# HELP!! FIRE!! ^&@#



## jackal12 (May 13, 2013)

I ran my new built smoke house today for seasoning. It ran great for around six hours or so i thought. I shut it down about 2 hours ago and I noticed a bit ago that smoke was still going. Long story short my floor is burned out and thank GOD it just smoldered. I have concrete backer board on the floor. It cracked and allowed underneath to burn. My northern tool burner is not on it's cast iron legs because everyone else seems to use it flush.

My question is will i be ok with a new shhet of concrete and my burner on it's legs? This is why my first purchase to run this was a fire ext. I used the hose but if it had flared up....

Damn I wanted to run this tomorrow. The first pic of the hatrdbacker board is the top where burner was













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## jackal12 (May 13, 2013)

in the first pic the right wall has no concrete. thats because i pulled it to slide the floor sheet out


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## s2k9k (May 13, 2013)

Well it's good that you caught it in time, could have been a whole lot worse!


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## jackal12 (May 13, 2013)

Yea it's going to mess up my sleep thats for sure


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## davidhef88 (May 13, 2013)

I think I would have went with this instead of hardibacker. 
http://www.usg.com/durock-cement-board.html


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## jackal12 (May 13, 2013)

I'll have to check for it. All we have within 100 miles is a lowes


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## davidhef88 (May 13, 2013)

They should have it right next to the Hardi. The Hardi is " non combustible" the durock has an actual fire rating.


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## jackal12 (May 13, 2013)

Thanks I will take a drive up there first thing tomorrow. I'm debating on if i want to replace the floor or not. I may just put it on my eventually list


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## castiron (May 13, 2013)

Lowe's will have Durock or maybe different brand, it's half inch thick so it will span the burnt hole with out an issue.  You might also consider laying some cutting some 2" inch strips and laying them  down between the deckboards and the durock as sleepers.  With the air gap there it will reduce the heat transfer to the wood.  

HD or Lowes also carries a light weight type durock, ya might check its fire resistance.  It might be better as it would have more air in it, but it might not be fire resistant.


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## jackal12 (May 13, 2013)

My concern with lifting the floor is it may allow extra air in.

With the thick fire rated stuff in I think I will also put the burner legs on.

Will likely leave the hardbacker on sides and back since they did just fine


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## castiron (May 13, 2013)

No more than laying it down on the wood that's not air tight.  You can still cut the durock tight, for that matter you could probably caulk your seams with food grade silicone which is typically rated up to 500 deg I believe.

Also if the legs are too long you could maybe set it down on a couple bricks.


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## jackal12 (May 13, 2013)

I will see tomorrow. Lowes owes me the durok it was their jackass employee that assured me to use hardbacker


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## smokeamotive (May 13, 2013)

A layer of fire brick on the floor would solve the problem.


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## jackal12 (May 13, 2013)

I'm going to try the 1/2 board first. If i'm still not happy i will rebuild the floor and use brick. Still planning to use it tomorrow for pulled pork, just got done with a nice rub down


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## castiron (May 13, 2013)

Well, under most circumstances I prefer the hardi, but I think this is gettin outside the realm of intended uses. lol


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## jackal12 (May 13, 2013)

My issue is with the guy at Lowes. Either he is misinformed or, worse, he guessed to brush me off. I'm guessing the latter because this particular employee is always rushing customers and has a real attitude problem. I have no issue with a guy that does not know and finds out for me but this guy is an ass and his BS almost led to a fire


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## jackal12 (May 14, 2013)

Lowes gave me a refund on the backer as well as giving me the durock at no cost. Got two 1/2 sheets under burner and im almost to smoking temp so we will see how it goes


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## davidhef88 (May 14, 2013)

Castiron said:


> Well, under most circumstances I prefer the hardi, but I think this is gettin outside the realm of intended uses. lol


I agree100%. I was a flooring contractor for about 10 years and preferred the Hardi, it always made the tile match up better to other surfaces. For a smokehouse I think the durock is a better option.


