Drilling Hole for Temperature Probe in CB Stacker

[millermike]

My new 22" Cajun Bandit Stacker arrived today, this thing is huge, I could smoke a suckling pig on it. Has anyone drilled a hole in the Stacker for the ET-732 temperature probe? I have cobalt bits. Thanks for any ideas or suggestions. The other question, should I season the stacker before use?

[Troy]

I believe @swamprb has grommetted his, or at least, he has most certainly cut into the stainless that Cajun Bandit uses.

You don't need to season it.

Congrats on the stacker. It's a seriously kickass accessory!!

[terrymo]

I've drilled into both the Cajun Bandit Stacker and their rotisserie. I used Dewalt titanium pilot point bits which are not the highest quality and they worked fine. You can put a small piece of blue painters tape where you are going to drill if you are worried about the bit skating. I like the Cajun Bandit 3/8" probe grommet but I don't have any experience with the silicone weber grommet. The curved ET-732 probe will not fit through the 1/4" Cajun Bandit Grommet.

[swamprb]

I drilled 4 holes for some IKEA handles on my 18" Stacker and it was a PITA. I didn't have titanium bits which everyone told me about after the fact! DOH!

[Josh G]

Spend the money on the titanium bits, it is worth it.

[Qreps]

Congrats on CB stacker. Cheers and happy cookin.

[toolhead]

Agreed...use titanium pilot point dewalt bits...and have metal file ready to clean the burrs...

Ive used rigid coldfire metal drilling bits and find the dewalt performs faster but will leave a ragged hole...file to clean out burrs.

I would def use painters tape...the bit will still drift so keep an eye and apply pressure to keep the bit centered.

If the stacker is ss with no porcelain..then you may lightly "punch" the drill location...but if you havent used a punch on metal before..may not want to..as using a punch on the curved area may indent the body more tim a larger area than the hole ..you would want to gauge the thickness of the metal befire using a "punch" bit.

[toolhead]

And  better to start with a pilot hole...than drill the bit size required forbthe the thermo

[Erich]

Use a bit of oil on the tip of the bit and apply steady pressure to the drill bit.  Pressure is your friend not speed on stainless.

Stainless steel work hardens like crazy compared to mild steel.  That means if you let the bit skate on the surface without cutting it gets so hard the bit may never bite in again.

For cutting holes in sheet I really like to use a Unibit. http://www.irwin.com/tools/browse/drill-bits/unibit-step-drills

[millermike]

Thanks everyone. I'll pop the hole this weekend. Has anyone added a 2nd cooking grate to the stacker?

[Troy]

Thanks everyone. I'll pop the hole this weekend. Has anyone added a 2nd cooking grate to the stacker?

I do this hack when I need a 2nd grate for ribs.

I lay 3 slabs of ribs accross the grates (parallel to the bars).
then I take a 2nd grate, flip it upside down, and set it over the first grate. The handles of the grates serve as risers.

So first grate, bars  and ribs running north/south, handles are east/west.
2nd grate upside down, bars and ribs running east west, handles are north/south.

One cook, I did 3 grates lower (9 slabs) and 3 grates upper (9 slabs). It worked well, but it was a major pain in the butt (because I did the 2.5/3/1 method)

[millermike]

Thanks everybody got the hole drilled, the only things I need now is some Baby Backs. Thanks

[terrymo]

I removed the brackets provided by CB and used chrome plated shelf brackets from Home Depot for the grates. Since it is for a WSM I am not using a heat shield on the Stacker. I added a nomex gasket for the lid seal and used 1/4-20 stainless hardware. The Stacker is powder coated high temp gloss black to match the WSM and I added weber handles. I have 3 grates on the WSM and 2 on the Stacker.

hardware

[Troy]

I removed the brackets provided by CB and used chrome plated shelf brackets from Home Depot for the grates. Since it is for a WSM I am not using a heat shield on the Stacker. I added a nomex gasket for the lid seal and used 1/4-20 stainless hardware. The Stacker is powder coated high temp gloss black to match the WSM and I added weber handles. I have 3 grates on the WSM and 2 on the Stacker.

hardware

uhhhhh

WOW dude.
That seriously looks F'in badass.

Tell me more about this high heat glossy powder coating. Who did it? what did it cost? what color options? how much heat can it take?

[terrymo]

Thanks I took it to a place near me that does industrial powder coating on machinery and pumps for the oil fields. I paid $100 to have it done but was told that price was because there were a couple of big offset smokers about to be done in the same batch as mine or that was just a sales pitch. I was told 650 degrees max which is way more than the WSM will ever see. I'm not sure what other colors are available. Look for someone near you who does powder coating on industrial pumps and equipment that's exposed to petroleum products.