Diffuser Size

[reggiewac]

Hi,

I've just built my own smoker. It is based on a 18.5" Weber kettle, with a big cylinder of metal to give the height between the base and the lid. I'm going to buy a kiln shelf to use as a heat diffuser at the bottom of the cylinder. Does anybody know how big the diffuser should be?

The smoker is about 17" across. I've found a kiln shelf that is 14.5" diameter, which will give me just over an inch all the way around. Does that sound like enough? Or too much?!

Thnaks for any thoughts

[essexsmoker]

Just so long as the fire is covered it should be ok. You just don't want direct heat. I have about a 2" gap round mine.

Got any pics? Be interested to see what you are doing!

[Kiska95]

I just used a 16" Pizza tray, cheap and efficient in my UDS

[reggiewac]

Thank you for that. I've only ever used my 22" kettle for smoking up to now, so am not too familiar with using diffusers over the coals.

Will post some pics when it is all done and painted. It looks a bit shoddy at the moment!