alternate ways to heat the OBS

[smokin stu]

Its cold and damp here and I was having a hard time getting the temp to 210 where I like it.  Its sheltered and I use a PID.

I have heard of using a brick as a heat sink.  Do I need a special kind of brick or should I avoid certain kinds of bricks?  I wonder if any give off bad stuff when heating it up the first few times.  I guess I find a brick that can fit around the water bowl......  any thought?

I have seen extra heating units installed in the BS from this forum, and I was wondering if I could replace the existing smoker box heater with a more powerful one installing it in the same spot and using the same wiring.

My only beef with the BS is that when it is under full load (lots o meat), it takes soooooo long to get up to the right temp and can really throw off my timing as to when the food is ready.

[rbentle2]

I too am looking for some bricks to add to my OBS to help stablize the temps. I'm guessing standard red bricks would work just fine. I'm going to wrap in a few layers of aluminum foil just to be safe. A stack of tera cotta tiles would work as well, just stay away from the glazed ones. Those will give off nasty fumes you don't want with food.

[Gizmo]

Smokin Stu:
Have you tried to pre-heat to 260 deg before loading the BS with the full load?  The box will recover faster if you do.

[Wildcat]

If I lived up north and had cold climate problems I would opt for fire bricks like the ones used in fireplaces.

[Habanero Smoker]

I use a red face brick, that was part of a shed that was torn down, but as Wildcat mentioned fire bricks may work a little better; you would probably have to cut it to fit next to the drip bowl. Just wash/scrub it well with a water/bleach solution. If you still have concerns toss it on the grill and "bake" it for a while. I don't use foil. I find that I can fit one brick beside the drip pan.

[car54]

Here is my solution.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=734.0

Brad

[smokin stu]

ya, I preheat to 250 but under full load it takes at least two to three hours to get to 210.  If its two trays of ribs, no problem.  three trays of ribs and it takes forever.

I think I will go to the local farmers supply store and get a fire brick.

[coyote]

Do not.....I Repeat.....Do Not use bricks from the out-house.




Coyote

[Mr Walleye]

Do not.....I Repeat.....Do Not use bricks from the out-house.




Coyote

Ya.... I hear they make things taste chitty!

      

Mike

[Gizmo]

I guess that leaves out the one from my Christmas T-shirt from Consig's neck of the woods (Galt).  It has a picture of Santa and Reindeer jammed on top of a Brick Chit house with the caption, "NO! I said the Brick Shirt House".

[coyote]