It was gunmetal fleetline single stage. Added base coat converter to it so he could fog on the last coat to get the flake even then cleared it with acme clear coat
Automotive paint. I ran it for 6 hours lastnight at about 280 and it did start to brown and bubble by the firebox but im covering that with some diamond plate. Typically automotive paint can stand temps up to about 180 degrees and the only spot that got that hot was at the firebox ao it should be fine
Learning generally boils down to "Repetition or the avoidance of pain", some people learn by doing, some by watching and some just have to pee on the electric fence.
Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right. Henry Ford
I noticed im having trouble maintaining temp because the ash isnt falling down without me smacking the charcoal grate with something every couple hours. Makes me angry. Was using kingsfors blue bag
I've used different varieties of lump and briquettes and haven't ever experienced this problem with my mini, I guess you need to determine if it's a bridging issue or a fire grate issue, did you deviate from the plans when you made your fire grate?
Grandma always said "if ya can't be handsome ya better at least be handy"
No my fire grate is dead on to the plans. I dont know if it has something to do with the cooker is on a trailer not exactly level or if its bridging. But if i empty the ash pan completely after an hour or 2 there is hardly anythig in it. When i smack the bottom of the grate with a hammer it fills my ash pan completely almost and the temp starts to come back up. I didnt notice it b4 in my couple of test runs. I hope i get it figured out without having to cut it back open.
That is bazaar, I can't imagine being out of level (within reason) would have any effect, is it possible you aren't allowing the smoker enough time to normalize and settle in? I guess what I'm thinking is maybe you just need more air after the charcoal gets up and running and what I call settles in, I use a temperature controller on mine but have noticed when I rattle the fire grate to get coals on my wood chunks in the ash pan it makes the temperature rise.
Grandma always said "if ya can't be handsome ya better at least be handy"