Hit 500 hours on my offset smoker and the firebox door hinge gave out

I was cleaning up after a brisket cook last weekend and noticed my log book... I've put 500 hours on my Old Country Brazos since I got it two years ago. That number hit me hard because I never kept track before. The hinge pins on the firebox door were so worn they just fell out when I opened it. All that heat cycling from cold starts to 275 degrees for hours on end... it just ate through the metal. I had to weld new pins on the spot with a cheap harbor freight welder, which was a whole other adventure. It made me think about all the parts we don't check often enough. Has anyone else had a major piece fail right after hitting a big hour mark on their rig? What did you do?

3 comments

3 Comments

andrew_baker913d ago

My buddy's firebox hinge also failed right after his 500-hour mark, so he just welded it back on.

shanes6613d ago

That's exactly what I did when mine gave out at around the same hours! A good weld seems to hold up way better than the original spot welds. It's been solid for another two hundred hours now.

the_leo13d ago

Guess the factory spot welds have a built-in 500 hour timer. Looks like @shanes66 and your buddy both got the memo. At this point, the real test is if your weld holds up longer than the original "engineering." Maybe they should just ship these things with a coupon for a local welder.