Smoker build
 

Guess I will put this one here since I aint cookin on it yet. My old smoker is just a small cabinet smoker, and has served me well considering I bought it almost 9 years ago now for $40 at Wal Mart, but the time has come to step up and build me another GOOD smoker. I used to have a 120 gallon tank that was a basic smoker, but it rotted out(was my dads, and then bacame mine). I wanted another decent sized smoker, but not a monster thats big enough to do a whole hog like the last one was. The other kick is I'm on a TIGHT budget right now with some family things going on, so to the scrap pile I go.

My neighbor had an old 120 gallon galvanized water tank that he had to replace because the bottom rotted out on him and no longer held pressure, so I got the base for my build for FREE$$ from him. I have a fair amount of 12 gauge and 16 gauge plate left over from rebuilding my lawnmower deck 2 years ago that I can scab together to make most of my firebox and my reverse flow chamber, some old grating leftover from my rack I built from my travel trailer, a piece of 4" exhaust pipe from my BURB build, a NICE piece of food grade stainless grating from a scrap pile for my cooking grate, and just a bunch of odds and ends from years of building stuff. I will need to pick up some angle iron, but other than that I should have most everything I need.

I didn't take a picture of it before cutting, but this is what I have after cutting it. I cut the bottom off to start so I could see how far I had to go to get to decent metal, and found I was left with a good 36 inches of 24" diamter tank for my cooking chamber.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...psbfd279af.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps85086f89.jpg
You can see the seem was rusted pretty badly as well as a few other spots in the bottom, but the top portion is pretty nice inside with the exception of a spot where the water valve used to go in at.

Heres my grating I will use for the fire box and some other areas. And yes, I have quite a few JEEP parts pictured here.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps4c10e6cf.jpg

And heres some of my scraps as well as a bucnh of old 6.5 parts.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...psc2bde205.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...pseeb0c4bd.jpg

So hopefully I will be smokin by turkey day to do some smoked turkey and ham.

Worked on it for a few hours tonight, doesn't seem like I got much progress done, but I got alot of measurements taken, and figured out most of how I'm going to build it up.

Heres the stainless grate I have for the cooking surface.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps4df839f3.jpg

And heres a shot of the reverse flow baffle. I'm adding a little spin to it from most conventional smokers as I'm not going with a completely side mounted firebox, but I'm going to keep it mostly under the smoke chamber so as to minimize heat loss through the firebox to the air. I'm still up in the air about putting a warming chamber on it, or to keep the firebox completely under the smoke chamber.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps063e8138.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...psfd5deac2.jpg

Ferm, any danger from the galvanized metal when cooking? I know when you weld galvanized the fumes are particularly harmful, much more so than from welding regular cold rolled or hot rolled steel. Not trying to be a wet blanket. The project looks great, just don't want to see you getting sick. The Zinc bath usually contains lead in it, and welding galvanized produces toxic fumes. You might want to read this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot-dip_galvanization, especially the part about the temp. required to start the coating peeling off.

I'd take the wet blanket over poisoning there Destroyer. Just saying, better safe than sorry.
Ferman. I have two new, albeit a little rusty, sticks of 3/16" steel. 1.5" flat and 1.5" angle and I have a generous ammount of King Starboard for those side tables/cutting board. A friend just recently built a cooking trailer for a side job, he did it here at the shop so every piece of scrap they had is also here. I know you could use some of it..

I've read about the galvanized and cooking before, but in all honesty I grew up eating whole hogs and such out of a nearly identical smoker with no problems. Some say that it takes 750 degrees for the zinc coating to gas, and others say it can gas at 500, but in reality I will most likely never get it that hot. The hot portion will be the firebox, and it will be all steel. I'm going to take a grinder to the inside of it and get most all of the scale and such off before I close it up, but after years of being used as a water tank there wasn't much coating left inside of it. It didn't have hardly any of the gassing or the white flaking off when I welded the inside of it, just alot of spatter from the surface rust. The outside of it on the other hand has the white flake off and the funny colored gassing when I weld to it. I know my uncle used to build smokers on the side for people, and he used nothing but old galvanized water tanks for his builds when he did them.

