# New smoker new build, need suggestions



## fiveflat

Hi, I'm new to smoking and building but I'm gonna jump right in and build a small smoker to begin with.

I'm starting with this 25gallon (100#) vertical propane tank (disregard the small bottle on the side)













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__ fiveflat
__ Nov 17, 2012






I think I want to build it as a vertical smoker.  Any thoughts on this?  Reason is because I wanted it somewhat compact.  Any suggestions why I should NOT do this?  Should I lay it on it's side?

The small bottle was in fact a thought about a side firebox but I'm not that good of a fabricator.  You can seen the lines I drew on the tank.  I was going to make a fire where the lower door is, a diffuser and a couple rack in the top door for meat.

This is a fairly new, clean tank.  Do I need to remove that powdercoating on the outside before seasoning, or burning it out or anything?

Thanks for any advice!


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## fiveflat

Well, it took a while for this site to post my thread.  I started this topic around noon today.  It's now 11pm and finally showed up.  

With that in mind, I did quite a bit of searching around this site and decided I will keep it vertical and I will make a firebox.  Not sure if it'll be out of that smaller tank, although the calculations come out that it'll be pretty close to the right size firebox (87%).

I did some more work on it tonight when I got home from work.  Here's how it looks now:













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__ fiveflat
__ Nov 17, 2012


















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__ fiveflat
__ Nov 17, 2012






And here is a close up of the hinges I made after seeing this idea off another build here on SMF.  It's only 3/8" dowel but plenty big for these little doors...













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__ fiveflat
__ Nov 17, 2012


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## stovebolt

As a new member, your post has to be okayed by a mod before it gets on the forum I believe. 

The build is looking fine. I'll be watching for the finish. Welcome and good luck.

Chuck


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## fliptetlow

Nice looking build so far, where are you going to have the fire box mount? Are you going to elevate the [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]vertical so the fire box is somewhat below it or is it going to be right beside it? [/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Oh and welcome, this is a nice forum.[/color]


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## fiveflat

That's a good question flip - I don't really want to raise so the firebox is below because that would mean fabricating some kind of stand, but that is the decision I have to make now with help from all you.

With a side firebox, do I need a waterpan or diffuser? I would assume something would be nice to at least catch the drippings...


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## fiveflat

Oh and I see some people putting the chimney on vertical builds a little ways down the back side of the smoke box.  Any reason behind this?  I was going to just add one right to the top of the tank or is that a bad idea?


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## fliptetlow

I'm not an expert by any means, but I think most of the side fireboxes are slightly below the smoke chamber. Heat rises so your lower shelf might be hard to balance with the top. I would think a diffuser would be a must. I would do a web or this site search for vertical smoker builds and see what others have done.

As for the pipe, putting it down the side a bit would allow the smoke to build inside. I would think if it was on top it would just flow out. 

Again I’m sure there are other opinions which have more smoker build experience then mine.


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## fiveflat

I decided to try it out once before I made the side firebox.  Just used some coal to start the 'burn-in'.  Found out the doors leak like crazy, I'm really bummed out about that.  Not sure how to go about fixing this.  Should I try some door seals for a wood stove?  Here you can see how bad it leaked.

Smoked great, It would maintain 220-250 like a champ, but I did have to tend to the fire below to keep it burning more often then I thought I would.













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__ fiveflat
__ Nov 19, 2012


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## fiveflat

I did a little work on the doors tonight. I learned that they just sorta warp under their own weight when vertical because when I lay it down, the doors lay down perfect and tight. I may consider converting it to a horizontal reverse flow especially considering that I only got two shelves that are about 12"x10". 

I will post more qview tomorrow. iPhone doesn't know how to get image url


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## fiveflat

Some Qview as promised:

Here's one of the small shelves.  12" wide in the front, 10" in the rear, and 9" deep.  I only got two of these, so I can see why a horizontal smoke box is preferred now.













