probably would also work with your oven thermostat if you were interested.
Bill
<i>There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.</i>[