# Hello



## garym78 (Jul 5, 2015)

Hi all.

Thanks for the invite to the UK section.

I'm completely new to smoking so I've got a lot to learn!  Indeed I only got interested when I saw on a American FB group related to welding someone had built a smoker, being a plater welder myself I thought "I could build one of those!"

So on complete impulse, here I am, reading lots of recipes and currently building my own smoker.  I've added pictures to the reverse flow part of the main forum but will drop a few below of progress.  Made a few mistakes along the way, and am in no doubt I will be doing some cutting, grinding and welding to make some adjustments later down the line when I get it smoking (well hopefully smoking!)

As I said in the main forum, please be gentle...lol!













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Still plenty to do, but on its way!


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## resurrected (Jul 5, 2015)

Welcome to the old gits forum :biggrin:

That's a great project. We all getting an invite to the inaugural smoke?


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## kc5tpy (Jul 5, 2015)

Hello Gary.  Glad to have you with us.  I did oil field pressure vessel welding for almost 20 yrs..  Ya got good skills brother!  I assume you are looking for some feedback on the build.  I am not so convinced on the design as is now.  How big is the opening from the firebox to the smoker?  I am concerned with air/heat flow.

Danny


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## wade (Jul 5, 2015)

Hi Garry - Welcome to the forum

The build looks great It will certainly give you cooking capacity when it is finished. 

A couple of suggestions/comments...

As Danny mentioned, check that you have a sufficient opening between the fire box and the cooking chamber. It may be deceptive but it looks as if it could be quite tight at the moment.
Also where are you planning on placing the flue? It does not appear to be showing in your photos.
Still early days in the manufacture but making the door seals tight using stove ribbon/rope will certainly help too. The air intake looks nice and air tight, which is good.
The important thing when smoking is temperature control and for that you need to carefully control the air passing over your coals.

Looking forward to seeing it in action. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Wade


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## wade (Jul 5, 2015)

resurrected said:


> Welcome to the old gits forum


Hey Paul - whats with the "old git" ??? Everyone here is just reaching their peak 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





If Gary is 78 then he will blend in with the rest of you... but if he was born in 78 then he is still just a youngster, like me...


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## resurrected (Jul 5, 2015)

Wade said:


> Hey Paul - whats with the "old git" ??? Everyone here is just reaching their peak :biggrin:
> 
> If Gary is 78 then he will blend in with the rest of you... but if he was born in 78 then he is still just a youngster, like me...



I did think about the "Dreamboys", Wade. But...................:icon_eek:













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## kc5tpy (Jul 5, 2015)

HEY!  I like tha "Dreamboys" reference.  I can see Wade and I posing for that sort of photo!  WELL!  Maybe not Wade!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Danny


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## kiska95 (Jul 5, 2015)

Smoking Forum "Beefcake Calendar" could be a winner or could scare most bairns off the breast


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## wade (Jul 5, 2015)

KC5TPY said:


> HEY!  I like tha "Dreamboys" reference.  I can see Wade and I posing for that sort of photo!  WELL!  Maybe not Wade!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Huh - I will have you know that I won Young Miss Pontin in 1964. My parents entered me in it as a joke. That could explain a lot !


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## kc5tpy (Jul 5, 2015)

HEY!  kiska has hit on it!!!!  U.K Group "beefcake" calender!  Naked behind the smoker ( well not too close! ).  Lid off and some lovely meat to look at??  What ya think????  Can we sell it??  We could make a fortune.  Maybe even a movie deal!  Has happened!!!  Did I go too far??  






Danny


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## kiska95 (Jul 5, 2015)

Nah not at all!

Yeah we could even call it "We Got Different Woods"!  We could stand by our rigs holding our woods of all different colours, kinds and shapes. Smokewood could help with the different wood flavours! There has to be 12! It would introduce a new generation to what men like to do with hard woods in their spare time

Wha dya think?????????


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## garym78 (Jul 5, 2015)

Hi all, thanks for the feedback.  I used Feldons calculator to work out, but I took into account the actual "cook chamber" area, and didn't include the area under neath the baffle when calculating the opening, which equated to 22" sq, I did this as it doesn't give you an option for RF or OS.  

The flue is going on top, the holes there, but I had to get it home from work, which would of made it awkward, so will stick weld it on when I'm ready.

The doors are pretty tight already but will bear the seals in mind thanks.

1 Question, how far above the baffle should I set the first rack?

Thanks guys...

PS, 78? year I was born, ripe old age of 36!


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## garym78 (Jul 5, 2015)

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Here' the opening inside the FB.













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I also included a vent under the FB.













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Stiffeners behind the FB door.