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__ fiveflat
__ Nov 20, 2012






I suppose I have room for a third shelf actually.  These two shelves are 12" apart.













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__ fiveflat
__ Nov 20, 2012






Hard to see the waterpan / drip pan in there but it's an old disc.  Only problem is it doesn't hold enough water.  It evaporates pretty fast.













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__ fiveflat
__ Nov 20, 2012


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## fiveflat

Already making a few modifications.  Got rid of the little grills I made for it and found that the Weber 18" grill replacements measure 13.5" in diameter.  They fit perfectly!

Raised it up on temporary legs because I'm going to build a temporary side firebox for it too.













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__ fiveflat
__ Nov 21, 2012






"

Here's the temporary plan for a side firebox.  Gonna try to get that pipe between the FB and the Cooker about 6" in diameter:













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__ fiveflat
__ Nov 21, 2012






The reason for this temporary design is that I need to save money for the material to convert to a complete setup like this:













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__ fiveflat
__ Nov 21, 2012


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## dragons breath

Nice evolving smoker you're building Fiveflat. This is what's fun about building your own. You can change and modify it to your own likes as your build progresses. Nice job.


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## smokinjones

Very nice build, any new updates


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## fiveflat

Thanks Jones. Nothing new, I'm contemplating converting this to a proper horizontal reverse flow for the patio so I don't have to fire up a big cooker just for the family and building a larger one for big groups. Although, I think with my newest design I could shut off the larger cooker and use only the smaller vertical and vice versa?  What do you all think?













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__ fiveflat
__ Nov 29, 2012


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## fiveflat

Hey all!  Got a question for the pros...  Are all well tanks galvanized or were any just steel tanks?  I found this gem on craigslist and the guys says he thinks it just steel.  I'd be worried about using a galvanized tank...













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__ fiveflat
__ Dec 3, 2012


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## fiveflat

My little stack that could is growing up... to be part of this













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__ fiveflat
__ Dec 6, 2012


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## mossymo

I like how this build is going, I will be watching it to the end for sure... nice work!


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## fiveflat

Got the tank cut out and most of the firebox welded up yesterday.  Managed to get the tank inside the shop and mocked up too













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__ fiveflat
__ Dec 14, 2012






Today I finished welding up the firebox and cut out the door and intakes.  Not going to welding it up to the tank until I get the door cut out of it.













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__ fiveflat
__ Dec 14, 2012


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## smokin-aces

I like it! There is a lot of versatility with a smoker like this! Keep it alive and keep us posted.


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## fiveflat

Fast forward.  Made a little progress over the winter.  Now I'm in a rush to get it functional by APR 27.  

The vertical warmer is out of the plan - I gave it to my father in law for a small patio smoker.













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__ fiveflat
__ Apr 5, 2013






Here's how the small one came out :













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__ fiveflat
__ Apr 5, 2013


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## imsmokingpork

hey fiveflat! i honestly think that you will be alot more satisfied...or at least i would anyway lol...with the horizontal setup that you have now as opposed to the verticle setup that was your original idea. cant wait to see th final product. are you planning on putting a baffle in there?


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## bruno994

I must have missed this thread back when you started it, but you have really got it going on with your smokers!  Keep up the great work.


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## pjnla

Nice work. Looked through your build pics. That's what it's all about, making it all your own. I tell ya man, you got some talent doing all that work yourself. I think you struck gold going with the horizontal, but I will say the vertical turned out pretty good.


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## fiveflat

Extremely slow build, but I'm determined to get this completed and painted before spring!  Been using it like crazy as it just sat on jack stands on my shop patio.  Finally found a donor trailer and got to mocking it up.  Getting excited to be near the finish line on this thing!













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__ fiveflat
__ Feb 6, 2014


















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__ fiveflat
__ Feb 6, 2014


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## fiveflat

The doors are heavy but I've decided against counter weights.  It will aide in keepin' me from peekin'...  And I want as clean a look as possible.


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