This is an older Brinkmann Smoke 'n' Pit. The heavier gauge the metal is, the better she'll hold heat. There are plenty of mod threads throughout the internet. Lowering smokestack intake to grill height, a deflector at the fire box opening, and plates along the bottom of the cooking chamber (to even out the heat from side to side) are the three most basic mods. This design has a lid that opens, versus the "clamshell" design, which is basically a bisected drum. On this one, I could go a couple different routes to add an upper shelf to increase capacity. Temp/fire control is the key with these. Ya have to watch 'em kind of closely--add wood and tend the fire about every hour/hour and a half.
Ah. Water. You can put a pan of water in the smoker by the FB opening, under the grates, if you like.
That's the SFB (side fire box) primer in a nutshell.The bigger they are--Klose/Gator pits etc.--the better they hold heat. But they're bigger, so tending fire and fuel consumption tends to stay the same, or increase, but at a smaller increase compared to size changes. Did that come out OK?
I hope that answers some questions. I got this one for $40 from Craigslist. Someone else here just got a similar design for quite a bit more, but I bet his is heavier, and he has some beautiful Cast Iron grates in his...
Dave
... when the collagen in the meat turns to gelatin. This is when the meat should self-moisten, I believe. Just my opinion from my limited knowledge.
I never thought of it that way. Sounds good to me!
