I have an indoor barbecue pit in my kitchen. It is brick, with a chimney (4"x12" flue), and is heated with charcoal briquettes. The pit is constructed with a metal tray for holding the charcoal with a crank handle that will raise and lower the tray to adjust the temperature at the grill.

We do not use the pit, because it gets too smokey in the house, even though the chimney damper is open.

I would like to convert the pit to a propane grill, since I think that will cut down quite a bit on the smoke. The tray that holds the charcoal is recessed, and it seems like there would be plenty of room for a gas burner in its place. There is also a light in the top of the pit (next to the damper) with a receptacle for plugging in an electric rotisserie. I was wondering if it might be possible to swap this out for some kind of exhaust fan (if the smoke problem persists).

Does anyone have any suggestions?