The Texas BBQ Forum

Getting everything together for my offset build and I was curious to know if anyone has ever heard of elongating the firebox a little so that I can move the fire closer or further to cook chamber to better regulate temps.
Maybe creating a rack on rails in the firebox so i am able to move fire towards or away from.
Maybe 6” or so, nothing drastic.
Just curious if this has been tried before, or if it’s even worth trying.
Thanks!

Interesting idea, but is the expanded firebox going to put you way over as far as the proper ratios for those volumes?

Possibly would, unless I shortened the height/width and added some length...
Just not really sure if moving the fire +/- 8” would give me the amount of adjustment to even make it feasible. Guess it would depend on the size fire I would need to hit temp in the first place.

Just gut feeling, I don’t think it would make enough difference to bother with, if any.. it’s a firebox we’re talking about, not a grill; the heat and smoke has to go SOMEWHERE, and it’s still all going through the same hole into the CC. The only way it would make a difference is if it’s shedding heat somewhere else, and that somewhere can only be the firebox wall in this case, which will probably be minimal.

Very true. Wanted to bounce the idea off of someone’s head before I got too deep into it.
Thanks for the insight.

Different way of going at the issue but as mentioned the heat will find the path of least resistance, ie. the cook chamber. Best way to regulate temps, IMO, is the old tried and true firebox damper. Run the stack wide open and adjust air flow at the firebox to control cook chamber temp.

In Franklin's excellent book he talks about moving the fire closer to and farther away from the opening to the cook chamber to regulate temps.
If memory serves, he demonstrates in one of his videos.

https://www.youtube.com/user/BBQwithFranklin

Thanks for the great info fellas!

Chasdev wrote:In Franklin's excellent book he talks about moving the fire closer to and farther away from the opening to the cook chamber to regulate temps.
If memory serves, he demonstrates in one of his videos.

https://www.youtube.com/user/BBQwithFranklin

Thanks for the tips brother. :)
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I just bought an Oklahoma Joe's Highland smoker. One of the first mods people recommend is to turn the fire grate (It's rectangular), so that it rests higher in the (round) firebox to improve airflow.
I did that, and it gives me several inches of play left to right. On my first brisket (in thirty years) i frequently had to move my fire closer to or further away from the cookbox. The rack slid easily with just my fire poker, and helped regulate the heat when adding a log to the fire. It wouldn't be at all difficult to add this feature to your new smoker.

Here's a pic of the brisket, and yes, I know i did a poor job cutting it up. Not bad for my first attempt, and in the rain no less.

You did great

in the rain, how many times has that happened to us??
you did good considering the hardships.