Weber Kettle Club Forums
Grill Talk => Weber Mods, Tables and Customs => Topic started by: BertVentures on December 23, 2017, 02:41:11 AM
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Has anybody installed a stack on top of weber kettle lid vent baffle to increase air flow?
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I haven't seen that, I did however do this on my UDS.....(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171223/463d3f5b840b025ff507b6b309c2a113.jpg)
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Thank you for sharing, here's what I came up with, it is not pretty but it works and easy to undo.
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2017/12/23/36JPG.jpg)
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2017/12/23/37JPG.jpg)
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2017/12/23/38JPG.jpg)
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2017/12/23/39JPG.jpg)
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2017/12/23/40JPG.jpg)
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What does that gain? Same size holes will be the same as normal would it not?
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What does that gain? Same size holes will be the same as normal would it not?
Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app (https://siteowners.tapatalk.com/byo/displayAndDownloadByoApp?rid=91018)
X2
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Seems like your in for a FUN bbq! Looks ridiculous but it's something that'll draw conversations if sitting around. Maybe some pimp bragging rights too
Please I mean No offense to the modder, have FUN making it, the conversations and the looks it'll get.
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The logic behind the vent stack is to create a stack or chimney effect, a natural phenomena that occurs when the density difference between a hot and a cold air column creates a natural flow through a chimney. The greater the thermal difference and the height of the chimney, the greater the flow is, forcing more air into the grill.
I wanted to increase the air flow without doing any permanent modification to the grill. It is easy to take out, when it is not needed.
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IMO, gain in air flow is minimal if none at all. Even with dual lid vents, thinking x2 the air flow.... you will need bigger bowl vents holes to create optimal air flow.
The question here is, why do we need more air flow? We are already getting high enough temp. with stock configuration. Crack open the lid a bit or take the lid off if you are grilling or need to get the charcoal temp up. If you need to sear steaks... take the lid off or think about bringing the charcoal grate closer to the cooking grate. Just my thoughts.
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IMO, gain in air flow is minimal if none at all. Even with dual lid vents, thinking x2 the air flow.... you will need bigger bowl vents holes to create optimal air flow.
The question here is, why do we need more air flow? We are already getting high enough temp. with stock configuration. Crack open the lid a bit or take the lid off if you are grilling or need to get the charcoal temp up. If you need to sear steaks... take the lid off or think about bringing the charcoal grate closer to the cooking grate. Just my thoughts.
I agree. Cracking the lid does the job with no effort at all. However I disagree that dual lid vents wouldn’t increase air flow on a one touch. A one touch already has more intake than a three wheeler so adding a dual lid vent would have to increase air flow. JulesV? He would know.
Bert, let us know how the chimney effect works.
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IMO, gain in air flow is minimal if none at all. Even with dual lid vents, thinking x2 the air flow.... you will need bigger bowl vents holes to create optimal air flow.
The question here is, why do we need more air flow? We are already getting high enough temp. with stock configuration. Crack open the lid a bit or take the lid off if you are grilling or need to get the charcoal temp up. If you need to sear steaks... take the lid off or think about bringing the charcoal grate closer to the cooking grate. Just my thoughts.
I looked at smoker pit design, stack size play big roll in air flow. I think a stack like the one I did will provide more air flow than dual lid vents and it will not be negligible. I tried to find a way to calculate the flow rate, I figured it will be easier to just do it and see if it make a diiference. I had all needed materials.
This is for pizza making, see my post at http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/pizza-forum/performer-max-temperature/
IMO Cracking lid open will allow more heat to escape than generating heat where I needed the most which at the lid top.
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Lol
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Did it work? Did it increase airflow? How did you test and verify your experiment? I guess a simple way to test, IMO, would be to fire it up and settle in at a target temp without the stack then install it and see where it settles..
I like where your going with the experiment and the way you attached the tube to the can then to the lid.. now I'd like to see some numbers. Keep in mind that the length and thickness of the pipe has an effect on the temperature and thus the speed of the gasses moving through it. The will be an "optimal" length.
As an experiment this looks interesting. I personally don't see the benefit. If you want higher temps drop a split log on your coals. You'll be at pizza oven temps in 5 minutes or so. Also, as a matter of practicality, how are you gonna check your food? You gonna pull that hot piece of metal off every time you open the lid?
