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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Charcoal Maze


If you're having difficulty maintaining consistent and even burn times in your upright cooker, a simple charcoal maze will probably solve your problems.

The charcoal maze pictured is made from plain old sheet metal and the grate between the charcoal and the ash pan is constructed from expanded metal.

There is about a 2 inch gap between the grate and the ash pan.

This cooker also has 1 inch of insulation throughout the walls and doors, which makes it very efficient. In warm weather I can cook for 20+ hours on one load of charcoal.

3 comments:

Chilebrown said...

I must be really dense. What kinda of smoker is that? Maze? The charcoal burns around the outer area and jumps to the center. More information please.

The BBQ Guy said...

It's a McCullough Smoker made for me by James McCullough from New Smyrna Beach, FL. The build on the smoker is better than many of it's competitors, but the design is now several years old.

The smoker has 1 inch insulation throughout the sides, top, and door and is very efficient.

The door latches with a heavy duty commercial latch that is often used on walk-in freezers. The door has a tight seal. The seal is the same gasket that is used to seal aircraft canopies.

I call the charoal ring a maze because the charcoal is placed in the outer ring. Each segment of the outer ring burns for about 7 hours - for a total burn time of 21 + hours depending on the outside temperature, wind, humidity, and cooker temperature.

I've never used the center ring, but you could if you don't like the idea of longer burn times. I don't see a need for using both at the same time.

Chilebrown said...

Thanks for the info. I just smoked a Brined Turkey in a Weber Rocky Mountain Smoker.