# Stainless offset build



## JustinHildebrand (Jun 10, 2022)

Hey everyone, I'm just starting a Smoker build after coming across some 20" x 3/16" wall 316L stainless pipe at a friends shop. I'm roughly copying the franklin smoker design, with some tweaks to my liking. I know 3/16" is on the thin side for the pipe, but the thermal coefficient of stainless is 15 watts per kelvin per meter compared to steels 45. So comparing the insulating properties to a 1/4" steel chamber you still come out way ahead. I'm planning on getting all the plate parts cut from 1/4" 304SS.





















I still need to add the venting to the door and a tray in front of the door. Also note the pipe under the cook chamber is for a signals smoke fan. Let me know what you guys think. THIS THING IS GOING TO BE AWESOME!!


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## Alphonse (Jun 10, 2022)

Great looking design and it should be a thing of beauty.  Yes, stainless is better than carbon steel relative to thermal conductivity and corrosion.

Not trying to rain on your parade, but caution on a couple of fronts.

A controller/fan doesn't work well on a wood fired pit.  It doesn't know how to keep a flame going.  It works on temperature only and with wood you will get a smoldering fire (bad smoke).  If you are intending to fire with charcoal, good idea.

My son has a 20" stainless offset, not as elegant as your design, and it gets very little use due to its small cross section and firebox size.   These space limitations cause him to use a larger pit.


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## SmokinEdge (Jun 10, 2022)

JustinHildebrand said:


> Hey everyone, I'm just starting a Smoker build after coming across some 20" x 3/16" wall 316L stainless pipe at a friends shop. I'm roughly copying the franklin smoker design, with some tweaks to my liking. I know 3/16" is on the thin side for the pipe, but the thermal coefficient of stainless is 15 watts per kelvin per meter compared to steels 45. So comparing the insulating properties to a 1/4" steel chamber you still come out way ahead. I'm planning on getting all the plate parts cut from 1/4" 304SS.
> 
> View attachment 634290
> View attachment 634291
> ...


I like this a lot! Wow this is going to be a very cool build. Watching for progress. Good luck.


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## sawhorseray (Jun 10, 2022)

Whoa, that is a work of art, I hope it serves you well! RAY


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## JustinHildebrand (Jun 10, 2022)

Alphonse said:


> Great looking design and it should be a thing of beauty.  Yes, stainless is better than carbon steel relative to thermal conductivity and corrosion.
> 
> Not trying to rain on your parade, but caution on a couple of fronts.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the advice. I was planning on using the fan to maintain temperature while keeping vents in the door open. I did notice that others aren't doing this, thought maybe give it a try as I already fan unit.

And if I could find larger diameter stainless pipe I would be making a larger unit.


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## Alphonse (Jun 10, 2022)

JustinHildebrand said:


> Thanks for the advice. I was planning on using the fan to maintain temperature while keeping vents in the door open. I did notice that others aren't doing this, thought maybe give it a try as I already fan unit.


Justin, the port for the fan is a decent idea particularly if you choose to run lump charcoal as the fuel.  It gives you the opportunity to cook for a couple of hours using splits and then swap to lump and the temp control.   That way you tend fire for a couple of hours and then put it on automatic to finish.

I do this on a LSG offset and it works great.


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## bauchjw (Jun 10, 2022)

Looks like it’s going to be a true statement piece for your patio! Can’t wait to see how it turns out!


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## jbruce (Aug 10, 2022)

Nice! Stainless... it sure would be nice to NEVER oil the outside of my firebox again.

It is possible to use a controller that does not use a fan [or in any way control fire management], but the idea is really geared toward someone that is building their own smoker because it uses a small custom stack on the firebox.







						Bubba Grills smoker / custom controller
					

I bought a Bubba Grills reverse flow offset smoker a few months ago. I had Lonnie add a custom exhaust to the top of the firebox [surely he thinks I'm crazy]. I built a custom raspberry pi PID controller for it that controls a tractor flap on top of that exhaust. There are no fans, no choking...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com
				




Good luck with your build!


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## GonnaSmoke (Aug 10, 2022)

2 months in, what phase of completion? We need more pics...


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