# Warming box conversion to a new smoker (with pictures)



## shoneyboy (Nov 22, 2013)

So I have been wanting to build a new smoker for a while now and just have not been able to come up with the $$$ to do a big build. With that being said I went to an auction with my son several weeks ago and came across this warming box…… Thinking that I could use it for a smoker my son and I bid on it and won it…… So after getting it home my son thought that we could sell it to fund a build…… We had several offers, but none were near what we need for the build so we passed…… That brings us here….. the build……here are a few pictures of what I have done so far……I want to thank Pops6927 for his input on this project……













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__ Nov 22, 2013






The new beast !!!! It's 24"w X 36"d X 66"t .....It's all 18ga stainless steel. If it works out like I have it planed, I will have almost 3 times more cooking room than I have now
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






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I had to add an angle to create a place for the door to seal against.......













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Angle installed only on 3 sides.....I don't think I need one on the bottom













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I just sat this tray in for looks.....I'm going to make some racks out of angle iron to slide in and out....2 sets...one will have expanded metal so I can sit things on them to smoke and the other will have a place for rods to hang sausage from.....













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Door seal a lot closer too....













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I still need to cut in the fresh air grill, but I decided to go with the burner that Pops6927 used in his...... a lot less work figuring out what goes where and moving things around......It just a set it and forget it kind of thing.......













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Here is a picture of the gasket.....The company said that it is rated for 800 degrees..... We will see 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





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1/8" thick













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By 1/2" wide













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Burner installed













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 I fabricated and installed the exhaust damper......I'm going to pick-up the fresh air grill today to install it tonight...... I hope to fire it up tomorrow just for a good burn if nothing else
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 ...... I have some more pictures to post soon,  I hope......Thanks for looking ShoneyBoy


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## JckDanls 07 (Nov 22, 2013)

WOW...  that's going to be a perfect smoker/smokehouse...  can't wait to see some food come of that baby.... good score....


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## jweller (Nov 22, 2013)

That sure is a nice box to start with, not a whole to get done. Looks like you scored big.  Where did you get that gasket material? That looks like what I need


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## shoneyboy (Nov 22, 2013)

jweller
, I found it at stovegasket.com, it is a Nomex product..... The ad says that it's good for up to 800 degrees...... I'm building this project with the intent to one day to have to replace parts...... So I want to be able to do that as cheap as possible......... I don't have the paper work with me, but if I remember right, the 1/8"x1/2"x15ft roll was $17.99 with shipping......So far it looks like a great product, but only time will tell.......  













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## shoneyboy (Dec 2, 2013)

I have been out with the Flu for the last week and have not been able to get anything done with my smoker. I started feeling better Wednesday, but I had to play catch-up on all of the things that I didn't get done from the week before. I was finally able to get a little time in last night on the smoker, here are some pictures......













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My son and I were able to cut and install the fresh air grill for the burner......













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We install a hold-down on the door, I tried just lighting the burner a couple weeks ago and the door seemed to warp a little so I felt that this would be a good addition to help with that......













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The box has wheels on it so I decided to strap the burner in place to prevent it from moving around.......

I'm going to give it a run to see if I need to seal the door...the gap I real close and I don't know if  I'll need to or not.......Thanks for looking ShoneyBoy


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## woodcutter (Dec 2, 2013)

That is going to be sweet when you are done!


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## shtrdave (Dec 2, 2013)

That looks like it is going to be a nice unit when done, can't wait to see more pictures of the project.


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## foamheart (Dec 2, 2013)

Wow man, That's one nice smoker. It is exactly what all of us want also! Definitely watching this.......

Lookin Gud and its always nice to have good help with a project.


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## shoneyboy (Dec 2, 2013)

I have been thinking about lining the inside of the box to help insulate it. I looked into using stainless..... But that was $120.00 a sheet and I needed at least 2
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





…..  With Christmas so close the boss said “NO !! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





” so I was thinking about using bricks….My question is can I use concrete pavers to line the inside of the box with without causing any off gassing?  













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ShoneyBoy


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## foamheart (Dec 2, 2013)

Just a question cause its something I have thought about. What about a thermal blanket on the exterior for insulation. It would offer an easier replacement as well as not making the interior welding and parts all bastard size. You built that really nice exterior frame, could easily put some grommets in the blanket and hang some type of hook?

I have never built a warming box smoker, but this is what I had in the back of my mind. Course since I have not seen one made that way, there must be something wrong with it. Are thermal blankets too expensive? If so what about some Durock sheet cut and attached?

Just seems that the interior dimensions on that warming box would be a "Factory" standard and would be handy to keep for trays, etc....


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## scootermagoo (Dec 2, 2013)

It's not insulated at all?


