Gizmo made one with an adjustable throat a while back but I don't think he had any luck with it. In theory if your recommended throat was 50 sq in you would make a 75 sq in opening with a plate that is hinged or slides over the throat and you could increase the max temperature in your smoke without building a raging fire. I think RC has one on his smoker and he closes it of while he has his smoker open so he doesn't get smoke in his eyes. It will probably take a lot of trial runs to figure out what each adjustment does but I think it may be worth the trouble.
When I had asked Gizmo about his findings, I was at that stage of the build. His advice was it wasn't worth it. I am reasonably sure he'll be here to clarify his points
Make no mistake, there ain't no powder in this Puff ! And... I'm not really a crazy person but I play one in real life
Where is Gizmo? I have one and it does work, I can close it if it is windy and I'm adding fuel to limit ash issues. As Big T mentioned I can close it to keep smoke to a minimum while checking the cook. But I can open it all the way and it will allow for a quicker initial heat up, then choke it down to the recommended size for smokin. I think the experience Gizmo had was because it was a thin plate being used and the heat transferred right on through it. But as some of you know I don't go thin on much of anything and it works so that is my rational.
jm2cw
Current Smokers: Backyard RF Offset and Hybrid RF Offset trailer rig with Cowboy cooker and fish fryer, always room for more........
I think RC is correct on the one I built for Earl.
But - on a centerfeed it must be a little different.
Edgar had a happy temp of 225 to 230 when I first built him per the pit calc.
I wanted something higher.
So I cut 2 - 2" X 4" openings - one on either side of the top hat (first baffle)
I then put controllable doors on those openings but discovered after several burns that I was always leaving them wide open because it gave me a happy temp of about 260. So I put them in a sack and gave them to his new owner in case he ever wanted to play with them…..
And on the eighth day God created barbecue …. because he DOES love us and he wants us to be happy.
Current smokers: Egor (trailered RF) and Easybake (tabletop pellet drive)