You've just begun to peek into the rabbit hole of curiosity, young Jedi. Report your findings.
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I gotta say that I agree with cracking the lid a bit will give all the heat you will ever need. Last night I did chicken wings on my mastertouch in -28C temperatures with the botton vent wide open and the lid vent wide open. Max temp I hit was 450, I cracked the lid slightly and checked it around 10 minutes later and it over the 600 mark and thats just with burquettes. Toss on a split as minigrilin says and the temps should get much hotter.
Great thinking out of the box though. Experimenting is fun. Keep us posted on your findings
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Exactly, experimenting is fun. I have not tried yet; I am waiting on some insulation sheets that I ordered to insulate the lid. Instead I will use them to insulate the vent, which is made of thin aluminum. I have the lid oriented so the vent is on the opposite of me, it will not get in contact with the Performer lid holder when the lid is stored in it.
I am using my bake time with the lid closed as a reference to measure other methods against it.
I will probably try cracking the lid open this weekend if I don't have the insulation.
I am trying to stay away from wood fire, as I find it harder to control especially the smoke. I will definitely try it. I only have time time during the week end, so it may take me a while to get to it. Any recommendation on kind of and size of split logs to use?
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When we were in Scouts, we used a stove pipe the same diameter as the Weber Chimney and put that on top of the loaded chimney. It did decrease the ash over time. It acted as a draw and moved more air and created the shortened time to get the coals going. Now, I just stack an empty chimney on top of the loaded lit one and get similar results. In my opinion, More air + Lit coals = more Heat.
Just my $.02...
TIA!!
Jeff
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Exactly, experimenting is fun. I have not tried yet; I am waiting on some insulation sheets that I ordered to insulate the lid. Instead I will use them to insulate the vent, which is made of thin aluminum. I have the lid oriented so the vent is on the opposite of me, it will not get in contact with the Performer lid holder when the lid is stored in it.
I am using my bake time with the lid closed as a reference to measure other methods against it.
I will probably try cracking the lid open this weekend if I don't have the insulation.
I am trying to stay away from wood fire, as I find it harder to control especially the smoke. I will definitely try it. I only have time time during the week end, so it may take me a while to get to it. Any recommendation on kind of and size of split logs to use?
You’ll do just fine. Already thinking out of the box. I would use a couple of 1/2 baseball size to start and add when needed.
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Thank you all for your inputs.
Last night, I insulated the stack, than I removed it, it wasn’t practical; it made the stack heavy and bulky.
I did a quick heat test with and without the uninsulated stack. I used 1.25 of charcoal briquettes on the charcoal grate. I measured the temperature right above the stone (1 to 2”), the stone was 3.5” above the cooking grates using Mighty Pizza Stone heat diffuser. The temperature reached mid 400sF in few minutes once I closed the lid, the temperature dropped by 20 Deg F once I placed the stack, I guess it created a back draft, than the temperature increased pretty quickly about 50 deg. F. The amber looking charcoal that I started with started to turn dark, even with the stack on, so I slid the lid about 1” to the back, briquettes amber color started to go back and the temperature above the stone steadily increased to low 600sF. Conclusion: a crack is better than a stack ;)
Thank I added 3 pieces of oak wood chunks, which increased the temperature to high 800/900’s F with the lid offset by 1” to 2”. I am pretty sure I tried this with my old grills, I never got these results, I guess a thicker steel grill made a big difference. I added few more chunks once the previous one died, still, I did not have any issues with any smoke, the wood and briquettes continued to burn clean.
I am still going to keep the stack mounted on my Performer lid especially when I am burning wood, to keep exhaust fume up and away from me. I need to find a better looking and heavier gauge can to use as a base for the stack though. It will be nice if I can paint it to match the lid color or maybe silver to match Weber vent disc.
Thanks again
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This was an informative read. Thanks for sharing your ideas and results!!
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Sounds like you need to build a pizza oven. Check youtube for "yoga ball pizza oven"
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This was an informative read. Thanks for sharing your ideas and results!!
I am glad, thank you for your feed back.
