# My New (to me) Gravity Fed Smoker!



## seenred (Mar 20, 2016)

I've admired the design and looks of those gravity fed insulated vertical smokers for a long time.  The new ones are pretty pricey though...pretty much out of my budget.  So for the last few months I've been surfing classified boards all across the 'net in the hopes of coming across a good deal on a used one that wasn't a million miles away.  Well, late last week, I stumbled upon this:

It's a Southern Q Limo Junior gravity fed insulated vertical smoker.













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3 cooking racks...about 1100 sq. in. of cooking area













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The coal chute door and the fire box door with attached BBQ Guru adapter.  













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This cooker was mounted on a competition trailer over the wheel well, which explains the 1 short leg and no casters.













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Came with a BBQ Guru DigiQ DX2 for temp control.













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Just picked it up yesterday...no chance to cook on it yet.  I'll have to figure out extending that short leg and mounting the cooker on casters, but that's for another day and another thread.  May not be cooking on it until I get that done...this mother's heavy...hard for one old fart like me to move it around much til I get the casters on it.

I'm looking forward to cooking on this pit...and of course I'll be posting some qview when I have the chance!  

Stay tuned...

Red


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## jp61 (Mar 20, 2016)

Congrats to you Red!

Nice smoker!

Enjoy!


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## foamheart (Mar 20, 2016)

I say turn down a wooden peg leg and give it some more character! LOL Maybe a prosthetic limb bolted to it. 

Looks like a great smoker, I like you had noticed them and wasn't willing to take a note on the house to own one. 

Soooo cool man, grats!


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Mar 20, 2016)

That's one heck of a nice lookin smoker Red, congrats my friend !  I'm real glad ya found one, can't wait to see some of your cooks in the near future.


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## seenred (Mar 20, 2016)

JP61 said:


> Congrats to you Red!
> 
> Nice smoker!
> 
> Enjoy!


Thanks JP!


Foamheart said:


> I say turn down a wooden peg leg and give it some more character! LOL Maybe a prosthetic limb bolted to it.
> 
> Looks like a great smoker, I like you had noticed them and wasn't willing to take a note on the house to own one.
> 
> Soooo cool man, grats!


Lol!!  Yeah and maybe I'll paint a eye patch on him too and call him Long John Silver!

A note on the house??  Yeah...and I'd need another document too!  (Divorce Decree 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






)  Only way I convinced Mrs. Red this was a good idea was what a bargain price I managed to dicker.

Thanks Kevin!

Red


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## seenred (Mar 20, 2016)

WaterinHoleBrew said:


> That's one heck of a nice lookin smoker Red, congrats my friend ! I'm real glad ya found one, can't wait to see some of your cooks in the near future.


Howdy Justin!  Thanks Brother...I appreciate you stoppin by!  Yeah I'm lookin forward to cookin on it!

Red


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## chef jimmyj (Mar 21, 2016)

Gravity Fed is a concept that interested me as well, until a little looking at Stumps and some others, put that in the " Maybe someday file ". If I am going to lay out $3000 on a smoker, I would get a loaded MAK2, a big Memphis or maybe a Smoke-N-Hot Cook Center. Looks like you scored a nice unit. Best of luck with it...JJ


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## SmokinAl (Mar 21, 2016)

Great score!

You should be smokin like a pro in no time!

Al


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## seenred (Mar 21, 2016)

Chef JimmyJ said:


> Gravity Fed is a concept that interested me as well, until a little looking at Stumps and some others, put that in the " Maybe someday file ". If I am going to lay out $3000 on a smoker, I would get a loaded MAK2, a big Memphis or maybe a Smoke-N-Hot Cook Center. Looks like you scored a nice unit. Best of luck with it...JJ


Thanks JJ!  Yeah I know just what you mean.  Those Stumps pits are what initially got me admiring gravity fed rigs, but over $3K on a smoker was never gonna be in the cards for me either.  I was actually beginning to think about trying my hand at a build when I stumbled across this one.  I'd gone so far as to do a rough design, put a materials list together, and research the cost of the materials.  Then this pit came along...lucky find for me, because I got it bought for not too much more than the materials would have cost me to do my own build!  Plus, I'm certainly no welder, so there's no telling what the the quality of anything I built would be!  

Red


SmokinAl said:


> Great score!
> 
> You should be smokin like a pro in no time!
> 
> Al


Thanks Al!

Red


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## Bearcarver (Mar 21, 2016)

Oh Yeah----I'll be waiting to see the Awesome results!!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	











Bear


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## seenred (Mar 21, 2016)

Bearcarver said:


> Oh Yeah----I'll be waiting to see the Awesome results!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Bear!  First thing I gotta do is get some advice from welders and fabricators on how to fix that peg leg and get it on some casters.  It's much too heavy for one guy to move by himself...might could possibly do it if I had a 2 wheel hand truck, but I don't.  

