# first build 275 gl fuel tank



## beaummiler (Feb 8, 2013)

i got a 275 gallon oil tank and am pumpd to make a new smoker have a few ideas but cant make up my mind if im gonna stand it up and put multi rack system or lay it flat. It wil be on a trailer not sure on  a good trailer size for it want to store haul wood and cooking supplies and im wondering about insulating it what to use if i do. Any help would be fantasic.


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## daveomak (Feb 9, 2013)

beau, evening and welcome.....  There are many folks that have built smokers out of oil tanks.....   figure out what direction you are definitely headed....   Look at other builds in the Smoker Build thread.....

*  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/197/smoker-builds*

Find something you want to build... and we are here to help....  Without specific questions, the possibilities are endless.... especially take note on the doors.....  cutting, installing...  how to stop warping when cutting open....  that is so we won't miss anything when you are building the best smoker in your town....     

Dave


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## boykjo (Feb 9, 2013)

I made a smoker out of an oil tank... I use propane with pellet tube smokers from a-mazen-products...













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## beaummiler (Feb 9, 2013)

Dave i am going to stand it up and have two doors . I know the metal is thin do you think a cutting wheel or sawzall will warp it ?      Boykjo that is a pretty rig i like the sausage hanger .


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## daveomak (Feb 9, 2013)

Is the tank, the oval design....  so you would stand it on one of the flat ends ???  

what are it's dimensions ??

 Use a wheel...

Be aware, the metal will want to return to "flat" when it has been cut... reforming to the curve or welding some type of ribs may be in order to hold the original shape....   

They can be a little "trying" to make a smoker out of ... but, that being said... they make a great smoker when finished.... many on this forum are beautiful and cook very well...   

Dave


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## beaummiler (Feb 9, 2013)

Yes its ovel 65x44x24 sorry i ment that i would stand it up like it would be inservice as an oil tank so the 44in would be the high bell to top


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## beaummiler (Feb 9, 2013)

Belly would be part of the curve and top the would be curved


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## daveomak (Feb 9, 2013)

Check other builds.... that will help in avoiding headaches...  hair pulling headaches.....  I think RibWizzard has one displayed with doors that open... one up and one down...   Many cool great builds to learn from.....  Dave


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## beaummiler (Feb 11, 2013)

Thanks Dave i have been looking a lot can you tell me about the rf i like the idea of it but have never seen one in use does it make the heat more even


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## daveomak (Feb 11, 2013)

beau,  Read this link/thread....  It will explain most stuff.... better than I can....     Dave

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/54542/building-an-italian-offset-smoker


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## beaummiler (Feb 11, 2013)

Ok thanks i dont mean to be a pain i just want to make sure i know what i want befor i start that way i can make less trips getting things i need to build this thing


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## daveomak (Feb 11, 2013)

You are not a pain..... there are probably 1000 things to figure out before you start anything.... including buying stuff.....  

Draw it out to scale so you know how stuff is going to fit.... if there is room for what you want....  use the calculators in my signature line to get the actual dimensions of what you need....  

It is a lot easier to correct mistakes on paper than in steel.....  been there, done that....  Dave


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## beaummiler (Feb 11, 2013)

Dave that post that you shared with me was fantastic will be using info from it on my exsiting smoker as well as the one im gonna build i had heard of people talk about tuning there pits but wasnt sure what they was talking about  now i have a much better idea  i am getting very excited about this build now i know what im going to do   my better half doesnt like that i found this site she says im an addict and i say well ya anything thats got to do with Q i do have a bad habit of send my Q pics to people at 5 am


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## daveomak (Feb 12, 2013)

If you need any help figuring stuff out, we are here....   about being addicted to great Q..... well  I can understand your problem.... can't do anything about that though !!


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## beaummiler (Mar 8, 2013)

I maybe a lil slow getting started on this i found a cheap boat trailer needn new tires but price was right thought i found something to use for a firebox but its to small acordind to the calculator gggrrrrrr i will just make something else out of it im thinkn i will have two doors 18 1/2T x  26W I hope i can get 3 sets of racks x 2 so i will end up with six total


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## beaummiler (Mar 8, 2013)

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## beaummiler (Mar 8, 2013)

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## beaummiler (Mar 8, 2013)

I am a lil worried about the sfb being to close to the tires guess i can push it back some any ideas if im off base on this i am wanting to have the fb as close to the axel for better weight dist.


