# Natural gas smoker



## houstad (Jun 27, 2013)

I have been using a vertical 2 door LPG smoker for about 2 years. I have used this thing like crazy. I have been pondering a brick smoker. I have an old Natural Gas grill that the body/shell is rusted out so I purchased a new one. I was thinking about using the old burner portions of the grill as a heat source for a brick smoker. I have been searching the Internet for about a month and have not seen any NG smokers out there. I understand that it burns at a lower temp than LPG. I am also going to incorporate my new NG grill into the brick structure.

I was going to basically make a bigger brick version of my metal smoker. My concerns are if the burner would burn to hot and how hard it would be to control the temps. Any input would be welcome. Pros and cons.


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## daveomak (Jun 27, 2013)

houstad, afternoon and welcome to the forum....  Unless you have lots of time, and natural gas to burn, the thermal mass of a brick smoker will take many, many hours to heat up.....  and the condensate from the combustion process will have the walls dripping with moisture until it gets up to temp...  Not what I would suggest for a home smoker...   A PITA to get up and going...  Once running and at temp, your could smoke for days or weeks and be in good shape.....   There's my thoughts....  I built one like you are describing....  Never again...   

Please take a moment and stop into " [color= rgb(146, 144, 139)]/[/color]*[color= rgb(128, 0, 0)]Roll Call[/color]*[color= rgb(146, 144, 139)]/[/color]   " and introduce yourself and get a proper welcome from our members....    

We're glad you stopped in and joined our group...    Enjoy the long smokey ride....     Dave


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## houstad (Jun 27, 2013)

Thanks for the input. would it make a difference if I lined it with sheet metal?


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## daveomak (Jun 28, 2013)

houstad said:


> Thanks for the input. would it make a difference if I lined it with sheet metal?


The thermal mass would still have some effect.....   Insulation and then a metal liner would work.... that would keep the aesthetics of the brick look.....  You could build the steel smoker, insulate and veneer with the brick... 

Brick smokers have been built forever...  they hold heat well and make great smoked food.....  For those of us that want to cook for an evening meal, they leave a lot to be desired...   The smoker I built, from block, took 12-16 hours to get up to smoking temp....  It did a great job but took more wood to heat it than it used to smoke the meat.....

Dave


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## houstad (Jun 28, 2013)

yes I am more on the line of making a metal smoker with a brick shell for looks. Any ideas on what to use for insulation. usually when I smoke it is a 12-14 hour event anyway. go big go home I say!


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## daveomak (Jun 28, 2013)

Roxul..... It's a mineral wool, fire retardant insulation... there are other "brand" names.... I have heard Lowe's will order it or carries it....


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## houstad (Aug 28, 2013)

The project has been moving along. I have been humbled on what a horrid welder I am. It has only been 20 years. I had another question about insulation.

"do I need to insulate around the NG heat source area of the smoker or just the oven area?


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## daveomak (Aug 28, 2013)

If your burner has a "rubber" hose on it, I would not put in an area that was heated...   As the rubber warms, it could rupture and that would be BIG trouble.....   

Dave


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## houstad (Sep 5, 2013)

No it is not rubber. The fire box is above the gas line and shielded from the gas lines. Was wondering If I should insulate around the out side of the heat source or can I just insulate the oven area. I hope that makes sense.


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## daveomak (Sep 5, 2013)

If you don't know how to engineer it.... over build it for safety....    Do more than you think needs to be done...   or, hire a propane outfit to do the install.....  Dave


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