Red


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## dirtsailor2003 (Mar 21, 2016)

I like your peg leg smoker! I'd keep the wooden leg and turn it on a lathe and shape it up. Then add casters. Harbor freight has a good selection of bolt on wheels.


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## seenred (Mar 21, 2016)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> I like your peg leg smoker! I'd keep the wooden leg and turn it on a lathe and shape it up. Then add casters. Harbor freight has a good selection of bolt on wheels.


Thanks Case!  Hadn't thought of keeping the wooden leg...something else to consider.  I already bought some bolt on casters from Lowes.  Gotta get this beast mobile enough to get it out of the garage and fire it up!

Red


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## dirtsailor2003 (Mar 21, 2016)

SeenRed said:


> Thanks Case!  Hadn't thought of keeping the wooden leg...something else to consider.  I already bought some bolt on casters from Lowes.  Gotta get this beast mobile enough to get it out of the garage and fire it up!
> 
> Red


I really like the wood leg. Just think of all the stories you can come up with to explain why its shorter than the rest!


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## foamheart (Mar 21, 2016)

Arrrrrrrr  Matey!


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## Bearcarver (Mar 21, 2016)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> I like your peg leg smoker! I'd keep the wooden leg and turn it on a lathe and shape it up. Then add casters. Harbor freight has a good selection of bolt on wheels.


LOL---Good one Case, Then a painting of a Pirate with a patch over one eye & a Hook !!!

Bear


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## seenred (Mar 21, 2016)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> I really like the wood leg. Just think of all the stories you can come up with to explain why its shorter than the rest!





Foamheart said:


> Arrrrrrrr  Matey!





Bearcarver said:


> LOL---Good one Case, Then a painting of a Pirate with a patch over one eye & a Hook !!!
> 
> Bear


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## b-one (Mar 21, 2016)

Wow nice score with it in Red even! Hope you get to enjoy it soon!Thumbs Up


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## lemans (Mar 21, 2016)

You gotta go to a place that sells manaquens and buy a sexy leg!!


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## bdskelly (Mar 21, 2016)

Red.. That smoker is epic. Its built like a tank! b


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## alwaysntraining (Mar 21, 2016)

I am a welder/fabricator and would love to fix it for you if you were closer. If you are not, the easiest way to fix that since one end is welded to the bottom and the other end has the foot on it is to cut the tube in the middle and get a sq. tube that slips inside both ends and bolt through both tubes. You could also find a tube that slips over the outside of your leg. Just depends on what you find first. Later you could always weld all three pieces together if you wanted. Using the tube inside a tube method lets you get the length perfect before welding or bolting. Just one idea. Good luck with your new smoker.


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## pc farmer (Mar 21, 2016)

Wow.    Great find.    Glad you found what you wanted.

I agree, keep the wood leg.  Makes it different.Thumbs Up


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## seenred (Mar 21, 2016)

b-one said:


> Wow nice score with it in Red even! Hope you get to enjoy it soon!


Yeah how about that...my favorite color!  Thanks B!


Lemans said:


> You gotta go to a place that sells manaquens and buy a sexy leg!!









   LMAO!  That mannequin would have to have the body of an Olympic weight lifter to hold this thing up...not sure what it weighs, but its HEAVY!


BDSkelly said:


> Red.. That smoker is epic. Its built like a tank! b


Hey Brian, thanks Brother!  Haven't hollered at you in a few...how ya been!  Hope that newest grandbaby is still doing well.

Thanks for stopping by!

Red


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## seenred (Mar 21, 2016)

AlwaysNtraining said:


> I am a welder/fabricator and would love to fix it for you if you were closer. If you are not, the easiest way to fix that since one end is welded to the bottom and the other end has the foot on it is to cut the tube in the middle and get a sq. tube that slips inside both ends and bolt through both tubes. You could also find a tube that slips over the outside of your leg. Just depends on what you find first. Later you could always weld all three pieces together if you wanted. Using the tube inside a tube method lets you get the length perfect before welding or bolting. Just one idea. Good luck with your new smoker.


Hey man, I appreciate it!  Good ideas...if we lived closer to each other, I might take you up on that.  I've got a family member who's a pretty good welder and fabricator.  He and I have been putting our heads together, and he's willing to bring his welding rig over weekend after next.  The legs are 2 x 2 steel tubing.  Don't know for sure what the gauge or thickness is, but it's pretty heavy stuff.  He thinks we can just cut the foot off of the short leg, then square-weld a length of new tubing onto the existing piece to make that leg the same length as the other 3.  If we think that the new welded joint isn't strong enough, we'll fabricate and weld a sleeve around the joint to reinforce and brace it up.  Might not look as pretty as a factory job, but hopefully it'll get the job done.  Does that sound doable to you?

Thanks for the advice...it's really appreciated!

Red


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## seenred (Mar 21, 2016)

c farmer said:


> Wow. Great find. Glad you found what you wanted.
> 
> I agree, keep the wood leg. Makes it different.


