Weber Kettle Club Forums

Hey, wouldn't a cheap chimney minus the handle and cut down to the right hight make a good Vortex?
I know it isn't built like a funnel and it's as little smaller but I think it would work.
I already have a Vortex but was just think of the guy on a budget.

Oh forgot to mention. Cut the inside out of it so it will hold more.

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If you cut it down I don't think it could hold enough charcoal to get hot enough to emulate a Vortex, especially in light of the missing funnel shape/smaller diameter.

But don't listen to me, my wife says I'm a constant naysayer.

How about a "bigger better chimney vortex case"?   Split chimney in half height wise then open each half and bolt together.   

Maybe easier with sheet metal or EM. 

Or just buy the Vortex


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Here's a cheap homemade charcoal holder made from scrap ss sheet panel. 
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171012/32e62edc91fcdb1887e263983e23d81c.jpg)
5"H by 12"W
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171012/384578f7230d18ffc10cfee19de66104.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171012/fe6d5e07f25c24e0b54643194b181a40.jpg)
1 3/4 chimney of briquettes.
With enough oxygen this should reach 800F-900F easily.


JV

Oh damn, I like that Jules Verne ....  :D ;)

...looks awesome!!

Is there any actual benefit to using a vortex though? Wouldn't you get the same result and heat, from, lets say, a couple of charcoal baskets placed in the centre?

Technically, a Vortex shape is like an after burner on a jet with the small end up. So your really pushing the heat to the center. Is there a great benifit? I don't know.

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Quote from: deans6571 on October 13, 2017, 06:51:22 AM
Is there any actual benefit to using a vortex though? Wouldn't you get the same result and heat, from, lets say, a couple of charcoal baskets placed in the centre?

I don't have a vortex but you can easily achieve your desired effect with using charcoal baskets in the center. Light a full chimney of charcoal and wait until you see flames coming out of the top before you pour them in. The coals do not have to be fully ashes over but flames coming out of the top is what to look for before dumping in. This way your coals are heading into peak heat and not on the way down if you wait too long. Once charcoal is dumped in the baskets, leave the lid off until the coals are producing flames over the entire pile and are intensely hot. Place the chicken around and put the lid on and leave all vents wide open. If done correctly, your lid thermometer should be pegged as hot as it goes.  It will maintain this temperature for the better part of an hour. Crispy skin. Easy as that.


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Any benefit to using a vortex?  I say no but then again I haven't tried one.


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Quote from: HoosierKettle on October 13, 2017, 07:21:14 AM

Quote from: deans6571 on October 13, 2017, 06:51:22 AM
Is there any actual benefit to using a vortex though? Wouldn't you get the same result and heat, from, lets say, a couple of charcoal baskets placed in the centre?

I don't have a vortex but you can easily achieve your desired effect with using charcoal baskets in the center. Light a full chimney of charcoal and wait until you see flames coming out of the top before you pour them in. The coals do not have to be fully ashes over but flames coming out of the top is what to look for before dumping in. This way your coals are heading into peak heat and not on the way down if you wait too long. Once charcoal is dumped in the baskets, leave the lid off until the coals are producing flames over the entire pile and are intensely hot. Place the chicken around and put the lid on and leave all vents wide open. If done correctly, your lid thermometer should be pegged as hot as it goes.  It will maintain this temperature for the better part of an hour. Crispy skin. Easy as that.


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...hmm - thats weird as your instructions here are the complete opposite to what I've been doing (perhaps I've been doing it wrong!).

After I dump the charcoal into the baskets, I then close the lid for 10 minutes to preheat the grill (keeping the temp around 250 -300C). I then lift the lid, put on the chicken (indirect heat) and close the lid and adjust the vents (both top and bottom are around at least half way closed) until get a stable 250C. I just leave the chicken in there until my thermometer probe reads the correct temp to take out the chicken.

I don't have one, but know that it makes heat in a way that regular (Weber) charcoal baskets can't.

It creates one path for air (less heat loss on the sides) and channels it due to the cone shape. Most of the homemade alternatives use one or more of its feature aspects (larger capacity, solid sides etc) which should tell you something.

Whether or not it's "better" will depend on lots of things, like whether or not you can already do what you want other ways, as well.

Quote from: deans6571 on October 13, 2017, 07:31:04 AM

Quote from: HoosierKettle on October 13, 2017, 07:21:14 AM

Quote from: deans6571 on October 13, 2017, 06:51:22 AM
Is there any actual benefit to using a vortex though? Wouldn't you get the same result and heat, from, lets say, a couple of charcoal baskets placed in the centre?

I don't have a vortex but you can easily achieve your desired effect with using charcoal baskets in the center. Light a full chimney of charcoal and wait until you see flames coming out of the top before you pour them in. The coals do not have to be fully ashes over but flames coming out of the top is what to look for before dumping in. This way your coals are heading into peak heat and not on the way down if you wait too long. Once charcoal is dumped in the baskets, leave the lid off until the coals are producing flames over the entire pile and are intensely hot. Place the chicken around and put the lid on and leave all vents wide open. If done correctly, your lid thermometer should be pegged as hot as it goes.  It will maintain this temperature for the better part of an hour. Crispy skin. Easy as that.


