Toggle sidebar

250L build - now a 35? gallon build

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
Remove the Ads for LIFE - 50% Off!
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Dave, we have lots of Ag supply around here, and a welding supply as well. Not worried about getting the right welding supplies, just wasn't an option to get the right contact tips, wire, etc at 9:00PM on a Sunday. heh

I'll get resupplied this week for when I get my new piece cut. My dad wants to get his welder set up with gas shielding too. 
 
Munxcub said:
Dave, we have lots of Ag supply around here, and a welding supply as well. Not worried about getting the right welding supplies, just wasn't an option to get the right contact tips, wire, etc at 9:00PM on a Sunday. heh

I'll get resupplied this week for when I get my new piece cut. My dad wants to get his welder set up with gas shielding too. 
Click to expand...
You will love the gas shielding.....  No spatter.....  easy to see the puddle, penetration and flow of the metal.....   If you don't have an auto darkening lens, get one..... .

Dave
 
Yup, I have the auto darkening. I was just starting to get the hang of things too. That's why I was so frustrated when I ran out of wire... haha

But this project was also going to be the learning grounds for welding and fabbing. My dad and I are working on a few cars and didn't want to learn on those. heh
 
How thick of a cut should I make for the CC door to allow for any expansion due to heat? Or will it not be hot enough there to matter? What about for the intakes on the FB? Do I need to have a little wiggle room there so the vent covers don't seize up due to heat expansion?
 
What do you plan on using to make the cut?

I like to draw out the door, center punch and drill a 1/8" hole at each corner and use a cut off wheel to get the cleanest cut, and but the time I use a flapper wheel to round the edges slightly, there is enough clearance.

On my last one, I cut the sides first, and a couple inches at each side of the top and bottom, then installed my door gussets and side flanges before finishing the top and bottom cut. It worked very well and made a perfectly fitting door.  I also didn't have to worry about the door trying to drop out on me while finishing the ends of the cuts.

If you use the cutting wheel, watch the angle you make your cut. and very slightly taper the cut so as the bevel of the cut helps center the door as it closes. You don't want to bevel it the wrong way or more will have to be ground out.
 
I was planning on using the angle grinder with a 1/8" thick disc. What angle would you suggest? 

And where abouts should I cut the door? Looking from the end of tank, at like the 9 and 12 o'clock positions?
 
Last edited:
And where abouts should I cut the door? Looking from the end of tank, at like the 9 and 12 o'clock positions?
Click to expand...
Ok, this is a hard one to advise someone else on..

All I can say is:

The smaller the door opening, the more structurally stable it will be.

The smaller the door opening, the less heat you will let out when you open the door.

The smaller the door opening, the more pain in the but it will be to load and unload and clean out the cooker.

So, draw it out , look at it from the finished height that the cooker will be at. Think about the kinds of food you will be cooking and loading up on the cooker.

Personally, I go just slightly (1/4"-1/2") higher than 9 position so that less juice runs down the outside of the cooker. Then I go high enough so that I can easily see the rear of all of the cooking grates and high enough up the back wall as would my tallest meat would be.

So, on a very large cooker, it could only be from the 9 to 11 position, on a very small one it could be from 9 all the way to 2.
 
I should have my new, properly oriented, firebox piece with the vents cut out tomorrow afternoon. This weekend looks like I might make some more headway into this project. 
biggrin.gif
 
Argh, won't have the new piece until first thing next week now... :( I need to get more tools so I can cut this kind of thing myself. heh
 
I finally have the last piece of my firebox in hand, the vents are cut perfectly.  Very pumped. I cut apart this metal rack I had laying around that was used to hold granite counter tops at one point. Should have more than enough material to build the support frame for the smoker. Going to do some welding tomorrow evening on it. The plan (in my head) is to get the firebox finished and mounted to the cook chamber, cook chamber door cut, and support frame built. It should look something like a smoker at the end. heh

Now we'll see if reality matches my imagination. 
 
Woohoo, my dad is picking up some heavy hinges and a latch today. It's going to be gnarly tonight. I was going to build some hinges but it's such a pain in the butt to find material in this town... no stores have plain old round bar and flat bar to choose from. Need to beg for scraps from welding/fab shops, or buy it in huge 10-20' lengths, and they're only open the hours I'm at work. heh But I digress, I'll update with pics tomorrow, I have a feeling I'm going to be up late givn'r on it. 
 