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## jackal12 (May 14, 2013)

tHE DUROCK IS perfect. My smoker is running perfectly i'm so pleased. I got it up to 250F with TBS at 11am and put my 6lb shoulder in. She's still stuck at 165-170 but i'm hoping it pushes on soon lol. It's taking longer then expected but the smoker is doing just great. I cant wait to here my maverick beep lol. I peeked a bit ago when i spritzed it with apple juice and it looks FAAANNNNNTASTIC.


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## smokinhusker (May 14, 2013)

Sorry to hear about the fire, but glad it's all fixed and smoking meat!!!


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## jackal12 (May 14, 2013)

Thats what i get for trusting a lowes employee! I'm just glad it's all good now. If i can get past this dang stall i will be perfectly content lol


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## jackal12 (May 15, 2013)

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## foamheart (May 16, 2013)

Glad you just smoked the smoker. Just think though of the great story you'll now have to share with people for 20 years everytime someone new enjoys your cooking. AND on the first try! The smoked food is great, but it is all the lies we get to tell and hear during the cooking  that makes us want to fire up the pit every weekend. Whatcha mean only 2 inches of rain in the last hour, fire that pit up!

OMG we've conqured the fire gods and heard a good story, I guess you'd want a cold beer too.

Congrats on your smoke house, may you enjoy it for as long as you can remember the tale of the first time you smoked the smoker..........


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## jackal12 (May 16, 2013)

Thanks man. When I build the next one i may have to use this floor! LOL


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## dirtsailor2003 (May 16, 2013)

Another thing you may or may not have been told is that Durock doesn't support mold growth, which is a good thing! Unfortunately wood does. Since you are using a heat source that gives of h2o while it burns watch out for that. A friend of mine lost his year old plywood smoker to mold. He lives Portland Oregon so it's pretty damp. Even though he stored it in his garage he couldn't keep the mold from growing. I had planned to build one for sausage but now I am re-thinking my plan. I may still do it since where I live is pretty dry. I was going to use electric so it might not be as big of an issue, dry heat and all.


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## jackal12 (May 16, 2013)

Durock failed today on 3.5hr run. The floor is gone now.













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## foamheart (May 16, 2013)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Another thing you may or may not have been told is that Durock doesn't support mold growth, which is a good thing! Unfortunately wood does. Since you are using a heat source that gives of h2o while it burns watch out for that. A friend of mine lost his year old plywood smoker to mold. He lives Portland Oregon so it's pretty damp. Even though he stored it in his garage he couldn't keep the mold from growing. I had planned to build one for sausage but now I am re-thinking my plan. I may still do it since where I live is pretty dry. I was going to use electric so it might not be as big of an issue, dry heat and all.


That mold will not eat too much of the meat, that green mold puts color in you teeth......


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## jackal12 (May 16, 2013)

Man this things killing me I gotta figure this out. It cooks amazing meat but it cant be catching on fire every other day lol

Im gonna line lower half in heat shield. Then durock. Then put fire brick down.


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## foamheart (May 16, 2013)

Jac, I have I question.... whats the dinensions on that smoker? Could you have too much heater for too small a box? I have used a propane burner in a cardboard box to smoke a chicken once on a bet. Chicken was juicy, nice color but tasted like wet cardboard.

Could ya maybe set it up like a seperate firebox?


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## jackal12 (May 16, 2013)

It's based off a bunch of other smokers on here. It's inside is 48in high, 24in deep, 22in wide.


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## mneeley490 (May 16, 2013)

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Glad you caught it in time.


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## jackal12 (May 17, 2013)

ya dont usually get lucky twice. Now i need to find a way to ensure this stops.


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## daveomak (May 17, 2013)

Jackal12 said:


> ya dont usually get lucky twice. Now i need to find a way to ensure this stops.


Jackal,  you need an air gap to stop the heat transfer to the wood.....    4" of fire brick laid on wood, the wood will still burn, given enough time...


