RF Plate, Welded in or Removable?

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tomlc

Fire Starter
Original poster
Apr 26, 2016
47
12
Beaufort County, South Carolina
If this has been answered before, please pardon my post and kindly redirect me. I'm fairly certain that this has been discussed within one of the build threads, but I have not been able to locate it.

My fabricator asked me if I want my reverse flow plate welded in place. My initial thought was "yes" as this would seal the edges against thermal leakage along the path under the plate. But then I got to thinking about how I would be able to season and clean underneath the plate once it is permanently installed.

Maybe I'm just over thinking.

Your insights and sage wisdom will be greatly appreciated. What do you think?

Thanks,

Tom
 
Weld angle iron at the proper height and place it on the angle...  If you have a drain planned, drop the drain through a hole in the CC...  leave it loose and then screw a ball valve on the drain pipe....
 
Are you planning to "break the plate" so it has about 1/8-1/4" drop from the sides to the center...  then weld in a "dam" at the end opposite the FB ??   that will keep drippings in the center..
 
If you leave it flat, grease "could" run to the edges...   "Although" the heat could solidify it...   If you do a bunch of pork butts, there will be LOTS of grease...   
 
We make ours removable. Weld angle or flat bar to inside of CC for plate to rest on. We put about a 1 inch drop in the angle/flat bar from FB end to the other

Gary
 
Thanks Gary!

That's pretty much what we planned, except...we're making the cart with adjustable height on the
"non-FB" end so I can drop it a tad to drain the drippin's. That way we can keep the RF plate level to maximize airflow.
 
Thanks Gary!

That's pretty much what we planned, except...we're making the cart with adjustable height on the
"non-FB" end so I can drop it a tad to drain the drippin's. That way we can keep the RF plate level to maximize airflow.
That's a great idea...  Not restricting air flow is very important for the performance of the smoker...
 
What size cooker are you building? I'm picking up a 250 gallon tank tomorrow morning. I know how you feel about wanting to utilize the info here without asking the same stuff over and over. I'm brand new and not wanting to get screamed at for that like some forums do...lol
 
 
What size cooker are you building? I'm picking up a 250 gallon tank tomorrow morning. I know how you feel about wanting to utilize the info here without asking the same stuff over and over. I'm brand new and not wanting to get screamed at for that like some forums do...lol
Randy, afternoon....  this build tutorial will give you the basics...   there's lots of nit pickin' stuff on other build threads...   check them all out for more ideas....

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/reverse-flow-smoker-how-to-calculate-build-tutorial
 
What size cooker are you building? I'm picking up a 250 gallon tank tomorrow morning. I know how you feel about wanting to utilize the info here without asking the same stuff over and over. I'm brand new and not wanting to get screamed at for that like some forums do...lol

We're building a 48" x 24" as our test platform. Once we get the learning curve behind us we're building an 8' on a trailer for cooking at festivals and such.
 
We're building a 48" x 24" as our test platform. Once we get the learning curve behind us we're building an 8' on a trailer for cooking at festivals and such.
Good luck with yours brother! I'm pretty excited about this. I've been cooking for years, but I was ruined 2 years ago by a chance encounter with a Lang RF 104" where I won 1st place in ribs at a contest here locally. I've been on the RF seeking trail since. I'm pretty mechanical and decided to take this route over the $5-7,000 option.
 
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