Well you got me to thinking on this one. I wasn't worried about the galvanized danger as I grew up eating out of one, but I guess as I've gotten older I'm more paranoid and I have decided to abandon the galvanized tank. So I went to digging and thinking(ridge probably seen the smoke from his place), and I remembered my neighbor had an old 80 gallon 2 stage air compressor pump and tank without a motor on it. Went over and asked him how much he wanted for it, and he said free when he found out I would be using it to build a smoker. SO I scored a heavy wall 24" diameter 80 gallon tank with a little over 36 inches of good area to cook on for free. SO I lose a days worth of work, but my designs for it will stil lwork since it is the same diamter tank. So no more worry about the galvanized tank problem, and it will be made of a heavier wall tank.

And I'll be down for some pulled pork BBQ when she's up and running. :drool: I think you made a wise choice Ferm. Sorry about the wet blanket, and the loss of time, but we all want to be talking TO you, not ABOUT you. When I read about the Galvanized coating starting to flake off @ 389 deg. and the fact that it might contain lead I just had to say something. Lead ain't so good for that young'un you got, and I'm sure it's not so good for you and the missus either. I'll bring the beer. :beer:

Good call.

Ferm that's gonna be a bad boy when you're done!

one of these days I'm gonna build a grill....... thinkin about copying an engine block/heads and bolting on headers, valve intake, etc.... I know you can buy one already made from stamped sheet metal but where's the fun in that.....

Keep burning wire/rod Ferm.... Good call on the tank and BONUS that heavy wall should last longer and regulate heat better too

Heres the new victim. It's an old challenger 80 gallon air tank rated to 200 PSI, and it is over twice as thick as the water tank was. This thing is HEAVY.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...pse5d9c997.jpg

And here it is cleaned up with all of the holes welded up.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...psb657c2f7.jpg

I have it taped off for the marks to cut the opening, but cutting it won't be anywhere near as easy as cutting the other tank. This thing has to be 10 or 11 gauge steel. Since it is already REALLY close to the 36" cooking surface I was shooting for, I'm going to leave both ends on it and do all the work through the opening. So it actually makes for a little less work in the end. Just gonna take me some time to cut out the door opening as I don't want to chance distorting it using the plasma cutter, so gonna take some time with a sawzall. The best part is I'm still sitting at $0 as the new tank was a freebie from my neighbor.

I saw the smoke, knew something was cooking!
:you:

Friend of mine built one out of an old compressor tank. Buy ahead and buy the bulk pack of blades. LOL

Turned out great when he was done.

Blades? I don't need no stinkin blades, me's gots a plasma cutter to use. No pics, but no turning back now. I cut the opening in the tank for the lid today, pressure washed and cleaned it out as best I could, and welded the reverse flow baffle into the bottom of it. Now I gotta get more welding wire, angle iron, and maybe another piece of plate to finsh up the firebox.

Ding Ding Ding Ding! Looks like a trip to Lakeland is in the works for you.. I got some steel like I said. Let me get an inventory of what is out there and I will get back to you..

OOPS, I already went and bought steel today. Got 60 feet of 1" angle iron, 20 feet 2" angle iron, 24 feet 1" square tubing, 31" 4" pipe, and 2 sheets of 1/4 scrap plate they had. I didn't need a full sheet, so I told him I wanted a 5' X 6' foot piece they had that was used. It was $150 for a piece of SCRAP plate. The guy loading the stuff helped me out though, and threw another piece up there even bigger along with it. So it looks liek I might be looking for another tank and building another smoker after this one. Figured since I have a GOOD THICK wall tank, I might as well make the rest of it as heavy or heavier and have a high quality smoker when done.

:beer:LOL! Well OK, I didn't have any 1/4"plate anyways..
When I took an inventory I found mostly 1/8" thick, that is what they used for the frames on the removable cooking shelves... I am looking for a picture of this smoker they built. It was involved.. It is now mounted on a cook trailer and the guy is going around selling Q..

