Bandera Firebox Lid Mod

[Mikey]

Some of you that use either wood or charcoal to fuel your sfb units might be interested in this little mod I did to the firebox lid on my Bandera. These units are real fuel hogs and I was thinking of a way to reduce the amount of wood that I use which is my main fuel source. This material is ceramic fiber board. It comes in 2'X3'X1" thick sheets which weigh 17.5 lbs per sheet. It has a working temp of 1832 degrees & a max temp of 2300 degrees. It is sold 6 sheets per box (min.) which is way more than I needed but what the heck. The cost was $17.47 per sheet. The goal is to reduce the amount of heat loss via the lid which is 16 gauge, on a good day. I strongly recommend that if one uses this material, that long sleeves be worn, along with gloves and a dust mask. I treated this like I was working with fiberglass. I used a Bear Saw which is made by Vaughan & Bushnell Mfg. Co. in Hebron, IL. The saw worked like a champ & I finished the edges & miter cuts with my right angle air motor w/2" button and 36 grit discs. I'll be puting this to the test next week-end to see if it does what I think it will. Here's a pic of the install. I did take it all apart today and wrap the fiber board in foil. I hope the foil survives, other wise, it's Plan B.

[irishteabear]

Thanks for posting this. I'll be interested in hearing the test results.

[RickW]

Nice mod Mikey.

[DaveNH]

If the foil don't hold up, maybe bolt/tack in some thin steel sheet to cover the board. Looks good!

[Gunslinger]

That's a sweet deal you got there. Won't work for mine, but it's lined with fire brick. But there's guys here that have firebox's similar to your's. I was, however going to line my warming chamber with fire brick, but that might just be the ticket for it.

[Richtee]

Nice mod, man. I'm all about increasing efficiency. I gotta build a drum... LOL!

[Mikey]

Thanks for the nice comments. http://www.mcgillswarehouse.com/Grou...s&selection=34
This is the place where I got the fiber board. They also carry ceramic spun blanket which would probably work on round fire boxes.

[Zeeker]

Very nice mod Mickey. I would be interested in seeing the temps on both sides of the smoker?. All the best...

[Mikey]

Zeeker; As soon as I get back home, I'm going to fire it up and see what happens. I will be monitoring the temps on the lid and monitoring wood consumption. This is one of the draw backs of life on the road; not much time for the things you love to do.

[Mikey]

Finally got to test out my firebox lid mod today, and I can say that I was reasonably sucessful. The ceramic fiber board pretty much did what I thought it would do only not the 50% reduction in wood use that I was hoping for. I would say I used 25% less than I've used in the past. This was pretty much the fire size that I had most of the afternoon.........



which gave me this kind of temp. I would let it get down to 230, then add a couple of pieces and it would stay in this area for an hour to an hour and a quarter.

[Zeeker]

Well it's still a reduction in wood use and that got to be a good thing Mikey. Kudos for thinking out of the box and some for ya as well...

[Richtee]

Yup... I "wood" say that's a success there Mikey! Well done!

[RickW]

Looks like a success to me too, good job Mikey.

[irishteabear]

Not bad results. 25% reduction over a long smoke adds up to quite a bit. How did the foil hold up during the test?

[Mikey]

Dawn, I was shocked that it survived, but at the end of the day I thought about how small the fire was, and thought hmmm, must have done something right...........for a change.