General85 Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 I will have a look at mine tonight. The retailer for me hasn't been too bad and Landmann have said they are sending me replacement parts. They claim there are supposed to be gaps as it works better due to airflow but I think that's complete rubbish. They told me their director made a video on Youtube where you can see it is leaking smoke due to the gaps. I've attached the video. If they fail to send the parts, I can always ask my credit card company to sort it out for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek3v-Skq2GE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldencrunchs Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 Have you tried putting self-adhesive stove rope both on top and bottom? It sealed the gap nicely for me and now only minimal smoke leaks. But either way I went from it being impossible to get up to the right temperature to keeping it down being the hard part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General85 Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 3 minutes ago, goldencrunchs said: Have you tried putting self-adhesive stove rope both on top and bottom? It sealed the gap nicely for me and now only minimal smoke leaks. But either way I went from it being impossible to get up to the right temperature to keeping it down being the hard part. I've put tape on and it fills some gaps nicely but my lid sticks out 1cm either side compared to the pit, the gap is too large to cover by tape alone. I now need to get an angled metal strip and then add tape. I'm waiting for the new lid to see if this is slightly better as mine had dents in it too which didn't help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMelons Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 50 minutes ago, General85 said: I've put tape on and it fills some gaps nicely but my lid sticks out 1cm either side compared to the pit, the gap is too large to cover by tape alone. I now need to get an angled metal strip and then add tape. I'm waiting for the new lid to see if this is slightly better as mine had dents in it too which didn't help Yep. Same here. Too big a gap. There's does seem to be something more to it than just a loose fit. Hard to tell if there's anything wrong with my lid. No obvious signs of damage. Thats what leads me to suspect the dastardly "piece 30." Looking forward to hearing what others peoples looks like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General85 Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 7 minutes ago, MrMelons said: Yep. Same here. Too big a gap. There's does seem to be something more to it than just a loose fit. Hard to tell if there's anything wrong with my lid. No obvious signs of damage. Thats what leads me to suspect the dastardly "piece 30." Looking forward to hearing what others peoples looks like. If yours has gaps in the same place as mine, the I think it is caused by the two bolts hooking the lid (think they were bolt B?). The hinges and bolts are too far from the pit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General85 Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Landmann sent me the new parts but they're still not lining up, I believe that's how its 'supposed to be'. To get rid of those gaps I've doubled or in one case, tripled the stove tape. To the right, I did it over the edge with two strips, the back, I did the same and the left had to be two strips next to each other and another one on top, not sure if this will hold but time will tell. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 It is a PITA, I'm surprised Landmann get away with it??? if as you say the new parts are as bad, then that is down to crap manufacturing. Ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General85 Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 16 minutes ago, Icefever said: It is a PITA, I'm surprised Landmann get away with it??? if as you say the new parts are as bad, then that is down to crap manufacturing. Ice. Landmann say it's supposed to be designed that way due to it "working better with air flow". They show it on their YouTube video with smoke coming out of every possible hole! On the plus, the parts aren't dented but the new lid has a some bubbling on it! I've raised the issue again with the seller telling them they can sort it with the manufacturer. While it's not the worst, it's far from amazing and I shouldn't have to mod it so much for a brand new item 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 The idea of the smoke is to stay inside the smoker, work/flow up and over whatever you have in there, not seep out of every smegging joint on the smoker. Ice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General85 Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 3 minutes ago, Icefever said: The idea of the smoke is to stay inside the smoker, work/flow up and over whatever you have in there, not seep out of every smegging joint on the smoker. Ice. Agreed. Unfortunately we don't have the range that the Americans have! I'll make it work one way or another! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dl8860 Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 (edited) That's not the first time I've heard of manufacturers saying that's normal, there's a good YouTuber called baby back maniac who complained to weber because his 1500 dollar weber summit charcoal was leaking smoke and customer service came back saying that it was normal and wouldn't recognise the issue. Mental! If you watch landmanns demo video for a pork shoulder they end up slicing it instead of pulling, presumably because to cook it for long enough to be able to pull they would a) have to use a truck load of fuel to keep the smoker going long enough at that rate of air flow and b) it would be dried out by then due to the high temps. Must be really confusing for those new to smoking to see manufacturers doing this. Edited June 17, 2019 by dl8860 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General85 Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 On 6/17/2019 at 7:56 AM, dl8860 said: That's not the first time I've heard of manufacturers saying that's normal, there's a good YouTuber called baby back maniac who complained to weber because his 1500 dollar weber summit charcoal was leaking smoke and customer service came back saying that it was normal and wouldn't recognise the issue. Mental! If you watch landmanns demo video for a pork shoulder they end up slicing it instead of pulling, presumably because to cook it for long enough to be able to pull they would a) have to use a truck load of fuel to keep the smoker going long enough at that rate of air flow and b) it would be dried out by then due to the high temps. Must be really confusing for those new to smoking to see manufacturers doing this. It is, I'm brand new to it...in fact, I've never smoked, this is my first smoker I've bought but because of the issues, I haven't had a chance to use it. Luckily, I've been looking at plenty of videos and read up on this forum to know that it shouldn't leak through any where! But yes, I've seen the Landmann video and agree with you (although originally, I never noticed they didn't pull