Building first smoker.

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navarre

Newbie
Original poster
May 11, 2013
24
10
Navarre, FL
Picture shows my first build tank I picked up. I have been smoking for about 4 years using a walmart upright propane smoker that is now rusted out. I want to build a reverse flow smoker and would like to use propane as well as wood as heat source. 
 
navarre, morning and welcome to the forum...   

If you would note your location in your profile, it will help in the future when answering questions about smokin'...   elevation, humidity etc....    

We're glad you stopped in and joined our group...  You will get a more thorough response to "building a smoker" questions if you start a new thread in http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/201/reverse-flow.  .....

Enjoy the long smokey ride....     Dave
 
Welcome to the forums, navarre!  Glad you joined us.  You've found a great place to learn and share ideas on our favorite pastime...Smoking and Grilling great food!  Lots of friendly and knowledgeable folks here who really enjoy helping one another.  Just ask when you need help and you'll get plenty.

Red
 
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to SMF!  We are so glad you joined us! Would you mind updating your profile to show the other SMF members where you are located?  You just might meet a few neighbors here!

Jeff offers a free 5 day E-Course.  It's packed with great information to use...no matter what your experience level might be!  http://www.smoking-meat.com/smoking-basics-ecourse

If you didn't read the "Terms of Service" notes.....please do.  There are a few things that everyone should know about those pesky little rules before plunging into the forums. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/terms-of-service

If you need any help roaming around the forums....just holler!  Happy to help out!

Kat
 
:welcome1: to SMF!!! We're happy you found us! You've come to the right place, we have over 45,000 members who just love to share their experience and over 900,000 posts describing it!
The search bar at the top can be your best friend when you are trying to find answers to your questions but you can still ask too if you want!
 
I live in Navarre, FL near Pensacola. It is hot and very humid most of the year, and I am essentially at sea level. We smoke wild hogs, brisket, turkeys, chicken, game hens, sausage, most anything that will fit in the smoker. We also do seafood boils, and grill oysters, fish, etc. 

I have a trailer to mount it on already, and plan to set it up to use propane for heat as well as lighting the fire box. Flexibility is the key. We go camping with a large group (20+) frequently, so this will be the ticket. 

I am a newbie at welding, having done it 30+ years ago. I have a small wirefeed, lincoln stick welder, and oxy-acetylene torch set up. Plenty of tools to make it happen. I am going to the scrap yard this week and start collecting steel for the project. My thought was to make a warming box above the firebox, and size everything to use the commercial restaurant size pans. I have many of them already, and they are easily replaced and durable.  
 
I have been doing some more thinking about the smoker. I plan on using charcoal for consistency instead of wood for the most part. A coworker does some amateur comps, and he recommended using the DigiQ and two 25cfm fans. I am thinking of using the A-MAZE-N smoker of some type for flavor. 

Have some questions about the firebox, water, etc. Where would the best place be to put the water pan? I am thinking of a permanent pan of some sort with a fill tube and a small drain at the top that would tell me when it is full. How much charcoal would I be looking at using for boston butts or large pieces of hog. We often quarter them, or if they are small toss them whole on the smoker. How would I refill the charcoal, if you want to burn from top down? I may build the firebox from scratch and not cut the end off the tank to make one. I would like to have a warming box with rails/shelves to put standard steam table pans in. I just acquired another 120Gal tank, so I am thinking of making this one permanent in the back yard. Could I make a firebox from block and firebrick and pipe the heat to the tank?

Mike
 
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