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...hmm - thats weird as your instructions here are the complete opposite to what I've been doing (perhaps I've been doing it wrong!).

After I dump the charcoal into the baskets, I then close the lid for 10 minutes to preheat the grill (keeping the temp around 250 -300C). I then lift the lid, put on the chicken (indirect heat) and close the lid and adjust the vents (both top and bottom are around at least half way closed) until get a stable 250C. I just leave the chicken in there until my thermometer probe reads the correct temp to take out the chicken.

It's only "wrong" if your goals are the same. He's describing a way to get crispy skin via exposure to high heat. You're describing a way to cook at a lower temp.

I do plenty of cooking on my Webers indirect...While it's true that you can replicate the effects of the Vortex without one...Nothing compares...

I have used mine for years...When you need the vortex there is no substitute....

I was watching as Bill was working with his prototype units...Not even stainless in the early days...But a work in progress turned into a patented tool that no Weber charcoal grill should be without....

Lat thing I have to say is that you do yourself wrong by thinking of the Vortex as "only" a wing cooker...It's uses are limited only by your imagination...

Quote from: SMOKE FREAK on October 13, 2017, 05:26:48 PM
I do plenty of cooking on my Webers indirect...While it's true that you can replicate the effects of the Vortex without one...Nothing compares...

I have used mine for years...When you need the vortex there is no substitute....

I was watching as Bill was working with his prototype units...Not even stainless in the early days...But a work in progress turned into a patented tool that no Weber charcoal grill should be without....

Lat thing I have to say is that you do yourself wrong by thinking of the Vortex as "only" a wing cooker...It's uses are limited only by your imagination...

I totally agree with all of this. I have been using The Vortex since it's inception, and have one for every kettle I own. They are all stainless steel, and are bulletproof. The best muti-functional tool you can add to your Weber tool belt.

I personally don't think there is a substitute for a Vortex. You can get close but its overall shape and the material it's made out of is going to make it Superior to anything you can whip up at home. I've used one for a couple years and can only say great things about it. I don't like to try very hard though 😉

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I use the vortex for stir fry incredible, just have everything standing by for your stir fry

Dang you guys and your convincing nature. Got me thinking.


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Quote from: HoosierKettle on October 14, 2017, 07:43:13 AM
Dang you guys and your convincing nature. Got me thinking.


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Let's get ourselves the real thing and do a contolled comparison to the other types of charcoal holders. 


JV

Quote from: weldboy on October 14, 2017, 06:40:59 AM
I personally don't think there is a substitute for a Vortex. You can get close but its overall shape and the material it's made out of is going to make it Superior to anything you can whip up at home. I've used one for a couple years and can only say great things about it. I don't like to try very hard though

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What exactly is the secret material that they use to manufacture the Vortex?  I know aerospace grade ss sheet comes in at least 15 different versions /grade ranging from a variations of 301 to 17-7PH and it's available in 14 or 16gage which I assume the thickness of the vortex. The  exact shape and size is easy to replicate at home. Just cut it and bolt it together.


JV

I use my V in the inverted position to rire roast vegetables for soups and salsa etc...Not quite as hot as in volcano mode but way hotter than just a pile of lit coals due to the fact that it directs airflow straight to the lit coals and nowhere else...
(https://s19.postimg.org/pmwsrba5f/DSC01004.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/z7gfe6zhb/)

(https://s19.postimg.org/ulkb61gkz/DSC01011.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/yup187ju7/)

I've used a Vortex for five years or more and will tell you it's a practical addition to your Weber toolbox.  I'm sure that the various "Poortex's" that have built by various members here are also very effective.  Of the four cooking options on their website, I've only used mine in the "Indirect-Direct" method, mostly for wings. 

I don't the physics of it, but from my experience, using the Vortex (or similar) provides a better cook on wings than just using the charcoal baskets.

Just did 36 wings last night and they came out great.



BD

Quote from: SMOKE FREAK on October 14, 2017, 09:59:37 AM
I use my V in the inverted position to rire roast vegetables for soups and salsa etc...Not quite as hot as in volcano mode but way hotter than just a pile of lit coals due to the fact that it directs airflow straight to the lit coals and nowhere else...
(https://s19.postimg.org/pmwsrba5f/DSC01004.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/z7gfe6zhb/)

(https://s19.postimg.org/ulkb61gkz/DSC01011.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/yup187ju7/)

I think in your example the vortex is 'hotter' because it's reflects the radiant heat upwards. The SNS does the same thing here with a small handful of coals, wonderful.

Never tried the SNS so I can't make a comparison...

But I also can't see trying to make a cheap version of the SNS rather than buying the real thing...