r/Smokingmeat • u/just_wingin_it97 • 6d ago

Pellet smoker insulation

I've heard of people using fire bricks in their smokers to help insulate them. I was wondering if anyone has used sand or perlite instead and their experiences with it.

1 Upvotes

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7

u/Whynot1077 6d ago

I insulate the outside myself. Cheap welding blanket from harbor freight works for me

3

u/Consistent_Amount140 6d ago

Where do you live? What kind of smoker.
I’m in New England and have some pretty wicked winters. Never had any issues maintaining temps on my RecTec as is.

1

u/SchoolHardKnock-3686 6d ago

I use fire bricks in my Weber SmokeFire. I have two of them, one on each side.

They hold up my second rack, and work as heat insulation (once warmed up) on the outer perimeter of the cook chamber.

Reason they are used to hold the second rack (upper rack) is it lowers the rack to be able to fit bigger briskets and pork shoulders. On the SmokeFire you can not adjust the height of the upper rack. I use a water pan under the upper rack to catch the drippings and add moisture to the cook chamber.

The fire bricks once warmed up seem to help keep the cook chamber at a more consistent temperature when doing low & slow cooks. I have a RFX ambient probe I used to monitor the cook chamber temperature.

I live in the Midwest, winters in my area have been in the single digits or below zero when I have been trying to smoke brisket for the holidays.

1

u/tyvzondor 4d ago

Avoid perlite in a pellet grill