Ok, here we go.

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Sometimes, the most time consuming part of a build is getting all the right pieces.

Stopped by the metal outlet today, got me 12 ft of 1.25 x .25 stainless flat bar for my burner grease shield, 20ft of 1 x 1 angle for framing out the sides of my below tank wood rack, 10 ft each of .25 x .50 flat and .25 x 1.0 flat and some 3/16 flat bar for making my firebox inlets. Spent $ 31.80 and that included tax. If I bought this at Home Depot, it would have cost over $100 bucks easy!

 
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I did a quick budget plan on my build by pricing stuff from the Depot and Lowes online. I knew this wouldn't be my end cost, just trying to get a safe idea. But man was I excited to see those prices cut in half (or more) when I picked them up from a steel yard! I'm ready to start planing another one... lol
 
It will be worth it when it comes to regulating heat and saving propane. If I was doing a firebox burner, I would have gone with the slots on the bottom of the pipe.

The trick will be protecting the holes while giving it plenty of head space. I have a high pressure propane grill I made something like 10 years ago, that really works good ( got lucky), so I'm trying to mimic everything I did right with that one, only this will be four times as big.
 
I hope it works as planned! I know how to make a smoker cook good, but the gas grill part is a total experiment, and something that has stumped me before when I've tried to combine the two. All I can do is take what I learn and try again...
 
that is a LOT of patients.... Oh the things we do for our hobbies and toys... Can't wait to see it in action!
 
They will be facing up, and about an inch above the burner will be a strip of 1/4" x 1.25" stainless steel flat bar as a grease shield. I'm going to cut one inch pieces of 1/4" x 1" flat bar and weld them between the holes down the center spaced about 4" apart, that should protect the holes from drippings , and the flames won't be aiming directly at the flat bar.

The only thing I really have not decided on......it's going to be a rectangle shape burner, with the gas/ air supply entering dead center in the front. I'm not sure if I will let it free flow all the way around the rectangle, or if I will cap it dead center in the back side. I don't know what would give me more even pressure?

Any thoughts?
 
I dont think you should need to cap it. Pressure should be the same wethers its caped or looped. Only one way for the gas to go and thats through the ports.
 
That's one way I'm looking at it, and if it's uneven, opening the holes up some on the back side might even it out...? Maybe..trial and error approach I guess..
 
That's one way I'm looking at it, and if it's uneven, opening the holes up some on the back side might even it out...? Maybe..trial and error approach I guess..

Yes, this. Water, gas, electricity are all things that will take the path of least resistance. So opening up the holes at the end farthest from the source shoulda even them out more.
 
Flat bar over the burner holes pretty neat idea, On my son's grill his old metal drip protectors finally wore out, so I called my buddy who has a sheet metal shop and got him to cut me either 5 or 6 pieces of 1 1/2" x 1 1/2' stainless angle for the drip protectors, so far so good, working great 

Gary
 
Long as you make it so the flame doesnt make it to the drippings or youll have a runaway grease fire in your CC. one of the reasons i got away from gas grills a long time ago. Haha
 
That's one of the things that worked good on my mods to the gas grill I did years ago. Instead of like most gas grills where the grease is caught above the burner, the only thing above the burner is the burner shield, and it's not big enough to hold enough grease to worry about. Most of the grease falls past the burner into the catch pan and drained off. I'm trying to copy the design somewhat with this one.

And honestly, I do prefer to grill over charcoal, but installing the charcoal pan above the reverse flow plate would take up more room, and make a bigger mess, plus the heat and ashes would deteriorate the cooker faster. I hope to be able to do steaks and such with a small wood fire in firebox for flavor and use gas to sear. At the least, the propane burner will give me a quick way to heat up the cooker and help with cleaning the cooking grates before a smoke! I hope!
 
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