Sounds like you need to build a pizza oven. Check youtube for "yoga ball pizza oven"
Thanks for sharing, that's one of the best DIY oven built I have seen, really creative.
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I must say, the idea sounded good. Glad you thought out of the box and tried it! Thanks for keeping us up to date! 8)
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I appriciate you sharing your experiment. I'm curious..did you have any smoke coming out of the stack when your hot coals went dark? If so, was it rising quickly or just trickling out? I'm kinda thinking the walls of the stack were cold and not creating a "draw" thru the system. If that's the case then there was a cold cushion of air trying to reverse your draw. Try shortening your stack or decreasing the diameter of the pipe.
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@MINIgrillin the temperature dropped above the stone once I placed the stack, I guess it was due to the stack being cold, than the temperature increased pretty quickly once the stack warmed up. Definitely the smoke wasn't trickling out, it was steady stream out.
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Update: I replaced the tomato can with a 52 oz beans can, it has a bit wider diameter, a 4" aluminum stack fits perfectly in it. I also painted the can with engine glossy black enamel paint.
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2018/01/06/56.jpg)
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2018/01/06/57.jpg)
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2018/01/06/58.jpg)
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2018/01/06/59.jpg)
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2018/01/06/60.jpg)
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Oh man, even if it isn't really doing much I like the idea behind it. Since I moved to Denver I've found that the thinner air definitely affects how my weber's work. Now I'm going to be thinking about this all weekend!!!!
Tagging to make sure you see this post @Jed.cook
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Took me a minute to figure out what the Hell I was doing on this thread, but now I got it. Thanks @MikeRocksTheRed for bringing me in on this. Looks like I've got a new project, and my family's gonna' be eatin' beans and fartin' up a storm for a while. :)
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Oh man, even if it isn't really doing much I like the idea behind it. Since I moved to Denver I've found that the thinner air definitely affects how my weber's work. Now I'm going to be thinking about this all weekend!!!!
Tagging to make sure you see this post @Jed.cook
If it's much harder to breathe at 5000 feet, same goes for your weber. You probably have to use more coal or larger air intake to reach a certain temperature that you're accustomed to at much lower elevation.
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Oh man, even if it isn't really doing much I like the idea behind it. Since I moved to Denver I've found that the thinner air definitely affects how my weber's work. Now I'm going to be thinking about this all weekend!!!!
Tagging to make sure you see this post @Jed.cook
If it's much harder to breathe at 5000 feet, same goes for your weber. You probably have to use more coal or larger air intake to reach a certain temperature that you're accustomed to at much lower elevation.
Both! Lol. I’ve figured out slow n low, but vents wide open are vents wide open for hot cooks. I definitely crack my lid more now that I’m at higher altitude.
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@MikeRocksTheRed
Also forgot to mention the effect of humidity. One thing going for Denver is the low humidity. Winter and mid spring will be your toughest months in trying to maintain high temperature.
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This mod would of made a difference in airflow if the lid holes were at least the same size as the bowl vent.
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@MikeRocksTheRed
Also forgot to mention the effect of humidity. One thing going for Denver is the low humidity. Winter and mid spring will be your toughest months in trying to maintain high temperature.
Very interesting. I didn't think about humidity at all.
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@MikeRocksTheRed
Also forgot to mention the effect of humidity. One thing going for Denver is the low humidity. Winter and mid spring will be your toughest months in trying to maintain high temperature.
Very interesting. I didn't think about humidity at all.
Your charcoal will probably burn hotter and faster at 30F with 30% humidity than let's say 90F with 90% humidity. You'll also get the benefit of denser oxygen mass with the collder air. Same concept with cold air intake on combustion engines.
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Ok.... I understand all the arguments about air flow... and all that....
About 22-23 years ago I had built a table w dual 22’s... yeah, I know, over kill right? I built one for smoking/cooking the meats, and the other for sides, corn-potatoes-what not... on one of the lids, after sitting around playin in that garage, I had a stainless steel exhaust tip from a car, drilled a hole in the lid, put a piece of pipe thru the lid and attached the exhaust tip to it...
“Why?” Do you ask???
Cuz it looked frikin cool AND I could!!!
That was all...
Everybody that came over for a bbq was like WTF?!?!?!
I was like “cool huh?”
Vinny