Postby Chasdev » Sat Jul 02, 2016 6:55 am
I have to vote no after working with mine since last summer..
It may be my ignorance/stupidity/hardheadedness but I can not keep the temps even (or anything approaching even) across the cook surface.
So far I've tried tuning plates, different wood/s and three different fire grids and grid heights, the one it came with, none at all (tried to copy Frankin) and a higher version that allows more airflow.
It is possible to cook good Q on it but it needs constant tinkering and adjustments depending on the "age" of the fire to keep the temps anywhere near where you want them.
The exception perhaps is if you WANT it to run 350/375/400 at the grate, that it will do.
Keeping the grate temp down to 275 is a LOT of work and IMHO, forget about 225 unless you keep a fire pit going to provide the next fully lit stick at just the right time.
If you let the fire in the firebox get low enough to read 225 at the grate, there's not be enough coals to start the next stick without getting a bunch of "bad" smoke, so every time you add fresh wood (even preheated sticks) you get bad smoke.
And while that is normal, the size of the fire is so small that you have to use cut down pieces (to around 6x4 inches) to keep it from running away to over 300 (again)..and each time you add you get the bad smoke until the chunk gets going which over a 8 hr 10 hr cook is too much.
In addition, different air adjustments will swap the hot end from right to left, and different stages of fire require different airflow adjustments so a fresh hot fire needs less exhaust flow to keep the right end from getting too hot but when the fire is about half way done, the exhaust has to be opened and the intake restricted or the left end will go hot and leave the right end cold. (with once again more bad smoke from not enough airflow in).
Perhaps a raised cook grate would help and in fact that's probably my next move since I'm going to own this sucker for a LONG time...I'll post up if I find the cure..and for the money I should not complain, it was cheap, but I got what I paid for.