I've been searching around here and the web in general trying to find some general info on when/why someone would burn out the cook chamber, and the proper way to go about seasoning it before cooking in there. If there is an FAQ on it somewhere I missed please let me know, I'd love to read it.

I assume you'd burn it out to get rid of any fuel residue if it was a propane/oil tank, but what if it was an air compressor tank? Would I still need to burn it out or could I just clean/grind it down to remove any rust, etc and then season it? To season, you rub with cooking oil and heat get it heated up like you would for cooking? 
 
Air compressor tanks need to be burned out also.....   The compressor had an oil sump and the oil mist is in the tank...... 
 
I recommend, even when using new steel, to completely sandblast to "white metal" the complete unit. Then paint (with a high heat enamel approved for use with stoves and BBQ grills) the outside, the inside of the doors and around the door flanges, the season the inside of the smoker ,like you said, just like a cast iron skilit.

Getting it sandblasted is not as big a deal as some would think, there are plenty of places that offer this at a reasonable price, and if you ask what time of day is beer-30, you can probably just trade a case or so for the work.
 
Well didn't get as much done as I had hoped (not by a long shot... haha) but after 2 trips to the store, finding tools, etc. I did manage to get some welding done. Spent the whole time cutting and attaching the pieces that will contain the sliding door/cover for my air intake on the firebox. I think I have the welder settings dialed in for me because I was getting nice consistent welds, good steady bacon sizzle and puddle control, and didn't keep tripping the breaker! I didn't want to stop but it was getting late.

My phone was dead so I wasn't able to get a pic. I've asked my mom to pop out to the garage (building it at my parents house, dad has the welder) and send me one.
 
Got a lot done today. The firebox is done (except for door latch and handles on air intakes) and is attached to the tank. I have the chimney and CC door location marked out but am still not 100% on their placement. I think I should move the chimney over towards the end a bit to widen the door.

2013-07-27 21.18.56.jpg

2013-07-27 21.18.56.jpg


2013-07-27 21.19.04.jpg

2013-07-27 21.19.04.jpg


2013-07-27 21.19.18.jpg

2013-07-27 21.19.18.jpg


2013-07-27 22.01.13.jpg

2013-07-27 22.01.13.jpg


The top line of the proposed door is at the top of the tank, left edge is an inch in from the old weld, the bottom is an inch up from the old weld at 3:00, the chimney is an inch or 2 from the old weld on the right end of the tank and door an inch from that. 
 
Last edited:
i work a metal fab/ distribution shop and we have a "drop room" open to the public and anything that is under 1/2 its full size , other then sheets, is put in there and sold by the pound. Also we will sell you what ever you want if ya want 10ft of a 20ft piece we will sell it and the first cut is free, the peices that are bigger then half go back in the rack and can be bout also so lots of time we have some 12ft or bigger pieces in the racks. i donno if anyone does that near you but worth asking i guess
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Similar threads

I
Added pic My first reverse flow smoker build
Replies
221
Views
12K
Reverse Flow
irvin78787884
I
T
Starting My First Build
Replies
6
Views
460
Smoker Builds
TruckSt4tus
T
N
Newbie's build of a lifetime
Replies
8
Views
1K
Smoke Houses
02ebz06
02ebz06
W
300 gallon propane reverse smoker build
Replies
3
Views
3K
Smoker Builds
irvin78787884
I
I
Exhaust for my reverse flow build question.
Replies
3
Views
966
Other Builds
irvin78787884
I
BGKYSmoker
Let's Build A Smokehouse
Replies
124
Views
7K
Smoke Houses
Fueling Around
Fueling Around
Z
Newbie 500 Gallon RF Build from Northern Illinois
Replies
1
Views
2K
Roll Call
LanceR
LanceR
CheddarCheeseQ
Vertical Insualted Cabinet Build
Replies
22
Views
4K
Smoke Houses
CheddarCheeseQ
CheddarCheeseQ

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Top Bottom
Back
Clicky