being new to the Ranch, any sense in buying Vortex for it??
any and ALL input is welcome!
I would think a vortex would be quite small. Maybe custom make a larger one?
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they do make an extra large, but I tend to agree, it still would be too small, although they say it would be for a ranch on Owens BBQ site. And with the vent in the middle of the kettle.....
As big as the ranch is you could setup your vortex for a hot cook in one zone for sure. I have yet to use my vortex in my Ranch but believe it would work fine. Leaving plenty of room for others zones of cooking. I only have a medium vortex,they make a large which is a good bit bigger
That's great —was curious if the seller held onto it for you @ken mc
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Yes he did qwest, he was a good guy... not sure about the age of Kettle though. Do the vents tell on the ranch as well? He said he bought new like 5 years ago but the bottom vents say EE
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Bottom vent tells the story
Hey, maybe try cutting the bottom off an old 18" kettle... perhaps you won't get the Venturi effect but it might be an economical way to corral the coals.
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Here's what a Ranch looks like with a chunk of a 22" kettle being used as a vortex. I use this set up to smoke large briskets overnight. The "snake" of charcoal will go almost 1/2 way around in the 6-ish hours I sleep.
(http://i.imgur.com/B6kImbn.jpg) (https://imgur.com/B6kImbn)
I guess it really isn't a vortex, but more of a ring to keep the charcoal along the edges and a place for a drip pan in the middle.
The problem with trying to make a vortex for a Ranch is that the distance between the coals and the cook grate isn't to scale for the size of the grill. In other words, the coals are a similar distance to the food as how it is on a 22" kettle. if you had a vortex in the middle of the grill, it wouldn't be large enough to make extreme heat like it does in a standard kettle.
I only use my vortex to cook chicken wings. The rancher would cook a LOT of wings...
I don't own a Rancher, butt I do have 18's and 22's with the V installed. Yes. Grate wings. And Thighs. And pork chops. And steaks. And burgers. And dawgz. Anything you can circle around it. Friggin' grate tool...
Quote from: hawgheaven on April 18, 2018, 10:59:34 AM
I don't own a Rancher, butt I do have 18's and 22's with the V installed. Yes. Grate wings. And Thighs. And pork chops. And steaks. And burgers. And dawgz. Anything you can circle around it. Friggin' grate tool...
I'm really surprised it's not a gold medal winner on amazing ribs.
Although I dig the Vortex on the 22 and 18, I don't think Vortex heat and circulation characteristics are needed on the Ranch.
The Ranch has enough below-decks real estate to place enough lit charcoal to keep temps at Vortex levels and do indirect cooking of a large amount of food.
My Ranch with a Vortex. I use it exclusively for steaks, chops, burgers, wings, and thighs. And with all the sides.
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