Poor Man's Summit

[mfridman]

I bought a beat up old kettle for $20 from CL, to use as a donor for this idea I have...
I want to make my 22.5" performer into a "poor man's Summit", buy adding insulation.  For the lid, i will add an inner lid, and fill the 1/4" or so between the inner and outer lid with carbon fiber welding blanket.  I plan to cut the lid down so it hides nicely inside the outer lid.

For the bowl, I am thinking I can cut an approx 5" high donut from the center part of the bowl.  I will RTV my carbon fiber blanket remnant to the outside of the donut, and then drop it in so that it sits on top of the charcoal grate, but below the cooking grate.  Again, about a 1/4" gap (at the top) filled with welding blanket. 

Here is a sketch of what it would look like:



It probably won't insulate as well as the Summit, but I am thinking that between the mid-bowl and the lid, it should run more efficiently--meaning I should be able to get crazy high temps for pizza, or cook longer low+slow before I have to add charcoal.

What do you guys think?  Crazy?

[Jules V.]

Go for it.  Just love custom made stuffs especially by re-repurposing other items and materials. Be waiting for your progress. Good luck.




JV

[jdorn]

I'm curious to see how this turns out. Best of luck!

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[dazzo]

What about using the charcoal grate in the donut, and cut the bottom below it?

That might give you a couple more inches of insulation and the ash could still drop to the lower bowl for cleaning. Could even add a ring to give you a flue, although that would interfere with the sweeps.

Donut may need notches to clear the outer bowl grate straps.

Works in my mind, say the voices.


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[mfridman]

What about using the charcoal grate in the donut, and cut the bottom below it?

That might give you a couple more inches of insulation and the ash could still drop to the lower bowl for cleaning. Could even add a ring to give you a flue, although that would interfere with the sweeps.

Donut may need notches to clear the outer bowl grate straps.

Works in my mind, say the voices.

I thought about this, but according to my almost-to-scale sketch, I would only gain about 1" more of insulating, and at the same time, would raise the charcoal grate up about 1".   Losing the inch would help with searing, but would hurt with indirect setups where I would have less area to put charcoal.   So I am not sure...

[mfridman]

I have started on the lid portion.  I taped around for a refrence line, then slowly cut with an angel grinder.  Then deburred / smoothed with a grinding disc and then sandpaper disc. 
The inner lid attached to the outer lid using long stainless screws and nuts, using the handle holes of the outer lid and new holes in the inner lid.  I also drilled a hole for a lid thermometer. 
The donor lid has had the handles chopped off, and I removed the damper by drilling out the rivet.
The last photo shows a test-fit, without the welding blanket. 







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[mfridman]

The double-walled lid is pretty heavy, more than I realized it would be.  Not too heavy to move, but it flexes at the handle.  I think I may reinforce the handle area with some sheet steel.

[jdorn]

Looking good! Nice start!

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[FrugalQ]

I'd say skip the blanket if it's not too late. The summit is air pocket for a reason. Insulation may make it too efficient and create too much smoke of the nasty white variety.

[mfridman]

I'd say skip the blanket if it's not too late. The summit is air pocket for a reason. Insulation may make it too efficient and create too much smoke of the nasty white variety.

I'm not sure I follow you.  My reasoning was that the thin welding blanket would allow me to have a small gap between the inner and outer lid.  The Summit has like a 3/4" to 1" gap, looking at the photos.  But, my mod is not permanent, I could easily remove the blanket!

[mfridman]

More progress photos, I trimmed the blanket and fine tuned the nuts to hold it all together tightly. 



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[wessonjb]

Read where the Keg and the acorn used stove insulation causing them to be too efficient , which ended up with bad smoke or the fire snuffing itself out. Think that is what FrugalQ is talking about


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[wessonjb]

Definitely looking forward to seeing your finished product


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[mfridman]

I'm re-thinking my idea with the welding blanket.  First: physics--the thermal conductivity of air is about 0.026 W/mK; the thermal conductivity of fiberglass is about 0.045, and wool felt is ~0.06.
In other words, air is a better insulator (if it is not moving much) than various textiles.
My welding blanket has a definite "chemical" smell to it, which makes me concerned that it might not be a good idea for inside-the-grill use.

Plan B: use the 1/4+" air gap as the insulation, and use BBQ pit gasket material to seal the bottom to prevent air circulation inside the lid.

[kettlebb]

Plan B sounds good. This will be cool to watch.


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