My offset smoker firebox rusted through after 2 years. Patched it with a beer can.

Happened last Saturday. Fired it up for a brisket cook. Noticed smoke coming from somewhere weird. Looked down. Hole the size of a quarter right on the bottom. Temps all over the place. Had a can of Bud Light in the cooler. Cut the top and bottom off. Smashed it flat. Riveted it over the hole with some self-tapping screws. Finished the cook. Brisket turned out fine. But I need a real fix. Anyone tried firebox cement or do I just buy a new one?

3 comments

3 Comments

green.noah3d ago

@alice928 nailed it on the cement fix, I used that on mine two years back and it's still holding strong.

holly7093d ago

Man, that beer can patch is honestly impressive. I gotta hand it to you, most people would have just given up and ordered takeout. The fact that you got the brisket done anyway says a lot about your dedication to the cook. It's a real shame when a new smoker goes bad that fast though. If the rest of the firebox looks solid, cement is the way to go. If the whole bottom is looking sketchy, I hate to say it but you might want to start shopping around for a replacement.

alice9283d ago

Hold up, let's talk about that beer can patch for a second because honestly that might be the most brilliant redneck engineering I've seen all year. But yeah, for a real fix, get some firebox cement from the hardware store. It's like $15 and it'll hold up way better than a Bud Light can ever could. You just clean the rust off the area, mix that cement into a paste, and smear it over the hole like you're buttering toast. Let it cure for 24 hours before you light it up again. If the rust is really bad all over the bottom, not just that one spot, saving up for a new smoker is probably the smarter move because that cement won't fix a whole floor that's about to crumble. Either way, you got a funny story out of it and the brisket still came out good, so you're winning either way.