Cement block smoker please help

[noble captain]

Hi everyone,
My husband and I buildit this smoker a few months ago and have really enjoyed smoking on it. But now I see some hair line cracking going on. The smoke doesn't leak out of them but it seems to be getting more of them. Is there anything I can do?.

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• noble captain
• May 11, 2017

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• noble captain
• May 11, 2017

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• noble captain
• May 11, 2017

The inside of the fire box is all lined with thik fire bricks and inside the the smoker the first 3 feet from the bottom also are lined with fire bricks and every hole while we were building it was filled with eather sand or cement. So it is solid . Any advice on how to fix it. I was thinking of plastering with a more fire resistant cement or plaster

 

[noble captain]

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• noble captain
• May 11, 2017

 

[noxwaste]

Have you tried making a cement slurry, something with a watery texture, and just scraping it over the tops of the cracks so that it seeps into them? I'm not a stonemason, but if I were to have built something like this, that's the way I would approach fixing that kinda stuff. Not sure there's much else to do, really...

I think I read somewhere that applying too high of a heat, too quickly to something that hasn't really "air dried" enough can cause this kind of stuff to happen, but please don't take that as gospel.

 

[noble captain]

Have you tried making a cement slurry, something with a watery texture, and just scraping it over the tops of the cracks so that it seeps into them? I'm not a stonemason, but if I were to have built something like this, that's the way I would approach fixing that kinda stuff. Not sure there's much else to do, really...

I think I read somewhere that applying too high of a heat, too quickly to something that hasn't really "air dried" enough can cause this kind of stuff to happen, but please don't take that as gospel.

Thank you , the cracks are the with of a line you would write with a pencil, I think at this point they are so thin I couldn't do that . But I'm thinking of cement stuko over the whole thing with cement and an adhesive, it is all cosmetic, no smoke comes out the holes . In less I get a better suggestions. Thank u

 

[steveaggie]

I wonder if refractory mortar spread over the cracks would seal it up.  Would probably want to do something on top of that for cosmetic reasons.  Is the firebrick cracking?

 

[noble captain]

No the fire bricks are fine and no smoke comes out of the holes . I'm looking it to what u are taking about
Refactory cement ty

 

[noble captain]

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• noble captain
• Jun 7, 2017

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• noble captain
• Jun 7, 2017

So far I haven't fixed the small fractures

 

[noble captain]

More meat, smoked beef ribs, smoked pork ribs, smoked, Boston stuffed butt, and fresh tuna smoked

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• noble captain
• Jun 18, 2017

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• noble captain
• Jun 18, 2017

 

[chopsaw]

Are the cells of the cmu grouted full ? Are the cracks in the morter joint or the cmu . ? What's it sitting on ? Are the cracks even or bigger on one side ?

 

[daveomak]

Mix up a tub of Portland cement...  thick slurry and paint it on with a "mop brush"....

 

[noble captain]

Everything is filled in with mortar, both fire box and smoke box are on even cement slabs, the whole inside is lined with fire bricks, . The cracks are on the mortar not the blocks themselves. And there doesn't seem to be any new ones. We are cooking cured ham and a pork shoulder. I think I wI'll plaster it with cement and adhesive mix soon . I think it's done cracking.
Thank u

 

[kam59]

If they are stress cracks you may need to approach them with a epoxy filler and some type of suppression tape or mesh. You have to clean out the cracks to apply the epoxy.

Here is an article that may help. :)

https://www.concretenetwork.com/fix-concrete-overlays/fixing-cracks.html

 

[noble captain]

Thank u ,but they are from the heat when it's hot you can see them like a pencil line and 90% you don't even see once it's cold.

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• noble captain
• Jul 10, 2017

 

[noble captain]

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• noble captain
• Jul 17, 2017

rabbits from my farm.

 

[noble captain]

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• noble captain
• Jul 17, 2017

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• noble captain
• Jul 17, 2017

brisket

 

[ab canuck]

 Looks good....

 

[noble captain]

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• noble captain
• Aug 9, 2017

 

[noble captain]

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• noble captain
• Aug 15, 2017

We are getting ready for the latches and gasket and then it's structurally done . Then all that's left is the stucco and paint. Can't wait

 

[noble captain]

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• noble captain
• Sep 10, 2017

So I painted it with Naval Jelly to prevent rust then i hit it with BBQ Heat Paint. Now every time i smoke something the door sweats. Why is that. and i cant get the heat cement to keep stuck to the steel door. for more than 2 smokes it doesn't come all the way off but the 2 ends on the bottom door dose a little. Any other suggestions???