1/8" x1" flat x 8'
x1" angle x 25'
x1" sq tubing x 6'
expanded metal 2'x4' maybe
plate 15" x 36"

3/16" diamond plate 3'x4'
x2" flat x10'
plate 4.75"x6'
plate 4'x10' ? several large pieces are buried under a ton of crap out back, done so to keep from having to move everything to mow..
2" angle x 28'
3" channelx 25'

PS I just thought we were busy with Melissa and the soccer schedule, add to the mix volleyball with practice two nights a week and one night for games..Holy cow, I am gonna sell all my tools cause at this rate I will never get another project started nor finished..
:beer:

finish a project? what a strange foreign concept:you:

Attachment 5819

Fire box on the bottom, four holes for indirect heat, drainpans, fairly well configured but not a tested design...

That design is pretty good for conserving wood as you don't get much heat loss. They all have there pros and cons from what I can find out. Been using alot of info fro mthis site http://www.smokerbuilder.com/ , has a calculator to punch in sizes and dimensions to tell you the required firebox size, chimney size and length, air inlets, and the rest. Heres another http://www.feldoncentral.com/bbqcalculator.html .

Foreign, strange and novel an idea as "finishing a project" may sound to some--- :nut:I did finish the refit on that skiff. AND In my defense I have been sicker than any dog I ever had, SO I really don't know where to stop, just opened another can-o-worms with a bathroom remodel... Which I intend to FINISH before X-mas so help me.. If I ration my time better: 12 hours a day Ridge- 3 hours Melissa - 5 hours Rest - 1 hour SSS - 1 hour to eat and prepare meals, LOL what does that leave me? Good couple hours a day, unfortunately none during daylight hours, LOL! PLUS Weekends are mine for the taking..

I still have my smoker I built from an old refrigerator. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. Friend long ago gave me an old, old Frigidaire refrigerator. (The kind with a porcelain interior and a locking latch on the handle). Gutted it, put an adjustable vent hole on the top, made several rack shelves and a couple bars for hanging fish. I fill an old cast iron fry pan with wood chips soaked in water overnight (I like Hickory and Apple best) and put it on top of an electric hot plate on the bottom of the refrig, put my fish or whatnot on the respective shelves, close the door, plug it in. About 12 hours later I have some truly fine smoked fish, turkey, ham, or whatever. The steam from the water actually cooks the food, and after all the water is gone the chips smolder and add a wonderful smoked flavor to it. Like I said, it's nothing fancy, but it works and it's good eats... :beer:

http://i377.photobucket.com/albums/o...6/DSCF0568.jpg

i'm with you D, this is an old salad bar out of the local papermill, i do the same thing with the hot plate & fry pan

Yesterday ended up being a bust for getting work done by the time I got home from getting steel and running errands, BUT I had a pretty good afternoon today. Got most of the firebox plate cut out, cut the opening in the drum for the smoke to go through, welded the top plate onto the drum for the smoke chamber, got 3 sides of the firebox welded on, 1 support leg welded on, and the legs are cut waiting for trimming and welding. Still alot of work left, but it's starting to take shape.

The 3 sides of the firebox welded on
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...psf50714e6.jpg

Smoke chamber, reverse flow baffle, and the side of the smoke box
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...psf0d307b2.jpg

Smoker opening
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...psf04eda23.jpg

Don't criticize my welds to much
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...psf5d263ca.jpg

Was just going over my numbers again on the calculator, and it looks like I'm pretty close for most all of it. My firebox will be just slightly oversized at 105%, but most say to go 103-108% on the sizing(I should have probably undershot considering my design will utilize more of the heat). Planning on an 18.5"X3" opening out of the firebox for 55 cubic inches of volume, and the calculator says I need 52 but with the 180 degree change in direction I want to be al ittle over. My calculations come out to 58 cubic inches of volume for the reverse flow baffle chamber so it should flow planty and not bottle neck there. And I'm planning on a 30" tall 4" ID stack which is a bit taller than what the calculator calls for, but I want to keep the smoke away from me as best as possible. Hopefully this thing works out good as all the math says it should be sized right, and I will have a good 36" long, 23.5" wide, X 12" tall half circle cooking chamber to work with(may drop the cooking area down a tad deeper, will finalize my decision on that shortly.

Link to BBQ Pit Calculator

Sounds like its gonna be perfect! Next V20 get together at Ferm's place!



Phat, that is some straight up country right there! Your Cracker image has increased yet again.:beer:

Starting to take shape. Fell short of where I wanted to be at, but it is starting to look like a smoker(just upside down at the moment).

