A little restoration job

[cduff]

i came across this new braunfels black diamond smoker a few days ago , for an unbelievable low price , so i snapped it up .

needs a bit of bit of work sanding , and painting ,and a new thermometer ,

my question is , theres loads of different types of high temperature paints and spray paints out there which is the best for bbq's ?

also theres some rust on the inside which ill be sanding of can you treat the inside with this high temp paint or is it just best to sand it and leave it

any advice would be appreciated cheers

sorry cant attach pic

[robgunby]

Hi there

Re the paint, I have been told that radiator paint works on an ugly drum, I dunno what sort of temps yours might go to, but if you want to play it safe, either stove paint or bbq paint from your local diy store will do it. You usually have to spray it on, allow to dry, then put a fire on to cure it.

DO NOT SPRAY THE INSIDE. Sand it down, then grease it up good. Real good. Slather cooking oil all over EVERYTHING inside. The fixtures, the walls, the lid, the grates, the lot. Then set a fire inside, preferably with some smoking wood in it. This will season the inside of the smoker in exactly the same way you season a cast iron pan. This will be sufficient to prevent further rusting. This step is absolutely essential to prepping a smoker for use.

Good luck and have fun!

[cduff]

cheers rob , cant wait to get cracking, and get some brisket on the go , wanted a offset for ages

[robgunby]

Have fun with it! Remember to take plenty of temperature measurements before a cook. Offsets can have some cold spots.

[cduff]

im going to be putting another thermometer on it anyway at grill height , so i should a better reading

any recommendations on temp control ?

ive noticed on some youtube videos, the yanks using wireless probes and stuff

[robgunby]

I use a Maveric Redi Chek ET732. It cost me about £40 and it was probably the wisest invesment in bbq I have made. I am considering getting a second as my latest smoker is large and about to get bigger with a second rack.

You may be wise to do the same - one at each end (not right at the end obviously) so you can see if and how much the temp falls off as you move the probes around the smoker.

Having said that, the ET732 has two probes, one for meat and one for grill, but I can't see any reason why you couldn't use the meat probe as a grill monitor at least for initial measurements to get a feel for the beast.

Wireless range is rather impressive. I live in a small but solidly built Victorian house, and the signal gets through 4 walls and upstairs to my bedroom from the top end of the garden.

I've owned a number of digital (and non digital) probes and would never waste £25 on a sub standard probe again.

[cduff]

here's the smoker in question , today iv'e taken the hotbox of and sanded and sprayed it , although is does need another coat that'll be tomorrow if the rain holds of , all the wood has been taken off too

have a guess what it cost me ?

ill post more pics of the restoration when i can , cant wait to fire this baby up

[robgunby]

Given the original state of it, I wouldn't be surprised if you got it for free I think building my UDS was probably less work than sanding that down. I hope you have a power sander!

However, your work will pay great dividends, and you will have an admirable machine at the end of it.

I must correct an error, wifey points out I paid £60 for the Maverick, not £40. Still, you buy cheap, you buy twice!

[cduff]

well it actually cost me £35 , not bad for something that cost a few hundred when bought new , as ive not ventured in to the world of low and slow before its going to be a whole new game for me , i saw it and grabbed it , after looking at the make of it and doing some research and reading some reviews of nbbds this one came out quite good , so i think i got myself a good bit of kit for my money , it actually doesn't look as bad as what it does in the pic

yes power sander all the way

ive never done off set before so all advice is welcome

ive been reading and watching alot of stuff the last few days , i think temp control is the main thing


where did you get your maverick from rob?

[robgunby]

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound disparaging, 35 quid is nothing for a huge smoker like that, and when you've finished it, I can't see it not looking virtually brand new.

I got my maverick from Macs bbq, they have an Amazon store too.