Inexpensive oven style thermostat?

I like to barbeque (real barbeque, not grilling), and built a "cracker-style" two-barrel cooker -- fire in the bottom, meat in the top.

Since a 40 or 50lb shoat takes 24 hours or longer to cook, I wanted to stop tending the fire all night. Even beer and books get kinda wearisome at 3am, unless you have four or five guys stokin'.

So I visited Habitat and bought an old gas stove for ten bucks. Stripped out the thermostat and gas valve, and set a burner in the flame pipe between the top and bottom barrels.

Now we smoke with real fire for about six to eight hours, then put on the gas flame, and let it maintain at about 200F for the remaining cooking time.

GREAT addition to real barbeque.

LLoyd

This is a great idea. Congratulations. Would be nice to see pictures. I am already going the electrical route, and am a little afraid of gas. That said, we have a gas line with a quick coupler, right where the smoker is going to be, so something could be done along these lines.

Thanks for the offer, that sounds like fun. Right now bicycling is taking up most of my free time, which will be increasing through the summer. What dates is sturgeon fishing open during the year?

Year round, IIRC--but the best fishing is when you follow the bait source.