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## jockaneezer (Jul 5, 2015)

Never mind the "Old Gits" bit, have you seen the running gear, looks like we've got ourselves a Gofor ! Welcome onboard Gary, where do you hail from ? Keep quiet about your welding skills, there's always folks on here looking for expanded metal and wanting firebaskets welded up 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Build looks great by the way, Feldon's should keep you right then just a bit of learning and fine tuning


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## garym78 (Jul 5, 2015)

Cheers Jockaneezer, I'm from a little town called Heanor, Just outside the city of Derby, on the border of the Peak District.


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## smokin monkey (Jul 5, 2015)

Hi Gary welcome to the "Family" and our Addiction!

Derby born and breed here!   Living just up the road from you now in Sutton In Ashfield.

Any help you need or some one to give a second opinion on something drop me a PM. Always up and down the A38.

Smokin Monkey [emoji]133660013031[/emoji]


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## garym78 (Jul 5, 2015)

Thanks SM, I work in Alfreton, just a stones throw from SiA!


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## smokin monkey (Jul 5, 2015)

Will be in Alfreton, collecting from a customer on Tuesday.

Looks like you work for a Big Industrial Company, or you've got one hell of a Garage!


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## smokewood (Jul 5, 2015)

Hiya Gary,  Welcome and all that Malarkey, I Cracking bit of welding, you can write on a postage stamp with a 1 inch brush with what I know about it.  

I am on the other side of the peaks near Glossop, so not to far away.   Anyway less of the small talk, we are having a smoking weekend at the end of the month, will you be attending.  It's an excellent oppurtunity. more details can be found here http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/221028/important-information-please-read


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## kc5tpy (Jul 5, 2015)

HEY!! Greame is back!  World traveller and all.

Never liked wire welding.  Prefer stick myself.  Submerged arc has it's place on BIG pressure vessels, but is boring.  Just a personal comment.  ZERO relevance to the subject.

OK Gary.  So you found Feldon's.  Great.  As is going to be reverse flow you will put the stack on the firebox end.  Distance for first rack above the reverse flow plate?  I would say at least 6 inches.  That will be a HOT grill.  I would personally go 8-10 inches.  Just my opinion.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## garym78 (Jul 6, 2015)

Thanks mate, just need to get the stack on and make my fire basket for the Fb, and wait for my temp gauges to arrive, then I can get it fired up. Hopefully I can get it to temp and maintain, however, I've done some thinking and I can get an extra 8" Sq out of the hole into the Cc if needed. Will be a pain but it needs to be right.


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## wade (Jul 6, 2015)

You may also want to drill a small hole in the main cooking chamber about half way up to take the temperature probes. It can be covered with a flap when not in use. Accurate temperature control is what you need to be aiming for.


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## kc5tpy (Jul 6, 2015)

When mounting keep in mind the grease.  You will be AMAZED at the amount of fat that comes off 15 or 20 chicken leg quarters.  Maybe tilt it to one corner and drill a drain hole.  You could build a removable drip pan that you have to clean after each smoke.  Yeah that is a pain but cleaning the whole smoker will be worse.

Danny


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## garym78 (Jul 6, 2015)

Cheers guys, the baffle plate has a return on it at the far end opposite the FB end. It's fully welded in to act like a drip tray and stop fat going back into the FB. I've then put a hole through the bottom of the CC and the baffle and fully welded a pipe with a bung to act as a drain from the baffle plate\drip tray.


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## garym78 (Jul 6, 2015)

Just another question, I've ordered 2 temp gauges, would it be better to place these 1 at either end of the CC, as to make sure I'm getting a consistent temperature across the chamber?  Jeez, I'm nervous about getting this up and running...lol!


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## wade (Jul 6, 2015)

Hi Gary - what have you ordered? the dial type that fit through the wall or digital thermometers?

You will always get a temperature gradient within the cooking chamber and so you need to take the temperature at the level of the meat. If you have ordered the dial type thermometers then these will give you an indication of the temperature however they can also be fairly inaccurate. What I would recommend would be to buy a Maverick ET-732/733 digital thermometer (or similar) and this will allow you to clip the cooking chamber probe onto the cooking grate right beside the meat itself. This will give you a much better view of the actual cooking temperature.


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## kiska95 (Jul 6, 2015)

Hi Gary and welcome to SMF.

Very nice Job there it looks like it weighs a ton
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Just wondering, where did you order you temp Dials from as the ones from Amazon/Ebay that I got were rubbish. I took Wades advice and got a 733 But I have tried to get better dials (Tel Tru) but I am struggling, Any one else know a decent dial gauge we can get here?


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## garym78 (Jul 6, 2015)

Hi Kiska, I ordered from Ebay too, too be honest I wasn't expecting much, so I won't be disappointed...suppose I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised...Yes Wade, I ordered dial type...will probably look at your recommendation of the digital probe type then.


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## garym78 (Jul 7, 2015)

Stove rope ordered, thanks for the suggestion Wade, doors are pretty tight anyway but won't do any harm.


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