Am I off to a bad start???

[croush20]

Hey guys, so this is my first smoker build and I kinda jumped into it without doing to much research. Now that I have read some of the post on here I think I might be off to as great of a start as I thought. I am using a 60 gallon compressor tank so diameter is 20" and length is 38". My firebox that I currently have is L16"xH16"xW19". Is this too small? Also, my first thought was to just do a side firebox build but wanted to know if I could/should go the reverse flow rout. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Everything in the pics is just tacked so if I need to break some welds then so be it!

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• croush20
• Dec 1, 2014

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• croush20
• Dec 1, 2014

image.jpg

• croush20
• Dec 1, 2014

image.jpg

• croush20
• Dec 1, 2014

 

[daveomak]

Numbers look good.... Think about blind spot welding the door seal... grind notches in the edge of the door and weld the seal from the inside... welds every 6" are good... Thinner stock for the door seal works... It can be hammered to make a great fit...

 

[croush20]

Thanks for the tips Dave! As far as doing a reverse flow, will these numbers and the placement of where i currently have the box work? The inlet going into the cooking champer is 4"-5" below the top of the firebox.

 

[daveomak]

Run your numbers through this calculator... Check your FB/CC opening size to see if they are close.... Install the RF plate just above the FB /CC opening... The opening in the FB should be near the top... too much dead volume at the top of the FB "could" cause a flow issue and a hot spot... I notice your FB is narrower than we like... We like them the width or wider than the RF plate but it should be livable... I would not go to the trouble of rebuilding the FB...


http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...ak-and-others-ready-to-use-rev-4#post_1264161