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## beaummiler (Mar 18, 2013)

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## beaummiler (Apr 4, 2013)

had a good day today got my tank mounted to trailer hinges weldd on and opend the doors up scraped the bulk of the inside out so glad it was dry made it a lot easyr now to burn it out a couple of times













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## beaummiler (Apr 4, 2013)

The smoke was from sparkes i made opening the doors


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## beaummiler (Apr 18, 2013)

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 well so far i have burned it out power washed it out i then welded flanges around the doors will post pics later i also welded some extra supports front and back dad came over to help with the shelving supports will get the channels for the racks put on tomarrow if we dont get blown away today if i put a rf plate in it how much space should there be from the bottom rack to the rf plate i would put the plate in tomarrow but my order hasnt came in will have to slide it in later


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## beaummiler (Apr 19, 2013)

well i got all the supports for the shelves and the channels in for the racks might add a few more later down the road for more options













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## beaummiler (Apr 19, 2013)

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## beaummiler (Apr 19, 2013)

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## beaummiler (Apr 19, 2013)

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## beaummiler (Apr 19, 2013)

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## beaummiler (Apr 19, 2013)

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## beaummiler (Apr 19, 2013)

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## beaummiler (Apr 19, 2013)

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## daveomak (Apr 19, 2013)

You have some new and unique ideas that are cool....  getting closer.....   Dave


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## beaummiler (Apr 19, 2013)

hope that my welds work i had never welded befor this i had them looked at by dad and a friend that welds and they both thought they would hold i hope so thought i would post a pick of the average bead i have been running to see what the true welders thought  i really hope im building this smoker right dad and i do things differantly but he hasnt said to much i think because hes just happy to be part of my build the only thing i had problem with was getting him on board with my firebox size at 24wx30tx30L he thinks way to big but i tell him it what the calculator calls for


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## beaummiler (Apr 19, 2013)

Dave as a man in the know am i going about this the right way or bassackward


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## daveomak (Apr 19, 2013)

When dad sees how nice the temps hold and how little tending there is to the fire, you'll  see a smile develop....you'll know he approves of your design...

As far as the welds go, look at the back of the piece of metal and see if the heat penetrated....   The weld in post #30 looks like it could use more heat.....  the bead didn't flow too well into the metal.... kind of piled up in the middle...


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## beaummiler (Apr 19, 2013)

thanks Dave i had been looking where i could most of the time its glowing on the other side but not always so i grind and try again i wiil deff look a lot harder from now on i tried turning my welder up and burn through like i said very green at welding glad i let a experancd welder weld the legs and tank supports to the trailer i was to worried of something bad happing going down the road


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## beaummiler (Apr 20, 2013)

i forgot to ask i have been holding the tip about 1/2" away is that why i may not be getting enough heat


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## daveomak (Apr 20, 2013)

It looks like you are using flux core....  the tip in the gun, on my MIG, protrudes about 1/8-3/16" past the end of the nozzle...  I run CV (Constant Voltage)  DC-, generally about 20 volts using 0.030 wire..... wire speed,  when you hear a pleasant buzzing sound, you are very close...  

Do you have a knob to turn up the voltage/amperage ??  1/2-1 volt or 5 amps should do fine....  depends on if you are running CC or CV..

Not knowing what machine and wire and gas and voltage/current is making this difficult to trouble shoot....   Dave


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## beaummiler (Apr 20, 2013)

hobart yes it flux core was using .035 ran out and the store up town had .030  the volt settingd got 1 2 3 4 then the wire speeds 10 20 30 40 50 ect i have it set on 3v 30 wire speed was trying to go by the chart on the welder i am sure my lack of welding know how is a lot of it but i have noticed a differnt sound on what i thought was a better looking weld but not sure what i did differantly angle, distance, direction i think the welder is a hobart 145


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## daveomak (Apr 20, 2013)

If you changed wire size, the feed roller may or may not be gripping the wire for a smooth feed.... there should be an adjustment by the wire roll for the feed roller to grip the wire correctly....  also, the brass tip on the gun is sized for wire size.... that brass tip is what conducts the electricity to the wire or in DC- makes contact with the ground to complete the circuit.....

