Smoker lid hinge pin sheared off, 40 lbs of pork butt saved with a brick

Last Saturday in Kansas City, I had 40 lbs of pork butt going for a party. Everything was cruising at 250 until I opened the lid to spritz and the hinge pin just snapped clean. Lid slammed down, half the smoke escaped, and I nearly tossed the whole cook. I grabbed a fire brick from the yard and propped the lid open an inch, then wrapped the pin area with baling wire. Held steady for the remaining 5 hours, but the temp swung like a metronome and bark came out uneven. Still fed 30 people, but that cheap pin cost me the perfect smoke ring. Anyone else have a gimmick fix that got them through, or am I the only one who trusts a brick over a welder?

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ninaw883h ago

That sheared pin might have been a heat issue more than a cheap part. When a hinge pin goes soft and snaps like that, it usually means the grease cooked off over many cooks and the metal got stressed from the lid heat cycling. Same thing happens on oven door springs and it always fails right when you open it. Next time you replace it, put a dab of high temp copper anti seize on the pin and it'll outlast the smoker.

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