Shot of the front.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...psaf92a595.jpg

And of the end where the smoke chamber is being built to route the smoke back through the smoker.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps8c8418f8.jpg

I smoke all the time on my WSM 22.5 Ferm and all I can say is Git her Done.
Looking forward to it

Got a bit furthur along today, I sure hope I can get it done by Tuesday so I can burn it in and season it for Thursday. Got the firebox all welded on, sealed up, and the door on it(still have to build a latch for it). Got it upright, so it is looking like a smoker now.

Heres the smoke chamber before I closed it up.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps29384bde.jpg

And here it is all closed up.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps26bd0eb2.jpg

The legs are all welded on, and supports welded in.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps745677b0.jpg

Got it upright, firebox door on, and the wooden skids for it to sit on bolted on.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps44bec5d1.jpg

Firebox door open, still have to decide how to build a latch for it and straighten the door out some as it pulled during welding.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps49e36d86.jpg

Lookin awesome!
I think it would be hella cool to make the latch like an old wood stove latch with the spring coils on the end

http://a1stoves.com/images/categorie...rand=869732906
http://vogelzang.com/image/cache/dat...-1000x1000.jpg
http://a1stoves.com/images/manufactu...rand=934306767

Fixed the pic. As for the handle, I don't really have time to order one right now, so I'm going to have to build something. That, and I'm trying to use as much scrap material as I can.

sure... I would have been quite disappointment if you ordered it!

just figured some pics might help inspire

Have you thought about a gasket around the door or just gonna let it draft?

an oven door gasket would work

going to try it as is for now, but i can buy a thin 1/8" gasket later on if needs be. need to get a close up of my firebox hinges. made them out of 5/8" round bar and 1/2" black iron pipe. tsc wante $13 a piece for decent hinges, thats about what i will have in all of them, and they are much heavier.

HMMMM you COULD modify the hinges to BE the latch... lift and open cam action.....

IF you go that route don't make the notches dead vertical... give em about 15 deg so they door cams in tight but isn't hard to open... then put the handle dead center on the door so it balances when lifting to open

Well I have officially called it, and I did not make the deadline to have it done in time to do smoked ham and turkey for Thanksgiving. The last 2 days have been nothing but road block after road block. I have spent close to 7 hours trying to straighten the door out and get it to line up correctly. I had it REALLY close one time, but it pulled back out when I went to weld the perimeter on it. I only spot welded it, but it pulled back out, so another 2 hours getting it back to where I started. The firebox has also been a hurdle, but mostly my own doing. Fabricating at midnight, dead tired, and pushing through it, your bound to make some mistakes. So I ended up wasting another 1 and a half fixing my screw up there after spending 2 hours building the basket. Almost done with the firebox, just have to weld on my latch assembly I built, cut some wood for my handles, and make the latch catch, and it will be done. But that friggen door for the smoker is still kicking my but.

Heres how I'm having to straighten the door out, along with my 60 ton press to get the curveature back in it.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps23f4d351.jpg

My water/drip pan I built out of 12 gauge material. You can also see on the left the drain that routes outside the smoker for draining so no drippings stay in the smoker.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...psdb09bd9d.jpg

The wood basket on slides. I will probably add a smaller side to the front of it before I finish it up.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...psa0e12236.jpg

My firebox air intakes, slider plate to cover them, and above them you can see the water/drip pan drain(still have to get a cap for it.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps88322bc5.jpg

And I got the chimney on it as well as the damper on top.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...pse319d2a6.jpg

I may have missed it but is there an area for ash to collect below the wood basket?

sorry you missed your deadline, i know you were looking forward to it. i'd be tempted to fire that bad boy up and let here smoke. i have days where the faster i try to complete a task , the farther i set myself behind.
besides, christmas is around the corner, turkey and ham is welcomed there also.

Theres a 2" deep space below the tray for ashes to collect. I didn't put the tray all the way down so air can get underneath the fire and all around it. If I could have gotten this friggen lid to fit, I would be firing it up today, but the lid whipped my but and won.

Gotcha.... Yeah sorry u didnt make ur deadline... I know it's gotta feel like a kick in the teeth.... Been there done that.

You need to get to a metal shop and run that door through a roller. If you lived in NJ I'd hook you up.