good news bad news.

Dick -- I am glad you are getting great results and crispy chicken (actually kind of jealous). I suggest you send this "flue" idea to Cookshack.

My opinion is that it would take a fairly handy fellow to do/make the modificatios you suggest. On top of this, I am certain that such a modification would totally void the warranty.

I am still waiting for a picture of the rig. No offense intended but the sketch you scanned and posted did nothing but confuse me.

May your rig always be ready for smoking, mr jig and your chicken always crispy!

Wheelz.

Gotta tell you,if you can't follow my sketch a photo would be worse not better!!
I looked it over and felt a diagram was a much
better choice.

Please understand i'm not suggesting that people go off and modify their CS.
If however i wanted to modify a machine as simple as a 50 i wouldn't let a warranty stop me. I'ts a box with a heating element hooked to a sensor/heat control.
Point is, the CS smokes in a very moist environment which clearly serves well on briskets and pork butts.
Posting after posting however describes workarounds to make poultry skin "edible".
An adjustable flue allows one to use the CS either wet or dry making poultry a product that comes out of the CS rather than a CS plus the oven ,the grill,the broiler etc.

Best.
dick.

I have searched for the original flue post to no avail. Can someone please steer me to this drawing?

Thanks,
Blake

http://forum.cookshack.com/eve/forums/a/ga/ul/3341064624/pictures.JPG

got it...sorry.

http://forum.cookshack.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/709102888...361055624#6361055624

Mr. Jig is there anyway you can send a pic of your damper? I am really interested in the idea of finally getting crispy skin without the tag team.

Dlucks
I want to help.
My digital is currently in Canada and i would have to re read (painfully) the download to the computer camera instructions even if it was here.
What about the diagram is unclear to you?
Yes i know the diagram leaves a lot to be desired but trust me it will tell you more than a photo.
You ask and i'll answer.
dick

If anyone has the smokintexas fan for jerky making I would be interested to know how it works for chicken. If it helps drying jerky it may help pull enough moist air out to crisp up the skin. This also should not void the warrenty.

Craig

Hi Everyone,

I normally stay out of these type of posts, however I this one could create a hazard with a smoker that is being modified.

Increasing the airflow through the smoker increases the risk of fire in the smoker. The Cookshack line of smokers have been designed to minimize the amount of airflow through the cabinet. By increasing the flue size you are adding oxygen to the smoker, this can case flash fires in the wood box which can then cause grease fires which are quite hazardous.

Cookshack does not recommend that you modify your unit in any way, doing so does void the warranty and could lead to potiental damage to the smoker and those around it.

Stuart.
Your post was as i expected.
I presume you read enough of my earlier posts to be aware that i inherited my modified 50 from a European trained smoker who bought and immediately modified the CS as he felt it was more steamer than smoker and wholly unsuitable for fish or poultry.
After modifying with a damper adjustable flue he turned out thousands of pounds of smoked product for friends, family and on a limited basis, commercially.
If i smoke butts with flue closed my times are about the same as those who are "flueless"
Was that good or what!!
When i open the damper i can get perfect fish, eels and crisp poultry.
Willi from whom i inherited the 50, used it continuously for 9 years with no pops, booms or flashbacks as reported in unmodified units.
Perhaps poorly vented gases in unmodified units reach critical concentrations?
I don't know much about such things but in 9 years he never had a grease fire nor any other malfunction.
His original element shows no sign of stress and if it fails after 10 years or so,so what?
As to warranty on a 10 year old unit, if i call and report a problem with an unmodified CS are you going to fix it free?
NAH, and nobody would expect it.
My response here is rhetorical.
I do not expect you to debate this as your companies best interests will not be served and understandably you have neither the need nor the desire to change a successful product.
I have stated repeatedly that i am not advocating modifying the CS
On a purely personal level however i'm delighted that my departed friend bequeathed me a modified unit that seems to me to be greatly improved in terms of flexibility.
Best.
dick

I wished everybody would read the entire thing so they would understand your unit was modifiedby your friend who bequathed it to you. Im glad its working well for you as well. Take care Jim.

Mike

bequathed? Awesome!

I could care less what anyone does to their smoker as long as they leave mine alone. It works exactly as I want and need it to unmodified and well seasoned!