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## shoneyboy (Dec 2, 2013)

Foamheart said:


> Just a question cause its something I have thought about. What about a thermal blanket on the exterior for insulation. It would offer an easier replacement as well as not making the interior welding and parts all bastard size. You built that really nice exterior frame, could easily put some grommets in the blanket and hang some type of hook?
> 
> I have never built a warming box smoker, but this is what I had in the back of my mind. Course since I have not seen one made that way, there must be something wrong with it. Are thermal blankets too expensive? If so what about some Durock sheet cut and attached?
> 
> Just seems that the interior dimensions on that warming box would be a "Factory" standard and would be handy to keep for trays, etc....


I see where you are going with this.....Let me check and see.....The box should be able to hold a lot of weight and it's not like I will be taking it everywhere with me, so if I did sheet it with the Durock outside then paint it, it would still look good and help insulate it.......
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





....Looks like I'll be stopping by HD on the way home........ I will Google the thermal blankets also to see how much they are and how they are made.......


Foamheart said:


> Just a question cause its something I have thought about. What about a thermal blanket on the exterior for insulation. It would offer an easier replacement as well as not making the interior welding and parts all bastard size. You built that really nice exterior frame, could easily put some grommets in the blanket and hang some type of hook?
> 
> I have never built a warming box smoker, but this is what I had in the back of my mind. Course since I have not seen one made that way, there must be something wrong with it. Are thermal blankets too expensive? If so what about some Durock sheet cut and attached?
> 
> Just seems that the interior dimensions on that warming box would be a "Factory" standard and would be handy to keep for trays, etc....


The rails on the inside are adjustable, so I have about an inch of dead space between the rails and the exterior of the box and still have a standard size tray, that was why I thought about using the bricks.......


ScooterMagoo said:


> It's not insulated at all?


No.....It's just a 18ga stainless steel box....No element/heater or insulation......


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## jweller (Dec 2, 2013)

Since you are swinging by the big orange box, see if a hot water heater blanket would be usable. That should get approved by the CFO.


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## woodcutter (Dec 4, 2013)

I built mine from an aluminum proofing box and had the same situation. I screwed studs to the exterior and insulated with fiberglass then sheeted the outside with pole building metal. It doesn't matter how cold it gets outside.













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## shoneyboy (Dec 4, 2013)

So have not been able to get to the big orange box store yet, but I was able to take a couple hours tonight to work on my smoker a little. I had this thermostat that I bought for another smoker project that has been put on hold due to $$$$$. So I was able to get it installed and give a quick run, I just wanted to see what she can do.......It took about 15 minutes to get it up to 325 degrees with all of the burners fully open....... Now it was also empty, so once I filler her up it may take longer, but I don't think I'll be needing to get to temperatures that high to often anyway.....but it's nice to know it can if I need it to though........












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Also I was able to cut the 6 pieces of angle iron for the rails on the sides and the 3 pieces to make the trays with......I'll post pictures of how my angle iron notcher/bender/shear works next..........ShoneyBoy......:yahoo:


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## shoneyboy (Dec 12, 2013)

Ok everyone, I’m excited to say I’ll be firing my new smoker up tonight to season it!! Here is the picture of it after we installed the sausage trays. I’m going to be making 3 more with expanded metal for meat trays later, but for now I just have to give it a try!!!! Here is the picture from last night…..BTW I can’t seem to keep my camera mans fingers out of my pictures 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





……Sorry about that…ShoneyBoy













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## shoneyboy (Dec 16, 2013)

My son and I fired up the new smoker Sunday, a buddy asked me to make him a little smoke sausage. He showed up with 70lbs of ground pork. We took that as a challenge and seasoned, stuffed and smoked it....... We hung it in the new smoker for its maden voyage, here are a couple pictures












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Going in........













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All done coming out........

The new smoker work better that I thought it would, I have a couple bugs to work out, but everything went better than I expected.......ShoneyBoy


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## foamheart (Dec 16, 2013)

Looks good, that is a load of sausage good christening for the new smoke box.

Congrats!!


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## shtrdave (Dec 17, 2013)

Looks great, should have sausage for a week or so.


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## shoneyboy (Dec 17, 2013)

shtrdave said:


> Looks great, should have sausage for a week or so.


Hopefully he will have plenty for a while, but I'll be more prepared next time.......SB


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## samuel trachet (Dec 21, 2013)

Simply impressive! You have done well, and you have years of smoking ahead of you, with lots of great memories.


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## matchless q (Dec 29, 2013)

Very nice job. Sausage in the last picture looks amazing.


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## qwikrnu bbq (Dec 30, 2013)

Looks AWESOME! Nice work! Now Im hungry......


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