Thanks for making this vid dude. Do you notice any difference between using the water pan or taking it out? Does it seem to dampen the heat coming out around the sides? Curious as it’s a bit of a pain to fill the thing up.
I always leave the water pan in, but I only fill it with water about 25% of the time. I have also found it's easier if you take out the bottom shelf or use a funnel if you're using the bottom shelf. It does add moisture to the chamber and can also help even out temps, but I typically only use it when smoking over 3 hours or when smoking something that doesn't contain much moisture. I smoke whole chickens at 300-325 and it's usually around 3 hours. I never use the water pan for chicken but recently tried it and the skin was not as well rendered and bite through due to the extra moisture in the chamber. The water pan also increases the number of splits needed to keep the temp up. Hope this helps, I have linked a couple videos below that may interest you. Thanks for watching! ua-cam.com/video/mBHwj-_zzD8/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/6cMFFdcVJPQ/v-deo.html
Thank you! The set up with the round basket was about 16". I currently have it set up with the fire brick and it's around 12' from the grate to the deflector plate.
@@PeppercoatBBQ That was going to be my second question. Love your firebrick setup. Have you noticed any difference in the 12" distance to deflector versus the 16"? My vertical is at 11" and I sometimes wonder whether more distance would be better to allow the fire to breath more
@nordicwilly6650 with my current setup, I'm burning less wood and a smaller fire to maintain temps. Just guessing, but my deflector plate is probably running cooler now than with the lower but larger fire. I would think your fire brick on your deflector plate should take a lot of that radiant heat away from the meat.
@@PeppercoatBBQ Thanks. I was worried about the fire hammering the deflector plate with that shorter distance, and I do think the firebrick help in this regard. Interesting that I added a pellet hopper at one point to the vertical smoker. Great for convivence as you had mentioned, but it definitely seemed to dry out the meat more probably because of constant fan blowing. Keep up the great work!
No, the deflector plate is welded in place. It would be great if it was removable! With a little skill I'm sure it could be made removable, but I haven't used a welder in 25 years and it would look like bubble gum on a subway railing!
I lined my firebox with firebricks and it works good. One reason is to make sure the bottom doesn’t burn out.
Thanks for making this vid dude. Do you notice any difference between using the water pan or taking it out? Does it seem to dampen the heat coming out around the sides? Curious as it’s a bit of a pain to fill the thing up.
I always leave the water pan in, but I only fill it with water about 25% of the time. I have also found it's easier if you take out the bottom shelf or use a funnel if you're using the bottom shelf. It does add moisture to the chamber and can also help even out temps, but I typically only use it when smoking over 3 hours or when smoking something that doesn't contain much moisture. I smoke whole chickens at 300-325 and it's usually around 3 hours. I never use the water pan for chicken but recently tried it and the skin was not as well rendered and bite through due to the extra moisture in the chamber. The water pan also increases the number of splits needed to keep the temp up. Hope this helps, I have linked a couple videos below that may interest you. Thanks for watching!
ua-cam.com/video/mBHwj-_zzD8/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/6cMFFdcVJPQ/v-deo.html
Great review. Count me a new subscriber. Quick question. What is the distance from the bottom of fire basket to the deflector?
Thank you! The set up with the round basket was about 16". I currently have it set up with the fire brick and it's around 12' from the grate to the deflector plate.
@@PeppercoatBBQ That was going to be my second question. Love your firebrick setup. Have you noticed any difference in the 12" distance to deflector versus the 16"? My vertical is at 11" and I sometimes wonder whether more distance would be better to allow the fire to breath more
@nordicwilly6650 with my current setup, I'm burning less wood and a smaller fire to maintain temps. Just guessing, but my deflector plate is probably running cooler now than with the lower but larger fire. I would think your fire brick on your deflector plate should take a lot of that radiant heat away from the meat.
@@PeppercoatBBQ Thanks. I was worried about the fire hammering the deflector plate with that shorter distance, and I do think the firebrick help in this regard. Interesting that I added a pellet hopper at one point to the vertical smoker. Great for convivence as you had mentioned, but it definitely seemed to dry out the meat more probably because of constant fan blowing. Keep up the great work!
Great review. Can you do direct cooking if you remove the deflector plate ?
No, the deflector plate is welded in place. It would be great if it was removable! With a little skill I'm sure it could be made removable, but I haven't used a welder in 25 years and it would look like bubble gum on a subway railing!