Thanks Adam!  Sorry but I'm afraid the wooden leg has to go...I want to store the pit in my garage, so it'll have to be mobile.  The darn thing is so top heavy, if the peg leg ever gave way while I was moving it, there'd be no way I could keep it from going down and tearing something up.

Now if i were gonna set it up on my patio and leave it...then the wooden leg would be OK because the pit wouldn't be moved around.

Red


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## four20 (Mar 22, 2016)

hey I bought a new smoker that had 4 different length legs.


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## seenred (Mar 23, 2016)

Four20 said:


> hey I bought a new smoker that had 4 different length legs.


What'd you do about it?


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## grillmonkey (Mar 23, 2016)

I enjoyed reading all the comments about the wooden leg. But you are right to fix it properly to make it safe to move. Maybe paint the leg repair up to look like a cast? Maybe cristen it "Ol Peg Leg" and break a BBQ sauce bottle over the bow? Oh, it doesn't have a bow. I'll stop now,,,I have a million more comments popping up in my head. I don't want to turn this post into 2 pages.


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## smokin218r (Mar 23, 2016)

Awesome Red!!

I'll still be looking for some great Rec Tec cooks from my fellow bull horn lifter!

Nice that they both match and will look great together.


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## seenred (Mar 23, 2016)

Grillmonkey said:


> I enjoyed reading all the comments about the wooden leg. But you are right to fix it properly to make it safe to move. Maybe paint the leg repair up to look like a cast? Maybe cristen it "Ol Peg Leg" and break a BBQ sauce bottle over the bow? Oh, it doesn't have a bow. I'll stop now,,,I have a million more comments popping up in my head. I don't want to turn this post into 2 pages.


Thanks GM!  Yeah its been fun laughing about that wooden leg...but I'm more interested in ending up with something that doesn't look like $#%!, and that's sound and sturdy.  When I'm finished, it might not look like a factory job, but i hope it'll be close...


Smokin218R said:


> Awesome Red!!
> 
> I'll still be looking for some great Rec Tec cooks from my fellow bull horn lifter!
> 
> Nice that they both match and will look great together.


Thanks S218R!  Yeah I'll still be cooking on the RT...probably just for hot and fast cooks and grilling steaks and burgers.

And yeah...its pretty cool that they're both RED!  That was a happy accident...
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Red


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## 1967robg (Mar 23, 2016)

Nice cooker, I was going to build a vertical and now I'm thinking gravity feed. Looking forward to seeing it in action. Congrats


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## seenred (Mar 23, 2016)

1967RobG said:


> Nice cooker, I was going to build a vertical and now I'm thinking gravity feed. Looking forward to seeing it in action. Congrats


Thanks Rob!  For a while, I was considering a build myself, although I'm certainly no welder/fabricator.  Started putting a materials list together and realized it wasn't gonna be cheap, although certainly still cheaper than buying a new factory cooker.  If I hadn't stumbled across such a bargain, I might still have given the build a try.

I did realize that the plans for building a gravity fed are fairly straightforward, but quite a bit more labor intensive than a regular vertical build.

Red


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## alwaysntraining (Mar 23, 2016)

SeenRed said:


> Hey man, I appreciate it!  Good ideas...if we lived closer to each other, I might take you up on that.  I've got a family member who's a pretty good welder and fabricator.  He and I have been putting our heads together, and he's willing to bring his welding rig over weekend after next.  The legs are 2 x 2 steel tubing.  Don't know for sure what the gauge or thickness is, but it's pretty heavy stuff.  He thinks we can just cut the foot off of the short leg, then square-weld a length of new tubing onto the existing piece to make that leg the same length as the other 3.  If we think that the new welded joint isn't strong enough, we'll fabricate and weld a sleeve around the joint to reinforce and brace it up.  Might not look as pretty as a factory job, but hopefully it'll get the job done.  Does that sound doable to you?
> 
> Thanks for the advice...it's really appreciated!
> 
> Red


Great, that would be the best. If he is a good welder you won`t need a sleeve.


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## seenred (Mar 23, 2016)

AlwaysNtraining said:


> Great, that would be the best. If he is a good welder you won`t need a sleeve.



Thanks man...its good to know I'm on the right track.

Won't know how it goes for over a week...he can't bring his rig til next weekend at the soonest.

Red


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## four20 (Mar 24, 2016)

hey I bought a new smoker that had 4 different length legs.


SeenRed said:


> What'd you do about it?


I installed the legs and measured each from the base of the smoker to the correct length. I then cut the legs and bent the metal and re-tacked the welds. I did take it a step farther and installed 2 casters on one side, and 2 adjustable feet on the other so it could be rolled in and out of the garage.

This is the link to my current progress. It will be used for Easter to cook a 15 lb packer.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/243465/sows-ear-to-silk-purse#post_1540521


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