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First brisket cook on a new pit went sideways when the firebox door warped
Set up my new offset smoker in the backyard last Sunday, got the fire dialed in at 250, then the firebox door popped open and dumped ash everywhere. Had to grab my welding gloves and clamp the door shut with a c-clamp for the next 8 hours - anyone else run into cheap metal issues on budget smokers?
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anthonynelson5d ago
That's the thing with cheap gear, it ALWAYS finds a way to show its weak points when you're in the middle of something important. The same pattern shows up with budget power tools where the plastic housing cracks right when you're cutting the last board on a weekend project. You either decide those little failures are part of the deal or you save up for something built to last.
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kellygrant5d ago
250 is pretty hot for a first brisket on a new smoker. Most folks start around 225 to give the metal time to settle and work out the kinks. Your firebox warping sounds like that cheap steel couldn't handle the heat quick enough.
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simon_carr5d ago
Lot of stuff in life is like that. You get a new tool or a new routine and you wanna push it hard right out of the gate. But most things need a break-in period, a little time to figure out their quirks before you really lean on them. It's like buying a used car and taking it on a cross country trip right away, you're just asking for something to rattle loose. Sometimes taking it slow at first is the fastest way to get where you're going in the long run.
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