Larger water pan for smokenator

[bwsmoke74]

I wanted a larger water pan for cooking big pieces of meat with my smokenator in order to reduce refills and tried using the aluminum trays. I could smell the tray burning and took it out and looked at the bottom - yuck!

I looked online for something better and found this tray:

www.amazon.com/dp/B000SSWXPO?tag=belucky-20

It didn't cost much and seems to be a good size. It holds 5 1/2 cups of water and the original water pan holds about 2 1/3 cups. It also has a pretty low profile that won't interfere with the dome if you place it close to the edge.

I just got it and haven't tried it yet, but I will post my results after some attempts. I will play with different water levels as I have read in this forum where higher temperatures are hard to reach when you have too much water.

[jsperk]

I will be curious to hear your results.I am going to try an old bread pan I have.I will feel the smokenator up full and fill the bread loaf pan and try this with my rotisserie.I did do the rotisserie with the regular pan and the results were great but I like the idea of longer burn.Lytefly has a link on his setup for a longer burn.

[jerkylips]

I started doing this last summer, using the disposable aluminum loaf pans. I never had any issues with burning - in fact, I used the same pan several times. I could see something like that happening if it were empty or very low on water, but I didn't have the problem.

I found that using the larger water pan really helped to maintain a low temp. I think I have a bit of a "leaky kettle" issue that I'm still working on, so I struggled to keep the temp down. With the big water pan full, it actually struggled to get up to 225 at the grate. About 1/2 full was perfect.

[jsperk]

I use paper clip binder around my lid.

www.qpmstationery.com/Images/Products/BindersClipN00004.jpg

[bwsmoke74]

Well,

Here's my first cook with the new water pan. Worked good for me and definately worth the $11.00. I added a spreadsheet with some data and notes I took if anyone is interested. I will add a picture so you can see how it fits in the grill.

-Brandon

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[worldbfree]

I have used a larger water pan sitting on top of the firebox (sitting on top of the grill grate) and have had some trouble with the temp getting to high at times. The good part is I don't have to add water and the fuel lasted 6 hours and probably would have gone 8 hrs had I not snuffed it out. So I'll probably go back to the original setup.

[chas69jr]

Brandon, I also purchased the larger water pan and my question is how are you using it with the Smokinator? Did you cut out the opening for the original water pan? Are you placing it on top of the grill? Also did you end up finally filling the pan full with water when you first started smoking your food? Thanks Charlie

[ksu1971]

Charlie:

This is an old post. I looks like the the last post was back in 2010. However, to answer your question you typically sit the pan on the food grate right above the Smokenator. You also remove the water pan that came with the smokenator so you can add more charcoal for the longer cook times. I use the disposable pans and don't have any problem with them. As far how much to fill it up that you really have to play with. If you fill it full it takes a little while for it to get up to temp. I usually fill mine to 3/4 full.

Here is a pic from when I was smoking some ribs and butts and you can see the water pan.

[chas69jr]

Thanks for the reply.

We tried to cook a 3 lb slab of pork ribs but they turned out terrible. I did not realize that there is so much of a difference in temperature between the dome temp and actual grill temp.
We placed the pork ribs in a tin pan and placed 2 cups of Apple Juice in the pan then covered and sealed it with aluminum foil then baked it on the grill for 1 hr. we maintained 225 according to the dome temp. We then uncovered the ribs and placed them on the grill another 3 hours at again 225 on the dome thermometer.

Ribs did not pull back any and I suspect they were undercooked. I think we will do much better as time goes on, Thanks Charlie

[ksu1971]

Yea there is quite a bit of difference between the dome and the cooking grate. There is even measurable difference in temps between the hovergrill and cooking grate. I am guessing you were cooking at 180/190 at the food grate. I measure my temp at the grate with a Maverick thermo.

Also one thing to remember you cannot go by time alone. You have to check for doneness before pulling the food. Even internal temp is not perfect to determine if the food is "done". It will tell you it is safe to eat but not tell you it is "done". For ribs I use the bend test as my finial check, butts is the fork/probe test and chicken is the only one I use the internal temp to tell me it is done.

[chas69jr]

What I actually did today was drill a hole through the back of the grill - insert a sleeve with locking sleeve nuts on both sides of the grill - this allows me to slide the Temp gauge in and out as needed. This is just under the grill

I feel much better knowing this temp is going to be much more accurate then relying on the dome temp and resulting in undercooked meat..

Thanks for the reply! Charlie

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[ksu1971]

I have been wanting to drill port holes to run my probes through the side of the kettle. Let us know how it works out.

[deerchaser]

So, anyone drill holes for their digital probes?

[deerchaser]

Nevermind, drilled it tonight. 1/4" fits both probes, one at a time.

[flbuckeye]

I run my probe through the bottom vent and clip it onto the grate.

No drilling needed