First RF Build. Excited!

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Thanks, guys. We will try a little trial and error. I just welded the stack on and just need to weld on a fb door latch, clean it up and season it. If the temps are funky, I'll cut off the end of the plate. RW, I did use 1/4" plate for the rf. I don't have a heat deflector, but I am mounted TO the cc, not into it. Guess we'll find out soon enough!!
 
Time for an update with pics.

Here is the final welds on the end cap above fb, and the fb connections to the rf plate.




Finishing the side air vents on the fb



And the upper vent on the fb door.



All the vent handles are temporary; I just wanna blow some smoke!!

And we need a drain. Picture of the top of the drain welded into the rf plate. Drain pipe is too long. I will cut it down.



Can't blow smoke without a stack.











And some thermometers. More on these in a minute.



Latch for the firebox.




Grate installed in the firebox.


Drain cut down to proper size.


And this pit is ready to be fired up for the first time!




This is how I fire my pit. 1 minute on high flame on the charcoal and away it goes. No lighter fluid in the pit, ever.


So, the pit is all sprayed down on the inside with oil to season it and the fire is started. I thought that I was having a problem with steady temps in both sides of the cooking chamber...



They appeared to run about 15 degrees difference. But when it got to a high temp...



They are running the same. My best guess is that these two cheapo thermometers are not accurate. I will use them just as a simple guide anyways. I will be running digital temps in the cc and the meat.


The smoke was blowing so thin blue that it doesn't show in the camera.

Here is the end result of the seasoning; just what I was looking for. I fired it up to 450 and just let it run itself out.


After the first firing, I am so impressed with the way that this pit runs. It is very responsive to temperature adjustments with the air vents. I will be playing with it today, rolling up my first fatty ever and cooking it up. I will post pics later.

Although this pit is able to be used now (FINALLY!), it is not quite finished. I have some additional grinding, handle mods, service tray, paint, etc. to still take care of. But I can cook on it!

Thanks so much to all of you so far that have offered up your invaluable advice and support. And thanks to all of you other builders that share your builds in the forum for us to see and learn from.

Happy Smoking and see you soon.

Keith
 
Preparing the first q on the pit.

My first fatty, and it is a taco fatty.

1/2lb 90% lean beef

1/2lb chorizo sausage


Mixed up and flattened in a gallon zip lock bag.


Bacon lattice. I'm using a loose weave. The chorizo is soft and would like to hold it together.


The ingredients


Can't forget the refried beans


All laid out on plastic to assemble and roll. Didn't have any wax paper.


The beans


Home made taco sauce


Green onion


Fresh cilantro and jalapenos. Tobasco with the penos for flavor, habanero for some heat.


Yellow corn tortillas, lightly toasted.





cover with sharp cheddar and roll.





Lattice wrap and into the fridge for a minute


My early birthday present from the wife for the first cook on the new pit!


I'll be smoking at 225 to an internal of 160 or so. More pics to come.
 
A quick question; do most people drill a small hole in the cooking chamber to run the digital temp probes through? Seems like going through the side of the door would cut/bend them. Thanks
 
Drill and tap a hole for a pipe plug ( I use a brass one for this size) somewhere it's not so noticeable,

I go though the end of the CC, that way you can open and close the door with no worries with the wire.
 
Thanks, RW. I was kind of thinking to put a hole in the 4" space between the doors so that the probes can be placed on either grate and the controller can sit on the service platform (when I build that darn thing). Does anyone have any pictures of where they put their "hole"? Thanks again!
 
Awesome looking build BudaQ. I'm in the works on one similar (and not too far from you in Kyle either) Thumbs Up
 
Thanks Sean! I haven't had time to get it painted yet, but I will. Ask any questions here and they will be answered. That's how I got it done. Post some pics of your project. Let's burn some meat here in Central Tx! My address is actually in Kyle as well.

Keith
 
Awesome, at least you're cooking on it. Starting to reap the benefits of some hard work! What are your plans for paint? Will you paint it yourself or do you have a place? Also where was the sandblasting place you tried? I'll be looking for one as the time gets closer. Still have a little ways to go before I'm ready though (can't seem to find a line or pipe or a tank) You can't be too far away from me. I'm actually right next to Lehman high school
 
We are just east of you down goforth rd near 2001.

I'll get you the name of the sandblast place. It's up on 183 near elroy.

You can buy decent pipe at triple s steel in san Antonio. 20" diameter x 5/16 runs $35/ft. You can buy 24" x 1/4" for $33/ft. Pretty good prices, I think. I get down that way quite a bit so let me know if you need something picked up. I usually have a truck down that way during the week.

For a home pit, 3' of cooking chamber is pretty good size on a reverse flow, because you can use the whole pit to cook on. My cook chamber is 5'. Probably more than I'll ever use, but go big or go home...haha

My wife is going to paint it. We are working on a couple color schemes. It will not be all black.
 
Thanks for the heads up, thats definitely a good price compared to what I've seen so far. I'll give them a call this week, hopefully they have something in stock! I was originally planning on 24" x 48" but I'm thinking about pushing this one out to 60"... like you said, might as well. Especially when you are building it yourself ;)
 
It really is a good price. And they give you one cut for free so you can order whatever size you want. I have another place where I buy the smaller steel items, versus using the HUGE steel place. I get 2'x2'x1/4" plate for $28. I don't know if that's a good price. I could buy whole sheets cheaper from the big steel place, but it's hard to handle.

I made an adjustment to the pit yesterday, and I'm still not happy with the results. I had left an inch at the end of the rf plate where I welded the dam on so that if I needed to increase that volume, I could cut it out. Well, I cut it out yesterday and I'm still seeing a big variance on the temps. On the thermos on the doors, the difference runs about 15 degrees. I put digitals on the cook grate and was running 20-30 difference, with the hot side on the fb side. I guess I'm going to have to put a deflector plate from the fb into the cc. Anyone have an idea how far into the cc it should run? And I will space it an inch or so away from the rf plate to minimize heat transfer.

Thanks

Keith
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky