Hi again
Hoping some of you guys can help me here as the work is starting on my build this week and next.
Looking at the smoker, it is going to be a straight vertical block build, i will get cast iron doors from eBay (as suggested by Jockaneezer - cheers for that) for the fire entrance and also to access the shelves higher up. So a couple of questions come to mind:
- Should i buy a fire grate and ash pan from a fireplace company to provide an airflow around the coals?
- Is there a rule of thumb for the distance from the fire or distance from the meat shelves for the water pan?
- How do i support the block work ceiling to the smoker and how wide and tall should the chimney be?
Looking at the separate brick BBQ - I am also looking for suggestions on how to adjust the distance between the meat and the fire source. my first thoughts was to integrate a car jack below and to raise and lower the fire source from the static grill, alternatively raising and lowering the grill from the static fire source. Keen to hear thoughts and what you guys have either built or seen before.
Not sure how to tag people on here but keen to hear thoughts from Wade and Wes too
Many thanks all
Gavlar
Good morning Gavlar,
Sorry I didn't get your message sooner.
1. I was able to find a small fire grate online to put my fire on. To hold the small ashes, I cut a piece of stretch metal and layed it on top of the grate. Toward the end of a smoke when all is hot, you won't need much fire at all.
This is the best picture I have of the firebox. The metal over the grate is the same metal I made the shelves from. I believe its 1/2in. stretch metal.
2. From the floor of the firebox to the water pan shelf I built mine about 21in. up or however it works out with your brick work. I just guessed at it. It does work well at that distance. Your water pan is going to block any open fire coming up. Now, on a related note. If I'm running a full smoker of pork, I do have to rotate about half way through. I've never been able to figure out how to make the temp even all the way up. The bottom does run hotter and by rotating, everything finishes at the same time and comes out perfect. From the water pan shelf to the first rack for me is 7 1/2 in. The shelves are spaced the same on up.
Here is the bottom part being built. The water pan shelf is between the two doors. This shows how I made my shelves
3. Once I went as high as I wanted with the oven chamber, I started stepping the brick in to a point I could set a flue liner on it. I used a 13 x 13in liner. It is way big enough. You only need a flue liner big enough that is equal or greater then the amount of air coming in the vents. The reason I used a liner that big was so it would match the fireplace. After setting your liner, just brick around it leaving at least 1/2 in space around it for thermal expansen. If you use a chimney cap it will clamp on the flue liner. A smoker won't ever get hot enough to need a flue liner, but it makes finishing the top a lot simpler.
Here is setting the flue liner. I used a metal damper on top. I can close it to help regulate the heat going out. It does work great, but I don't recommend it if you plan on getting your smoker super hot, like 500F hot. Heat and metal don't mix at high temps. Needless to say I cracked the top of my smoker burning off some mold about 3 years back. I had it up to about 600F. It didn't cause any problems, it just looks bad.
This is how I support the water pan. 1/4in steal plates. I can also move the outside plates if I need more heat or less. I leave about 1/2in on sides and front and back for heat to come through when smoking pork. full size foil pan serves as my water pan in the middle.
I hope this helps. If you have other questions, please ask. I'm no expert. This is just how I built mine. It does work well for me. Always glad to help anyway I can!