Looking at the welders, is this yours ??   
[h2]Handler[emoji]174[/emoji] 125 _EZ_[/h2][h4]Unique Single-Knob Control[/h4]
The Handler 125 EZ has Hobart’s unique Single-Knob Control making it the quickest and easiest wire welder to set up and use. Just plug it into 115 VAC, select the mild steel thickness with the Single Knob Control and you are ready to weld.

*The Handler 125 EZ comes ready to weld 18 gauge–3/16 in mild steel with .030 in (0.8 mm) self-shielding flux-cored wire so no shielding gas bottle is required*. 

*Also designed to use .035 in (0.9 mm) flux cored wire with a .035 in (0.9 mm) contact tip.*

http://
Operator only needs to adjust a single knob for the thickness of mild steel to be welded and he's ready to weld. One knob adjusts both the volts and wire feed speed.
Max output of 125 amps allows you to weld 18 gauge up to 3/16 inch steel with flux cored wire
Built-in contactor eases use and is an excellent safety feature which makes wire electrically "cold" until trigger is pulled
Durable feed head with quick-release drive roll tension lever provides positive feed with adjustable tension plus easy accessibility to thread new wire
Short circuit protection protects unit against current overload
Self-resetting thermal overload protects power transformer to ensure reliability
Self-resetting motor protection protects wire feed system from overload, no fuses to change or circuit breaker buttons to reset


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## beaummiler (Apr 20, 2013)

i forgot to mention that dad can weld but he is a stick welder but he has usef mig tig befor he said his only problem now is that he cant see like he used to and when he welds now its by feel i would have liked to let him do more welding but he has been on a road trip to washington area to see some places he used to log at when he came back from veitnam and i was itching to get more done


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## beaummiler (Apr 29, 2013)

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## beaummiler (Apr 29, 2013)

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if i had only found this huge stock pile of propane tanks before had started oh well makes a cheap firebox at 30x36or so after cutting the top of so i can put a plate there also we picked up a 24d x 46l tank also that we are going to build around dads old ss grate from a 55gln drum will post those as we start towork on it


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## beaummiler (Apr 29, 2013)

Sorry dave have been busy with talking to surgens about my 11m old sons hernia went under this morning went perfect and he was walkn and playing soon as we got home    the welder in the photos was a hobart 125 but not the ez and i did have the tension to tight that a friend loand me but i bought a hobart 140


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## JckDanls 07 (Apr 29, 2013)

the tracks for your grates... I see they are uni-strut...  are they stainless or galvanized strut ?  whenever you are trying to weld a thinner metal to a thicker piece..  keep the majority of your heat on the thicker metal...  and then move on over to the thinner stuff real quick and then back to the thicker piece...  hope that makes sense...  ya gotta make the thinner piece jealous and make it run over to the thicker piece..  lol


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## beaummiler (Apr 29, 2013)

it makes a lot of sense i look at it as i have to get the thicker metal hot first the channel i used is mild steel that was painted asked the metal dealer if it was galvanized he said no wire wheel takes it of pretty good thought about using a weed burner on them


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## beaummiler (Apr 29, 2013)

if anything out of my first build maybe i might learn how to weld and when i build another i will be a little smarter


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## beaummiler (May 1, 2013)

put my soon to be firebox up to the cc to start laying out my cut      ?   would i be better off cutting a little bit off the top off the fb 1 for more opening into cc and 2 i think it maybe easier to conect the two or will the curved part of fb into cc be better for heat dirrection













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## beaummiler (May 1, 2013)

should be getting my cooking grate and some plate metal today yaa


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## beaummiler (May 2, 2013)

here is what we are workn with on dads project













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built the stand and got some hinges welded on


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## beaummiler (May 4, 2013)

little more done on dads wheels door cut out all the way and rack supports in


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## beaummiler (May 4, 2013)

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## beaummiler (May 4, 2013)

