Brinkmann upright smoker not hot enough!

i am having the same problem. can get it above 200 degrees. i have read that you can drill holes in the charcoal bowl to increase the airflow to the charcoal. should have done that myself before i started smoking these ribs..

I have a very similar smoker to this and this is what I have to solve the problem.

First drill some holes in the fire pan. This gives more air to the charcoal to get a hotter burn. I went with about 6 or so holes around the sides of the pan with a 1/2" bit. You could also get a grill basket from Home Depot. It is a square pan with holes throughout and made out of stainless steel. I bought one, but switched back because you can't hold as much charcoal/wood.

Second, get some play sand and fill the water pan with it. You will need to cover it with some heavy duty foil to keep drippings off it. Also, add some water to it once in a while to keep it moist. This should not only help in raising the temps, but give you a more consistent temperature as well.

Third, invest in a good grill/smoker thermometer to make sure the one on the front isn't wrong. My smoker is the hottest in the back (not sure why) and the thermometers on these brinkman's probably aren't the most accurate.

Go to Home Depot and buy an 18.5 inch Weber replacement charcoal grate. This will fit almost exact inside the 14 inch Brinkman charcoal pan. Make some legs for it out of nuts, bolts, and washers so the grate will sit a couple of inches or so above the bottom of the charcoal pan. Add vent holes to the bottom of smoker and also to the bottom of the pan to help the whole unit breathe better. I also added three small holes to the lid to approximate what you see on a Weber unit. I recently tried the new Kingsford Competition charcoal briquettes using the Minion Method. Definitely seem to burn hotter and more reliably than lump charcoal. With these mods I got a good 12 hour sustained burn on a Boston **** the other day. Also don't fill the water pan to full. Keeps the temp down. Good Luck!

i have the same problem, and am glad it isn't just me. i was wondering if the hole drilling worked for people. Also, I am a novice at this, do all fill the entire coal pan with coals, then try and place some wood on it. There doesn't seem to be a lot of room for that.

We were having the same problem with our upright Brinkmann smoker, so we were trying different things and this is what worked...if you can fit your meat on the very top shelf then you can move your water up closer to the meat, I think the issue is the water bowl smothers out the fire with out enough oxygen to keep it hot! We are going to put holes in our fire bowl next time because it fills up with ashes quickly, that is a great tip! Good luck!