# Restoring old rusty charcoal smoker



## calven727 (Aug 30, 2013)

Hey I'm new to the forum and new to grilling and smoking, and like most of my hobbies, I can't stop thinking of how to improve it.

I have a gas grill already but I am going to pick up a smoker which has been sitting out side for years. I'm pretty sure it's not rusted through. Will be a good starter.

I'm looking for some advice on how to restore it and make sure it's safe to cook on. I figure you don't want paint inside or on the grating but how do I clean the grate properly? I'm planning on taking a wire wheel to the out side and apply some high temp heat. 

Any advice will help
Thanks. I'll post pics tomorrow


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## flash (Aug 30, 2013)

They use to have Naval Jelly which I used to clean up wrought Iron. Must be some other stuff out there. You'll need some high temp paint for the outside.  Inside I would just sand down and then season for smoking.


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## calven727 (Aug 30, 2013)

Thanks I just talked to my mom who said a cousin of ours welded it so it should be a lot better made than I thought. What do you mean by seasoning the inside of the pit


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## JckDanls 07 (Aug 30, 2013)

Calvin... first off... welcome to the forums...  It would be nice if you had some pictures of it so we can see what we're dealing with...  is it a vertical with side fore box ?... is it a horizontal with a side fire box ?....  is it a vertical or horizontal with out the side fire box ?....  is it charcoal, electric, or propane fired ?.... 

As far as cleaning the grates...  I would just throw them over or in a hot fire and burn all the old nasty's off and then wire brush it after it cools... I'm thinking I would do the same with the smoker...  start a big fire in it and let it burn the nasty's off and clean with a wire brush...

then everything needs to be seasoned which helps keep from rusting...  by seasoning we mean that you fire it up as if you were gonna cook on it  (after painting the outside and letting it dry)...  you spray,wipe,squirt,pour, some kind of cooking oil all over the whole smoker (inside and out, anywhere and everywhere) before firing it up.... do this out in the grass somewhere as you don't want the oil dripping all over your deck,patio,driveway,sidewalk.... let it cook for 2-3 hours somewhere around 300`...  what I do is use a water bottle and fill it with oil...  poke a little hole in the cap and squirt it all over,,,  then take and old rag and wet it with oil and start wiping everything down....  you can keep wiping witht he saturated rag while it's cooking....

hope this helps and good luck....


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## flash (Aug 31, 2013)

JckDanls 07 said:


> Calvin... first off... welcome to the forums... It would be nice if you had some pictures of it so we can see what we're dealing with... is it a vertical with side fore box ?... is it a horizontal with a side fire box ?.... is it a vertical or horizontal with out the side fire box ?.... is it charcoal, electric, or propane fired ?....
> 
> As far as cleaning the grates... I would just throw them over or in a hot fire and burn all the old nasty's off and then wire brush it after it cools... I'm thinking I would do the same with the smoker... start a big fire in it and let it burn the nasty's off and clean with a wire brush...
> 
> ...


X 2, but I have never put oil on the outside of my smokers.


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## calven727 (Sep 1, 2013)

Thanks, that does help me out a lot.  Last night I started a fire in the main section to kill off anything old and I installed a temperature gauge.  The pit is not as big as I remember but it should do fine for now as a starter.  the only issues I see is the bottow of the fire box is kinda week and there are some areas where that aren't sealed up very wheel.

http://s766.photobucket.com/user/calven727/media/pitmaster2_zps2f1a213b.jpg.html

http://s766.photobucket.com/user/calven727/media/pitmaster3_zpsf15742ff.jpg.html

http://s766.photobucket.com/user/calven727/media/pitmaster_zpsc340774a.jpg.html


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## calven727 (Sep 1, 2013)

Did a test run today with 4 chicken thighs and it went ok. I think I need to attack some latches to help seal the door closed. Started off just using charcoal and one piece of wood but had to add more wood than I thought to get the temperature up.


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## flash (Sep 2, 2013)

Pictures did not come thru. Bad links.

In Photobucket, use the "Direct Link", use the picture ICON here on SMF and past the link into the URL box.


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