New Build -Trailer mounted reverse flow smoker

[isutroutbum]

Very nice looking work! I can't wait to see the finished product. Good luck w/it, and thanks for posting. Really neat.

Best,
Trout

 

[gotoleep]

Great work Engineer. Looking forward to more!!!

 

[heliboydoesbbq]

That is a truly clean build!! and you have the welder and cutter I wanted... nice progress.. DO put on more photos as I think we are all gaging to see some new ones and that first Q-view!!!


CHEERS!

 

[rio_grande]

Ya know I am a pretty good welder fabricator and I have to say that is a nicely done smoker build..

 

[bbq engineer]

Here is the progress that I made today.

I got the baffle plate welded in, and then the top of the horizontal chamber on.




This is looking under the baffle plate


I started on the vertical rib rack...Here I am checking it for fit...using my 10 lb micro adjuster to get it positioned properly.


I got the vertical chamber all put together. The smoker is laying on it's back.




Tomorrow is a welding day. I will be joining the horizontal and vertical chambers, and welding it all together. I hope to get the 1 inch frame wrapped all the way around this so I can start getting the insulation in and the outer shell tacked on. I will see how far I get tomorrow.

 

[rivet]

Beautiful work Engineer. Impressive! When are you going to put the drain in your baffle plate?

 

[morkdach]

damn nice welds coming from a bbq train driver and a hobart.
i like the ideas this is going to be a kick ass project.

 

[bbq engineer]

Hey Rivet,
Thanks for the compliment. I will probably wait on the drain until I get the outer skin in place as well. That way I can make sure it is square through all three thicknesses of the sheet steel. It will take me a while to do that, because I am a stickler for having it square so it looks right. I will also add a few pipes into the smoking chamber at the same time for pass throughs (for thermometer cables, water lines, or whatever). It is easier to get the holes straight when I can drill through all of them at the same time. I may try my luck at using the plasma cutter to cut this out as well???


Thanks Morkdach.
I laughed at the BBQ train driver. I did a lot of research on the Hobart before I bought it...I was looking at a Miller 212 but I saw this Hobart 210, and it was really nice. I was surprised to find that Hobart and Miller are owned by the same company (Illinois Tool Works or ITW) who also made my paslode nailer (in fact, my Hobart 210 came with a Miller gun as standard equipment). I have been really impressed with all of ITW's products, and this is no different. Besides, I got killer deals on both of them!!

It is a pretty darn good setup for my home shop.

Off to the workshop...I have a lot of work to do!

 

[bbq engineer]

I wanted to post some updated pics of my build. I got the two sections welded together, and then turned it right side up to start framing it and putting the insulation and outer shell on....it is freakin heavy.

Unfortunately the progress stalled when I had an accident while unloading some supplies from the trailer and ended up in the ER to get my leg put back together. The beautiful and talented Mrs. Engineer about came un-glued when I wanted to go down and start work on it this last weekend, so I begrudgingly took my place on the couch, and watched some mindless TV. In retrospect, Mrs. Engineer was right. This weekend, however, I will be back in the shop.

Here it is right side up. I have started framing the doors on the horizontal section, and have put some framing on for the insulation to fit inside.


Here is a pic of where the insulation will fit, between the frame that separates the inside and outside shell.


More this weekend!

 

[bbq engineer]

I managed to get back to the shop and starting melting some wire and putting the door frames together. This has been a trial and error process, since, I'm not really using drawn plans...I just know what it should be, and I am working toward that end vision. I took my time and did this so that the entire front panel is on the same plane so the doors will fit right.

Here is a photo of the doors that I have framed out. They include a piece of channel that will accept a rope gasket to seal the doors tight.


Here is a closeup of the door frames, and you can see the channel. I have the trim pieces set in place, as I haven't welded them yet.



Here it is with a small piece of rope gasket in place to demonstrate what I'm going for. The gasket protrudes above the channel so the flat doors (that I have yet to build) will smash against the gasket and create an air tight seal.


I will make big progress this weekend, and get it insulated, the outer skin welded on, and get it turned over so I can frame and insulate the bottom.

 

[rickw]

Speechless, just speechless. Man that's gonna be sweet.

 

[mulepackin]

That rig is really coming together nicely. You keep selling yourself short on your fabbing ability. I think you are holding back on us. That is truly some good looking craftsmanship. Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[bigbaldbbq]

That is going to be a great looking rig. I can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[bbq engineer]

Here is the progress as of Saturday afternoon...

Since I am using two outer skins that sandwich insulation, I like to use hardened concrete nails that are 1" and weld them to the inside skin, and then the insulation will punch down on that. This works great on vertical surfaces, as it holds the insulation in place while I mess around and get the outer skin tacked on. It also serves as a method of keeping the skins separated by 1"...not that this is a problem with the heavy gauge that I am using, but what can I say...I'm an over-builder!



Here are my welds...not to bad for an untrained DIY'er using flux core weld wire!


Here the top is getting ready for some insulation...You can see the nails that I have welded in.


Here is the insulation that I am using. It is Superwool 607, and is rated at over 2000°. They use it in kilns and ovens.


Here is a vertical piece that is the first to get welded shut. Insulation is in, and the outer skin is going on next.


Vertical part of the rib rack is tacked on, and I'm starting to insulate the top of the horizontal chamber.


This is all you need to work with this insulation...it's pretty cool stuff. About the consistency of a really dense and heavy cotton candy.


Top of the horizontal chamber - insulated and ready for the outer skin.

 

[pinkmeat]

Man, that is going to be hella efficient. Awesome.

 

[bigbaldbbq]

That thing is going to hold heat like an oven when it is done. Good job!!

 

[morkdach]

excellent you do very nice welds with flux cored wire. your right about ITW making good products if ya pull the covers on a miller & a hobart there is very little difference cept for voltage control. this smoker is going to be great on temp control. keep us posted.

 

[mgnorcal]

BBQ Eng, when planning how and where to insulate, do you use an IR gun thermometer on the outside of your units to check for hot spots and thermal leakage?

Is the thickness of the interior metal greater than what you'll use on the outside?

I've always wondered why more big horizontal units are not insulated even a little when something as simple as a small air-gap and a light sheet-metal skin should make a big difference.

 

[bbq engineer]

MG,

Metal is the same all the way around...10 Gauge CR steel that is .134" thick. I don't have to choose where to insulate, because the entire thing is insulated...if there isn't a cross member, there is insulation. I have found that it makes such a difference, as weather has no impact whatsoever. My verticals are really efficient, this last weekend going for over 12 hours at 250° with a little over 1 1/2 chimneys of charcoal and a couple fist sized pieces of apple chunks. Because I am using a heavy gauge metal, the exterior does get warm due to the heat sink effect of the metal, but that is it, just warm. You can set your beer coozie on top of my smoker with little fear of melting the coozie, or worse yet making your beer warm!

Sunday I had a bunch of neighbors over and help me rotate the smoker so I could work on the back. I cut the outer shell to size, and marked it for some black pipe pass throughs. Here I am marking out the placement.


Got the holes drilled through both skins, making sure that they were perpindicular to the shell.


Fitting the pipe to make sure all is good!

 

[morkdach]

fill me in whats the pipe for