Project 3 from DVA: BBQ Winter Time Fun Contest

This is my third major BBQ project that I have finished. I have a new air flow design where the fire is under the cook box as the other two BBQs I have fabricated. Between the fire box and the cook chamber is a heat deflector and a 4 gallon water pan that is 4 inches deep. The heat comes up the back false wall and then exhaust is on the sides starting about 5 inches above the water pan on both sides of the cook chamber. The outside of the BBQ is insulated with two inches of insulation and covered with powder coated sheet metal on the outside. I have stainless steel push to close latches, so opening the doors is very easy with no flimsy latches to fuss with.

Attachment 9516Attachment 9517Attachment 9518Attachment 9519Attachment 9520Attachment 9521Metal fabrication was 12 gage for the water pan, 14 gage for the main part of the cook chamber, and 18 gage for the doors and sheet metal. I used the 250 EXT to tack up the project and then most welding was with my Miller 252.

Very impressive! It almost looks store bought, except for the fact that everything is so professionally done! The latches are a nice touch too, along with the stainless handles.

How much did the project cost you in total to build? Do you have access to shop with all of the equipment that was needed to build that nice BBQ, or did you have to outsource some of the tasks? Either way, I love the end result! Top notch work!

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Originally Posted by youngnstudly

Very impressive! It almost looks store bought, except for the fact that everything is so professionally done! The latches are a nice touch too, along with the stainless handles.

How much did the project cost you in total to build? Do you have access to shop with all of the equipment that was needed to build that nice BBQ, or did you have to outsource some of the tasks? Either way, I love the end result! Top notch work!

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I outsourced the metal bending and I assembled everything and made a few custom components. The total project was about 750 each, but I had 3 cut out and had to make some major modifications to two because the first did not have the best results due to the air flow path.

That's reasonable enough considering what $750 will buy at Home Depot for a BBQ! The fact you mentioned three BBQ's reminded me of a funny story.

Back when I was going to my advanced welding class at the college, a local pellet and wood burning stove store made a deal with my instructor that involved him repairing 1 brand new stove that was damaged in shipping, then taking the other 2 that were damaged and converting them into 1 extra large wood stove for the store to use in the winter time. They had a large showroom and thought a custom stove would heat the place and highlight the showroom. In exchange, the store would make a sizable donation to the welding program for the labor involved, since school funding was being cut dramatically.

My instructor finished the small stove repair, and got most of the large stove(s) sectioned together after doing a TON of work to make things fit and operate correctly. He sectioned 2 doors into one long seamless door (with the factory glass windows, rope, a one-off handle and custom scratch made stainless 14 gauge faceplate installed).

The store owned came to the welding class at the end of the week, checked out the work on his stove, and picked up the other stove to put in on display. As he was getting into his truck, he mumbled something about being really broke and not being able to come up with the donation, he tried to "soft-pedal" things by saying that the labor involved didn't appear to be all that time consuming anyways, and asked if it would be done on Monday. My instructor told him "Sure, come by at 7:00am and we'll be here like usual."

Monday morning my class and I walked into the shop to discover all the shop tables covered with table cloth, and massive amounts of hash browns, eggs, bacon, and ham all cooked up ready to eat on trays. That highly modified stove had transformed into an even more modified BBQ over the weekend...Complete with a smoker, a drip tray, an extra long rotisserie, 2 levels of heavy stainless cooking racks inside, and a nice seamless door on the front (with factory windows and custom stainless faceplate installed)!

The owner's outburst that morning still makes me laugh. Of course my instructor tried to "soft-pedal" things by offering him a nice hot breakfast.;)

It does look store bought but better. I would love to see some of the fab pics. How long did it take to put together?

That's by far the nicest 750 dollar bar-b-q I've ever seen. Nice work.

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Originally Posted by ShaneJackson

It does look store bought but better. I would love to see some of the fab pics. How long did it take to put together?

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The total build time is about 40-50 hrs but I am getting better and should be able to do it in about 20 hrs with some changes I will make to the next few.

Attached are some pictures of the build:

Attachment 9539Attachment 9540Attachment 9541Attachment 9542Attachment 9543

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Originally Posted by agent4573

That's by far the nicest 750 dollar bar-b-q I've ever seen. Nice work.

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$750 is the build cost, they are for sale for $1750, and leading brands that are not even close to the quality are sale for $2000+.

I would love to build one of these. What gauge metal if the body?

What type paint do you use? It looks really nice and the funny thing, I was planning a couple racks of ribs today (craving all week). This thread will keep me on target.

Nice work for sure, sounds like you are perfecting them. Not sure how to get one from Az to Fl (sister in-law lives in Az, nah I have a mill an hour north of here...), but I would trade a MIG for one if closer :D

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Originally Posted by ShaneJackson

I would love to build one of these. What gauge metal if the body?

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Originally Posted by DVA

Metal fabrication was 12 gage for the water pan, 14 gage for the main part of the cook chamber, and 18 gage for the doors and sheet metal.

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Now that's the real deal. Fantastic build.

Thanks for the complements. I just hope that I can get one of the new smokers sold soon to fund some more builds. Have a guy stopping by Tueday night to check it out.

Sorry missed that in the original post... again drinking and posting don't always mix....

Have you considered selling the prebent metal as a kit? I would love to build one of these.