Inspired by
VetteDoc's handiwork, but lacking his fabrication tools and skills, I set out to make my own effort to turn my 26" Kettle into something resembling a proper smoker.
The key piece was the Cajun Bandit
upgrade charcoal ring for the 18" WSM. I could have used the
Weber OE charcoal ring, but the CB part was a few dollars cheaper, larger in volume, and has standoff feet that will open up the gap between the ring and my diffuser. It turns out that either ring would have been a tradeoff in the design of the setup - the taller height of the CB ring means I can't fit a cheap aluminum drip/water pan from Costco into the gap between my diffuser and my cooking grate. The Weber pan fits fine, but they're about $1 apiece instead of the 23 cent cost of the Costco pans, and they don't hold as much water.
The first step is to remove the regular charcoal grate from the 26" and drop in a stock Weber grate for a 22" Kettle. It fits below the lower nut for the lid bale, and clears the ash sweeps by about half an inch. Place the charcoal ring on the grate, upside down from the way CB intended it to be used - you're not using the inside tabs to hold the charcoal grate as intended, so you're better off having a decent air gap almost all the way around the perimeter of the ring.
For a diffuser, I used a
Kamado Joe BJ-PS24 pizza stone. Reading the reviews on Amazon, and comparing the dimensions stated there versus what I got, I get the impression that Kamado Joe isn't real picky about supplier quality. Mine is 19-1/2" across, and a shade over half an inch thick, whereas the stated dimensions on Amazon are both smaller. BGE sells
an even bigger pizza stone, but I'd be concerned about running out of headroom if it's any thicker than the KJ piece.
Beyond that, it's just a Weber 9 x 13" pan (or two), the standard cooking grate, and I'm off to the races.