the shoulder) but it makes sense. If I look back, it did look slightly tough, too tough to pull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 8 hours ago, General85 said: I've been looking at plenty of videos and read up on this forum to know that it shouldn't leak through any where! Exactly, they are taking the urine, big time, we popped into our local Homebase yesterday for some paint, while there I took a quick look at some of the big smokers they sell. I'm not interested in buying just being nosey, what I did notice was the lower price bracket models were crap. Pushed out with all the extras that one needs to have a bbq, as I've already said I did the same. Bought a Landmann Kentucky then found this site, so in a way, it's like a baptism by fire as we start down the slippery road to becoming a better BBQ'er. Ice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General85 Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Were there any other decent smokers in Homebase? Out of curiosity, if you could pick another smoker now rather than the Landmann, what would you pick? Taking budget in to consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 3 minutes ago, General85 said: Were there any other decent smokers in Homebase? Out of curiosity, if you could pick another smoker now rather than the Landmann, what would you pick? Taking budget in to consideration. Wow, that's a hard one when you see that Homebase have bbq's from £12 up to nearly a £970, then you think what Homebase sells, anything & everything, are they the best store to buy from??? When I bought my ProQ I went to Hotsmoked but could have gone direct to ProQ direct, what I'm trying to say is go to a company that deals in just bbq kit. Price wise I looked at around the £300 mark, if I did it again I wouldn't want to go much higher, as I would have to justify the cost, you have to draw a line somewhere....and I'm from Yorkshire... I'm not in the market for any more kit at the moment, so can't really say which piece of kit I want, if your thinking like I did, that it may be better to buy something else (start again so to say) go for it...check your piggy bank and start looking....the guys will throw in their hints & tips. Ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMelons Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 After much silicone sealing and stove taping I fired up for the first time. I used the Weber briquettes which I started in a chimney for 20mins. According to the inbuilt thermometer, I reached a maximum temperature of 150 degrees c in the main chamber, which held for maybe 40-45mins or so before it started to drop. After an hour it was at about 130. 125 after 80 mins. Grate and chimney were fully open throughout. I never once opened the main lid. I opened the firebox lid once to move a few coals around. Super brief. Just wondered if you had any thoughts on the above. Fairly standard results? or underwhelming? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dl8860 Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Given you'd have some pretty high airflow with grate and chimney fully open, that sounds about right that you dropped after 80 mins, and I'd say still holding 125C after that time isn't bad. Have another go aiming for 110C consistently and then you'll really know how you're doing. If you can hold that (roughly) for 5 hours without refuelling then you'll know you've done a very good job. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General85 Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 On 6/20/2019 at 6:28 AM, Icefever said: Wow, that's a hard one when you see that Homebase have bbq's from £12 up to nearly a £970, then you think what Homebase sells, anything & everything, are they the best store to buy from??? When I bought my ProQ I went to Hotsmoked but could have gone direct to ProQ direct, what I'm trying to say is go to a company that deals in just bbq kit. Price wise I looked at around the £300 mark, if I did it again I wouldn't want to go much higher, as I would have to justify the cost, you have to draw a line somewhere....and I'm from Yorkshire... I'm not in the market for any more kit at the moment, so can't really say which piece of kit I want, if your thinking like I did, that it may be better to buy something else (start again so to say) go for it...check your piggy bank and start looking....the guys will throw in their hints & tips. Ice. My piggy bank is empty 😂. I don't think I could start again, I'm going to stick with this one as it's a good size and with a few mods, could be a decent smoker/grill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General85 Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 On 6/20/2019 at 7:26 PM, dl8860 said: Given you'd have some pretty high airflow with grate and chimney fully open, that sounds about right that you dropped after 80 mins, and I'd say still holding 125C after that time isn't bad. Have another go aiming for 110C consistently and then you'll really know how you're doing. If you can hold that (roughly) for 5 hours without refuelling then you'll know you've done a very good job. This is good to know as I'm yet to fire mine up! Think the tricky part for me would be how much coal and wood to add later on once it starts coming down in temp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 (edited) 16 minutes ago, General85 said: My piggy bank is empty 😂. Tell me all about it...my bugger thinks I've got him on a diet.. Ice. Edited June 22, 2019 by Icefever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 3 minutes ago, General85 said: the tricky part for me would be how much coal and wood to add later Don't worry to much about that mate, with an offset just open the fire box door and throw in what you think, not like a bullett when to you have to lift the top section off as I find the bottom door a little on the small side to spred the fuel about. Ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General85 Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Icefever said: Don't worry to much about that mate, with an offset just open the fire box door and throw in what you think, not like a bullett when to you have to lift the top section off as I find the bottom door a little on the small side to spred the fuel about. Ice. Thanks, will do! For the smoker, I take it fist size chunks are better than logs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 24 minutes ago, General85 said: I take it fist size chunks are better than logs? Sort of...smaller will burn slightly quicker, bigger ones last longer, trial & error mate. Ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General85 Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 I fired it up for the first time last night. I used briquettes started with a chimney and then added an oak log and these are my results. Not sure what went wrong! 6:40 start,7:05- 150c7:30- 150c7:45- 195c8:00-145c8:10-120c8:38- 90c9:00- 40c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 (edited) OK....daft quection from me, was that all you used?? a chimney and the one log? Ice. Edited June 23, 2019 by Icefever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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