that's a really cool system there Radio.. seems a remember seeing that some months ago. The way the inside of my door has the brackets for the sliding louvers Im not sure I could fit something like that.. I never really planed a door locking mechanism , Im just flying by the seat of my pants on this............ should of had a plan............
It has begun
- Thread starter mrspooky
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Ran out of wire so only got a little tackin done on the handle lock but it works.. summery of today ran out of wire, ran out of sawzall blades, ran out of cutting disks, dislocated a finger and bent a big drill bit.
![20150203_181341[1].jpg](/media/20150203_181341-1-jpg.371754/full?d=1507233218)
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Ha! not in a lifetime! To be honest, not only have I learned how to build a top of the line RF, I have also learned a lot about welding (and resetting joints in the fingers)...
I do have a pretty important question though about the welding thing. In these pictures, I have the FB tacked to the frame with some angle. Im going to take the angle all the way to the back of the FB (as well as the underside).
the bad thing is that its not grabbing alotta meat on the frame ......
But I plan on capping off both sides ^^^this open side^^^ (frame to firebox) with 1/4" .. do Yall think this will be enough welds to support the weight of the FB?
the back and front legs will be cut off, and only the front legs will be reattached to the cross member there on the frame. will this be enough support to keep the smoker on the frame?????
thanks
I do have a pretty important question though about the welding thing. In these pictures, I have the FB tacked to the frame with some angle. Im going to take the angle all the way to the back of the FB (as well as the underside).
the bad thing is that its not grabbing alotta meat on the frame ......
But I plan on capping off both sides ^^^this open side^^^ (frame to firebox) with 1/4" .. do Yall think this will be enough welds to support the weight of the FB?
the back and front legs will be cut off, and only the front legs will be reattached to the cross member there on the frame. will this be enough support to keep the smoker on the frame?????
thanks
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storeman0913
Smoke Blower
Spooky,
For what its worth, I haven't seen any metal prep in your pictures. (grinding to bright metal, etc.) You might get a lot more "grab" and strength with better prep for the rest of your welds. Just saying.
Jerry
look in the first, 2nd and third pic in the series. Most of the welds have been prepped, they just have surface rust on them because I end up taking the pics a day or so after they have been done. Kinda sucks because Im havin to do this outside but I don't got power in my shop yet. a
Spooky,
For what its worth, I haven't seen any metal prep in your pictures. (grinding to bright metal, etc.) You might get a lot more "grab" and strength with better prep for the rest of your welds. Just saying.
Jerry
a few of the spots havnt been prepped though because of my poor planning. Im hoping that my stick welder can get the job done in those spots though.. how about the bracing itself? think it will be enough??????
thanks
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lendecatural
Smoking Fanatic
If you have good penetration on those welds, you should be fine. The top lip of the trailer frame should bend first so you will be able to tell it needs more bracing way before it fails. Smokers really don't weigh that much but road loads can be high if you don't slow down before you cross railroad tracks and stuff. Give it a smooth ride and you should not have any problems since it's all welded together along the FB and CC.
Yesterday I picked up the rest of the material to finish this job!!! Last night I decided to drink a few, do some figerin on cook grates and just take a little time to set back and think about the whole thing. I wanted to see how this thing pulls smoke so I got a little fire going and ended up with 4 small logs in there about 4"-5" round 12"-14" long. once they finally got going it gave me more of an idea of what was going on. Im really hoping the flange around the door will work otherwise im in trouble. It seemed to pull good but smoke was ROLLIN out the top of the door.
There was some good come out of it though, I got a little practice driving this rig. I noticed that with both (upper and lower) dampers open it would look like what you see in the picture,, but by just fine tuning the top damper I could eliminate the smoke coming out of the top of the door. The bottom damper was more like a "broad" tuner and the top was more of a fine tuner. I guess that's a sign that my dampers work????? Either way, I started the fire about 12am and this morning maybe 6:30 am it was still smoking with still some of the logs burning. Don't know if that's a good thing or what? Tonight Im going to finish welding in the RF plates and maybe try to get the door flanges on to see what happens.
thanks for lookin
There was some good come out of it though, I got a little practice driving this rig. I noticed that with both (upper and lower) dampers open it would look like what you see in the picture,, but by just fine tuning the top damper I could eliminate the smoke coming out of the top of the door. The bottom damper was more like a "broad" tuner and the top was more of a fine tuner. I guess that's a sign that my dampers work????? Either way, I started the fire about 12am and this morning maybe 6:30 am it was still smoking with still some of the logs burning. Don't know if that's a good thing or what? Tonight Im going to finish welding in the RF plates and maybe try to get the door flanges on to see what happens.
thanks for lookin
lendecatural
Smoking Fanatic
You just made a perfect example why folks should listen to Dave Omak about how to place firebox vents. This control is perfect and you are running very efficiently with the ability to dial it in as needed. You should be able to get several short naps during an overnight cook once you figure how the temperatures vary over time. Once you get the door sealed up, your smoke should turn to a thin blue with proper settings. Great job!
If you haven't bought the door seal material yet.... Think about 16-18 gauge... light and you can tweak it to fit air tight... you do have to blind weld it..... weld the ends first... then the middle.. then the ends..... that way you follow the metal shrinking... like a torque pattern on wheels or a head....
Yes I already have it and it is thinner stuff. I got it just for that because I figured that Id need to peck on it here and there. I was planning on blind welding it too! how far should the blind welds end up being apart from each other? I want to have plenty, but I don't wanna overdo it.
Thanks
Thanks
Thanks Mr. Dave.. I ended up doing them about every 6". As with most things, the blind welds (as simple as they seem) take a little practice. Oh they looked great, but after I gave them the smack test, a few of them popped loose,, maybe my welder should have been set a little hotter????. I redid them but decided that Id just go ahead and spot weld little 1" lines along the door flanges too just to make sure it holds. Got the RF plates welded all in, and the fire box/ ass end almost done... I have another question. Instead of running a drain pipe from the plates through the bottom of the tank, couldent you just drill a 1/2" hole in the plates, maybe weld a 1" stub down,,,,, and then put a 3/4" hole in the tank and weld a 3/4" nipple in that or something???? The reason I ask is I noticed some water had collected in the CC. If you just let the plated drip into the CC,, and then out that 3/4" hole wouldent that work?????? It would also give you a drain to wash out the bottom of the tank..
You don't want to collect grease in the bottom of the CC.... Could catch fire... When you talk of "plates"... is your smoker a RF or SFB with tuning plates...
Its a RF, Dave. I have the rf plates welded at a angle, about 1.5" fall away from the fire box. I would put the hole (in the plates) at the lowest end and pretty much put the hole in the cc (tank) directly under that. If you put a slight angle on the smoker all of the grease would run to the hole in the bottom of the smoker.. im just concerned that if i don't use it for a while water will collect in the tank and rust it out..Thanks
Run the RF plate drain through the CC to a valve... Add a second drain with a valve to drain the CC body.....
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