Seasoning Offset Smoker

PrchJrkr

PrchJrkr

Long Haired Country Boy
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So, I bought a Char Broil offset smoker/grill from Ollie's several years ago and have finally decided to season it and put it to use. I've searched Al Gore's amazing Internet and come up with a battle plan. I'm going to coat the internals with cooking oil spray and build a fire. Everything I've seen suggests maintaining the temperature of 200-250 degrees for 2 hours. Anyone have suggestions?

The firebox and cooking chamber have about a 1" gap (over hang) when I close the lids and I was wondering of I should buy some aluminum angle to close the gaps between the top and bottom to get a better seal. Any ideas would be appreciated.

150752
 
Sneakers

Sneakers

Just sneakin' around....
PrchJrkr said:
The firebox and cooking chamber have about a 1" gap (over hang) when I close the lids and I was wondering of I should buy some aluminum angle to close the gaps between the top and bottom to get a better seal. Any ideas would be appreciated.
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The gap was probably by design. Seems to me that if you close it off, you won't get the air/smoke flow for proper smoking.
 
Ken King

Ken King

A little rusty but not crusty
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I would recommend that you call the company and ask them why the "gap" is there. 1-866-239-6777
 
PrchJrkr

PrchJrkr

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Upon further inspection, the gap is nowhere near an inch. I'm going to season it and make a few test runs with a pan of water and learn how to maintain a constant temperature. If the gap causes issues with regulating heat, THEN I'll address it. Thanks!
 
Bird Dog

Bird Dog

Bird Dog
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Season for a couple of hours at a very hot temp.....no oil necessary

I don’t know about the gap...good luck
 
Bonehead

Bonehead

Well-Known Member
I used that method for my dynaglow offset smoker. I ran it at a higher temperature 300 for about 3 hours. I coated everything, racks etc. except for the fire box. The racks stay pretty clean. I can run this smoker as low as 150 and as high as 300 for about 5 hours per load of charcoal.
 
black dog

black dog

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I believe I would run the temp up a lot higher for a bit to burn off what rust protection, lubricants and coatings that need to go before I put it in service.
 
Ken King

Ken King

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PrchJrkr

PrchJrkr

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Ken King said:
Do you have the manual? Here is one for the 40" offset smoker - http://content.wcbradley.com/WCB/Char-Broil/Product/Manuals/18202079 Product Guide, English, French, Spanish.pdf
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Thank you, Ken. That smoker is a newer model than the one I have, but very similar. I would assume that since I got it at Ollie's, it was probably a discontinued model. Mine is actually split right above the racks, instead of a door on the front. The whole top half of mine is the door. That's where the gap is concerning me. My friend Jimmy builds grills and offset smokers as a hobby and has tested and re-engineered quite a few. He uses a similar design to the one in the manual. His cooking compartment is sealed except for the chimney. I'm just concerned with being able to maintain a low temperature for long periods in colder weather.

Another thing, should I scour the cooking grates between sessions, or season them? The one on my Weber kettle is seasoned and I just place it over the hot coals until the it sizzles, then I hit it with the wire grill brush, making sure it's "clean".
 
Ken King

Ken King

A little rusty but not crusty
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From the manual

"SMOKER MAINTENANCE - Frequency of clean up is determined by how often the smoker is used. Make sure coals are completely extinguished before cleaning inside of the smoker. Thoroughly rinse with water and allow to air dry before using again. Wipe out the interior of the smoker with a cloth or paper towels."

Scouring would in effect making seasoning useless, right?
 
G

General Lee

Well-Known Member
When you fire it up you'll see where the smoke billows out. The doors are known not to seal the best, so a wood stove gasket around the edge works. various screw holes you may mind can be plugged with screws. Do a search, lots of info out there where people "mod" these smokers to get better performance out out them. The main trouble with them is smoke leakage and hard to hold heat because the metal isn't thick.
 
black dog

black dog

Free America
I would bet that the "holes" vents are large because of them getting a clean quality burn to pass the EPA requirements in the state that its being sold in and what Federal laws it has to pass. Just like wood stoves having re-burn converters in them now.
 
Gilligan

Gilligan

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You need to swing by again and see the mods I did to my nearly-identical-to-yours New Braunfells smoker.

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black dog

black dog

Free America
Gilligan said:
You need to swing by again and see the mods I did to my nearly-identical-to-yours New Braunfells smoker.

View attachment 150767
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That brick should come standard with that smoker, mine looks the same but the smoke box is on the right side.
I have some stainless heavy mesh to make new charcoal grates this winter, and I need to fill in some extra vents that have appeared on the bottom of the smoker box. Oh and new wood on the front and side shelf like what you did. Mine doesn't have two wheels either... damn...

You must be Gerican to like hot Texas beer...
 
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