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## beaummiler (May 8, 2013)

change of plans here is my new pig roaster













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## beaummiler (May 13, 2013)

Well dads is done except for cuting out the air in take and charcoal basket













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## beaummiler (May 13, 2013)

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## beaummiler (May 13, 2013)

And here is my firebox getting a plate put on the tank had a nice weldd bevel so i just ground it to make it a little more angled will have to trim up the plate later 













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## beaummiler (May 13, 2013)

cut opening to cook chamber going to grind it out some more i cut it small 













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## beaummiler (May 13, 2013)

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## beaummiler (May 13, 2013)

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## beaummiler (May 13, 2013)

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dads little helper


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## beaummiler (May 23, 2013)

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## beaummiler (May 23, 2013)

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well i got the pig i mean firbox mounted and a few extra braces put on it


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## daveomak (May 23, 2013)

Beau...... looking good.....    Dave


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## beaummiler (May 25, 2013)

thanks Dave hopen to get a lot done this weekend


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## bigboysmokehous (May 28, 2013)

Looking great, I was a bit worried about the uni strut but you cleared that up. The welding will come with time and you can always practice while waiting on some Q to finish!


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## beaummiler (May 29, 2013)

Thanks i am getting excited now just got done cutting all my angle iron for my grates hope i can weld them up next few days why did i have to have 6racks lol


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## remmy700p (Jun 20, 2013)

How about an update Beau -- with some pics?!!!


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## beaummiler (Jul 19, 2013)

First off sorry i havent been keeping up wuth my build we have been chasing drs for my little girls eye she had her school physical and the eye dr saw a very large spot in her eye and sent us to specialst and he sent us to another one in st louis he is wanting to watch it ti see if it gets larger


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## beaummiler (Jul 19, 2013)

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rf plate it about 10" opening


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## beaummiler (Jul 19, 2013)

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inside my firebox


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## beaummiler (Jul 19, 2013)

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## beaummiler (Jul 19, 2013)

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this is 3hrs into the first fire my fb vent openings are 5x12" on both sides i am using a shaker screen for a grate 5" off the bottom of fb


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## beaummiler (Jul 19, 2013)

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my smoke stack at 48" tall and a 6" diam dad took off a old wood stove he has


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## beaummiler (Jul 19, 2013)

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## beaummiler (Jul 19, 2013)

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my baby girl after watching bbq pitmasters and asking if the people on there had helpers i said yes she said she i could help her i said any time


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## daveomak (Jul 19, 2013)

Beau, evening.....  Family always comes first.... I hope all is well.....    

Smoker looks good...  helper looks great......    

Dave


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## beaummiler (Jul 19, 2013)

Thanks Dave the eye cancer dr said he isnt worried but want to check on her every 3months for a couple yrs to be safe. 
The smoker is holding temp like a dream need to do a few things yet but tthis guy is happy


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## beaummiler (Sep 11, 2013)

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 well here she is i ment to post this sooner.  The frame needs final paint and im gonna change door latches maybe add a fold down table.   I have used it a dozen times running from 225 to 375 and didnt have to work hard to do it she does like to eat wood at high temp but not to bad great learning adventure will do it again


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## beaummiler (Sep 25, 2013)

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a buddy called and asked if i wanted a truck load of cherry well heck ya i do.  Well i get it and 70% is less than ideal old pithy ate up didnt want to be rude and can always use it for the fire ring.  I was looking at it and thought well i have wood to be wasteful with lets see how hot my smoker will run so far i have got it up to 475 with no prob.  Now to my question.   Is 475 a normal temp that a rf can reach i can dampn it down and bring it down as much as i want and hold it. I guess i thought they wouldnt run high temp


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## beaummiler (Sep 25, 2013)

After i posted i reached well past the numbers in temp gauge.      Still wonder if this is normal not complaning just would like to know


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## daveomak (Sep 25, 2013)

Yep.....  A well designed smoker with a big fire and open air inlets to the FB.... = one hot smoker....   Close the inlets to the FB and the temp should go down....  leave the exhaust open..... If you built the FB with an upper air inlet, opening it should lower the CC temps.....  

  Dave


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