greybeard
03-11-2010, 01:46 PM
Last Summer I had poor results with the stock Chargriller SP w/SFB that I had just assembled. Over the last few weeks I have been reading about mods. A couple were extremely easy: 3" flex duct to right above grill surface, and turn over the ash tray and rest on firebox screws. The other mod that a lot of people were talking about was to use the grill basket from Lowes,but that seemed too flimsy and small. A lot of other people were making baskets out of expanded metal. Then I saw a basket that Pigman on Brethren or one of the other sites had made, incorporating a set of Klose style baffles with dead space between, making a serpentine burn path. I made a dummy out of cardboard and found that the max size I could get through the opening was 12 1/2"x13 1/2"x6", but I was having to flex it, so I think a steel one would have to be a bit shorter.
Then I looked at the firebox dimensions again, and the width of the firebox is 4 inches wider than the opening. A grate 12 1/2-13" wide and 17 1/2" long can be inserted to rest on top of the locating rails for the ash drawer. I got a universal rock grate to try that out, plus I got 2 pieces of ~22ga. sheet metal 6"x18". I bent these by hand to make 2 v-shaped baffles for the firebox that project 8" into the firebox, with 1" bent at each end to give a wide end that has a 1 1/2" gap but a 3 1/2" base so that each baffle will stand on the grill. (Attempted line drawing failed)
I was able to get about 13 lbs of Kingsford (flavored; I know) arranged around it. I lit at the lower left with Myron's special mix :-). Let it burn until white ash and closed the firebox. It came up to about 300 in 15 more mins, so about after 45 mins I choked down the inlet and monitored the temp for over 7 hours with 2 oven thermometers. Got the temp back down to 225 and with only occasional checks found the temp staying between 225 and 250 at both sides of the grill at grate level. No food. Added a couple of pounds of unlit at about 5 1/2 hrs. Held 225 or above for almost 7 hours, at 8 hours it was still above 180.
No warpage on the baffles, but bad paint peeling on the outside of the firebox.
The next day (Sunday) I decided to try it with food, whole chicken and full-size ribs. Same temps on the grill, took chicken off at 165degr. internal temp after 3 1/2 hours, ribs came off about 5 and were refrigerated for later in the week. Everything has been very moist, but I won't get the flavored Kingsford again, and am going to get a Mapp torch to start with.
I probably want to make the coal grate and baffles out of heavier material. Would a smaller firebasket do as well or better? Or should I just have some heavier baffles make and replace the grate with heavy expanded metal 13x17 1/2"?
I talked tu a guy at Dee Cramer who said the basket would be about $80, but I am sure the insertable baffles and expanded sheet cut to size would be a lot less. Does anybody know where else I might get this done? Delduca is the only welding shop I remember nearby.
Stew
Then I looked at the firebox dimensions again, and the width of the firebox is 4 inches wider than the opening. A grate 12 1/2-13" wide and 17 1/2" long can be inserted to rest on top of the locating rails for the ash drawer. I got a universal rock grate to try that out, plus I got 2 pieces of ~22ga. sheet metal 6"x18". I bent these by hand to make 2 v-shaped baffles for the firebox that project 8" into the firebox, with 1" bent at each end to give a wide end that has a 1 1/2" gap but a 3 1/2" base so that each baffle will stand on the grill. (Attempted line drawing failed)
I was able to get about 13 lbs of Kingsford (flavored; I know) arranged around it. I lit at the lower left with Myron's special mix :-). Let it burn until white ash and closed the firebox. It came up to about 300 in 15 more mins, so about after 45 mins I choked down the inlet and monitored the temp for over 7 hours with 2 oven thermometers. Got the temp back down to 225 and with only occasional checks found the temp staying between 225 and 250 at both sides of the grill at grate level. No food. Added a couple of pounds of unlit at about 5 1/2 hrs. Held 225 or above for almost 7 hours, at 8 hours it was still above 180.
No warpage on the baffles, but bad paint peeling on the outside of the firebox.
The next day (Sunday) I decided to try it with food, whole chicken and full-size ribs. Same temps on the grill, took chicken off at 165degr. internal temp after 3 1/2 hours, ribs came off about 5 and were refrigerated for later in the week. Everything has been very moist, but I won't get the flavored Kingsford again, and am going to get a Mapp torch to start with.
I probably want to make the coal grate and baffles out of heavier material. Would a smaller firebasket do as well or better? Or should I just have some heavier baffles make and replace the grate with heavy expanded metal 13x17 1/2"?
I talked tu a guy at Dee Cramer who said the basket would be about $80, but I am sure the insertable baffles and expanded sheet cut to size would be a lot less. Does anybody know where else I might get this done? Delduca is the only welding shop I remember nearby.
Stew