- Oct 15, 2014
- 8
- 13
Okay, so after a bunch of research on the forum i have drastically changed the my build design. The reason i have called this a hybrid its because i plan on using 3" thick insulated cooler panel for the Cook Chamber and 3/16" mild steel for the Fire Box construction.
I did use Feldon's for all my dimensions and for the opening from FB to CC i multiplied the opening area by 1.5x.
So my big question is: Will this flow??
I have not started building yet, so i am open to opinions, but before you review please consider what i wanted to accomplish with this build:
BUILD OBJECTIVES:
1) Build a large smoker with large capacities for things like Jerky, Cold smoke sausage, Thuringer sausage...
2) Utilize the 3" cooler panels i have (FREE)
3) Build a smoker that utilizes a fire box and not electric heat and fans, controllers...etc
4) Max temp required 230 F (This is not a grill!)
5) Attain CONSISTENT temperatures and smoke flow throughout the CC. I don't want to have to shuffle racks and move meat around all day..
Here is an update on my build. I had the FB made by a fab shop for me. It is 1/4" plate material. I cut in a pie shaped intake on the opposite side of the entry to the CC. You can't see it from this picture, but it is there as per recommendations from you guys...
This is the start of my cook chamber assembly. Made with 3" thick refrigeration panels.
This is a shot of the rough cut FB opening. It will be lined with silicone heat resistant material to protect the inner foam from the heat off the FB.
Now to build the door.....I embedded a 2 x 2 piece of wood on the right side for hinge backing...
Door and latch is on. Everything is now flashed in. For such a big heavy door, it seems to work great. The whole unit is very solid.
I picked up this 1/4" square Stainless mesh for making meat trays out of. Was really expensive, but i think it will be ideal for jerky.
Here is my stainless rack that will go inside the CC. It is a salvaged bakery rack from commercial bakery. Mesh tray cut to fit. The CC will hold 2 of these units. That should be enough to do 75 lbs of jerky in one batch.
This is basically the finished unit, less the chimney, which is being made currently. The chimney will be a rectangular shaped plenum made of 22 ga stainless, c/w damper.
I built a pallet for the unit to sit on. Will be using my front end loader/tractor to just pick it up and move it out of the barn when i am ready to smoke. FB is sitting on 1/2" thick cement board (fire rated) as well, i installed some cement board on the vertical wall between the FB and the CC.
Here is the angle support for my Reverse Flow Baffle plate.
I will add some more pictures and a test report once i get the RF plate and Chimney installed.
Wish me luck!! I hope this thing works.....
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