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## jackal12 (May 17, 2013)

Ok so how about this. New floor goes in. Then using metal brackets (screwed into the walls through durock) about an inch off the floor I place a steel mesh grate. On this great a sheet of durock, then the burner? The burner legs are going on now also. I'm going to need to change the wooden runners that hold my cooking grates to metal also since the flame and heat is moving closer to it. I may also line the rest of my walls in durock because now im paranoid.


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## wes w (May 17, 2013)

Jackal12 said:


> Man this things killing me I gotta figure this out. It cooks amazing meat but it cant be catching on fire every other day lol
> 
> Im gonna line lower half in heat shield. Then durock. Then put fire brick down.


From the base lay a layer of firebrick edge way solid.  Durock on that.  You would be good to go


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## daveomak (May 17, 2013)

Jackal12 said:


> Ok so how about this. New floor goes in. Then using metal brackets (screwed into the walls through durock) about an inch off the floor I place a steel mesh grate. On this great a sheet of durock, then the burner? The burner legs are going on now also. I'm going to need to change the wooden runners that hold my cooking grates to metal also since the flame and heat is moving closer to it. I may also line the rest of my walls in durock because now im paranoid.


How about replacing the old   slightly used wooden floor (old is not a good word here..... sorry) with the expanded steel grate with durock on top of it ????    Might need a little support in the middle, like 1 brick on end or something ???   Cement board does not have much strength....

Dave


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## jackal12 (May 17, 2013)

DaveOmak said:


> How about replacing the old  slightly used wooden floor (old is not a good word here..... sorry) with the expanded steel grate with durock on top of it ????    Might need a little support in the middle, like 1 brick on end or something ???   Cement board does not have much strength....
> 
> 
> Dave



That makes much more sense, your smarter then me lol. Do I need to worry about heat teansfer fron the steel to the bottom of the smoker where its attached? Durock gets really hot because of the burner so the steel is going to heat up. Maybe the air exposure will keep it cool enough.

In assuming there would be no wood floor just steel mesh with durock on it


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## daveomak (May 17, 2013)

Jackal12 said:


> That makes much more sense, your smarter then me lol. Do I need to worry about heat teansfer fron the steel to the bottom of the smoker where its attached? Durock gets really hot because of the burner so the steel is going to heat up. Maybe the air exposure will keep it cool enough.
> 
> *In assuming there would be no wood floor just steel mesh with durock on it.... YEP*


I assume the expanded metal will only be touching wood on the edges, where it meets the walls of the smoker...  It should not be warm..... It will be sitting in the air with lots of heat exchange capability.....  I figure probably a 2 x 4 above the ground ???   Dave


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## jackal12 (May 17, 2013)

Yea it would contact the bottom of the walls to be attached. From the bottom to ground is about 2feet. I like this plan


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## jackal12 (May 18, 2013)

Since the floor will now be steel grate I need to add two braces to the legs to make up for the loss of solid wood floor. There will be 9in from grate to these two beams. Is that enough? I just need the legs sturdy incase I ever move it.













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## daveomak (May 18, 2013)

Jackal, you might put supports front to back also....  If you are using expanded metal for the bottom, then you could attach the exp. metal to all four supports and set the cement on top.... If I have an idea of what you are doing ??  Dave


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## jackal12 (May 18, 2013)

Im pkanning to use 2 inch L brackets screwed into the bottom of the walls. The steel mesh will go on them. Then the durock then the burner on its legs


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## daveomak (May 18, 2013)

That'll work very well ....  YAY !!!!  no more burned up floors....


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## jackal12 (May 18, 2013)

God I hope LOL


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## wes w (May 19, 2013)

If you make your final exposed floor from firebrick it won't matter whats under it.  Just my .02 worth.


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## jackal12 (May 22, 2013)

This should do it. Durock is right on top and legs are now on burner.













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## jackal12 (May 27, 2013)

We are doing our MMD grilling Wed so around midnight Wed morning shes firing up for smoking action. Hopefully it will go well


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## jackal12 (May 29, 2013)

working PERFECT!! Thanks Dave


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## daveomak (May 29, 2013)

It 's great to see a plan come together....   Great job....  Just one more valuable learning experience put to good use...    
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






  ...

Dave


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