Another New member with a 60 gallon build

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bgingras

Fire Starter
Original poster
Apr 12, 2015
46
13
Hello, a Few weeks ago I went shopping for a decent smoker grill. Found nothing that I liked within a decent price range. everything seemed very cheaply built, thin, etc. I decided to just build one. 2 weeks ago I found a 60 gallon compressor tank for $30 and off we

went on a building adventure. I've been pulling lots of ideas from this site and using the calculators. So far I've got about 14 hours into the build and hope to wrap up this weekend. I figured I'd start to share where I'm at now. My only concern at the moment is if my air intakes are going to be an issue below the fire grate.

 









 
The cart is all 1 1/4" x 1/8" square tube, very solid. 3/4" thick solid axles.
 
More progress today. I underestimated materials and didn't have enough angle to finish the upper rack and air intake for the FB. Have to wait until Monday to finish now. My plan now is to have this done by next Friday so I can cure the paint and season the inside and do a test cook over the weekend.







 
Nice Looking Smoker      Great Job

Gary
 
I Finally got to the point where we could run it. I'm missing the upper rack and after running for a full day (pork ribs) I've made some notes on things I wants to change this weekend before running again. I'm going to add a door vent as suggested and and add some type of stop for the chimney cover to hold position better. After running for 7 hours I used about 10lb of charcoal and about 3lb of hickory chunks. There was only a small temperature gradient from left to right of about 5 degrees during the process, so I'm happy with that aspect.

some more pics:




 
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Everything I have read/been told you don't use the exhaust to control the temperature.....
 
Everything I have read/been told you don't use the exhaust to control the temperature.....
I'm not...the issue I'm having is that it's moving over time due to not having enough friction in the connections, so when I bump the smoker it rotates and partially blocks the stack.
 
 
... when I bump the smoker it rotates and partially blocks the stack.
So, don't bump the smoker.
icon_rolleyes.gif


Or better yet, add a rim around the bottom of the cover that will sit down over the top of the stack. Then you would have to raise the cover to be able to rotate it out of the way and drop it down again. The rim would keep it from rotating back over the top of the stack without raising it first. has the added benefit of keeping it securely in place when smoker is not in use. The rim would not have to be continuous, just a piece on the right side would do as well.
 
So, don't bump the smoker. :icon_rolleyes:

Or better yet, add a rim around the bottom of the cover that will sit down over the top of the stack. Then you would have to raise the cover to be able to rotate it out of the way and drop it down again. The rim would keep it from rotating back over the top of the stack without raising it first. has the added benefit of keeping it securely in place when smoker is not in use. The rim would not have to be continuous, just a piece on the right side would do as well.


Actually I'm fabricating a ring with notches in it that will sit under the handle and hold it at open and closed.
 
Another update. I smoked a couple of whole chickens this past weekend. 3 1/2 hours at 275. It used only 8lb of charcoal and 4 small splits of apple. I've noted some things I want to modify and change and will be on those this coming week. Work area outside of the CC seems to be needed, and I still want to add an intake to the upper middle of the door.
 
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