SeanMurphy265 Project #4 Smoker!

[zoama]

Won't the heat melt the plastic seals in your ball valve ?

[SeanMurphy265]

I'm sure it could if the temperature gets real high, but it will still control the air flow which is what I am most concerned about. Since it's insulated it should not take much of a fire to maintain 200-250 temps.

[Tritium]

Insulated Smoker. VERY NICE! Should be very efficient. I bet not one in 5000 is insulated. I like it.

Thurmond

[SeanMurphy265]

I'm ready to try it out! From what I have read on the pros and cons insulated with dual wall sheet metal is the way to go.

[performance]

Sean,
From first hand experience, now over ten years building multiple grills and smokers, I would advise you NOT to use thin sheet for your fire box. Anything less than 1/4" will NOT last very long. In fact, my latest, I used 3/8". Helps stabilize the fluctuation and recover times too when you open the doors to the cooking chamber.

[performance]

I hope you don't mind the advice. I know you have gotten a ways on it...I did think that the castors were a little close when I first saw it...Consider reinforcing them up to the fire box. When you have the weight of the wood in the box before the meat is added, it could get worse again.
One additional comment about the metal thickness, is that thin stuff warps and pops when it has a fire in it, many cases it will be permanantly warped. Doors and sealing areas are subject to different expansion rates and it is an ugly picture when you get done cooking for the first time or two. I'd say the frame around the fire box may actually do as much harm as good, because it will remain cooler while the fire box is expanding....Something to keep an eye on anyway.

[zoama]

I hope you don't mind the advice. I know you have gotten a ways on it...I did think that the castors were a little close when I first saw it...Consider reinforcing them up to the fire box. When you have the weight of the wood in the box before the meat is added, it could get worse again.
One additional comment about the metal thickness, is that thin stuff warps and pops when it has a fire in it, many cases it will be permanantly warped. Doors and sealing areas are subject to different expansion rates and it is an ugly picture when you get done cooking for the first time or two. I'd say the frame around the fire box may actually do as much harm as good, because it will remain cooler while the fire box is expanding....Something to keep an eye on anyway.

Do you have a drawing/plans or link to a good design ? I'd like to add one of these to my list of projects.

[performance]

Designs are usually in my head. I think of them and build them from my head..But I just happen to have one in the works that I did make a rough drawing for the customer.

[SeanMurphy265]

http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/vi...53e9a59ac8a43d
This is where I read most of my information, and I looked through a lot of build threads. Somewhere there is an article explaining all the types of pits and the advantages of each.
This is a fire box calculator.
http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20871

Mark
I should be OK as far as heat goes. I'm not going to build a fire directly on the sheet metal. The box is 12 gauge and the smoker is 12 gauge, I did use a sheet of 16 gauge on one outside run. It will not take very much charcoal to heat the cooker. My last cooker was 12 gauge inside and 16 gauge outside with no insulation. I could cook 4 hours on a 1/4 bag of charcoal.

[performance]

The heat within the fire box from the fire will cause the metal to flex and warp badly. Its just not building the fire directly down on the metal that is the problem.

[geezer]

Has nobody ever heard of ceramic tile or fire brick, to solve that warping problem, Have to laugh a bit on white man smokers, seen many up in the north country built by natives, basically a tee pee made out of logs with a rack placed in them, they work fine and the fish is always tasty, Not to make fun of Sean's efforts I like his builds.

[SeanMurphy265]

Oddly enough I do find it ironic the people do spend big bucks on smokers. I know several people who cook whole hogs for holiday gatherings and such. They all dig holes in the ground add their wood or charcoal, wrap the pig in foil, cover with dirt, and wait....

It is what it is and their hundreds of theories about bbq and cookers! Alton Brown did an episode where he made a smoker from a cardboard box!

I will cook with my smoker once or twice to start a seasoning and then sell it. Eventually I would like to get a sheet metal roller and build my own ugly drum style smoker. I have some ideas that I would like to try, but I would like to try them with thicker material than a normal 55 gallon drum. I would also like to build a stumps clone, I came close to trying it, but my budget would not allow it since I was moving.

[performance]

Has nobody ever heard of ceramic tile or fire brick, to solve that warping problem, Have to laugh a bit on white man smokers, seen many up in the north country built by natives, basically a tee pee made out of logs with a rack placed in them, they work fine and the fish is always tasty, Not to make fun of Sean's efforts I like his builds.

Geezer, that would make it last longer, but that thin of metal would still warp once the heat was eventually transferred to it.

White man smokers? Historically, it is black man smokers as they developed their style during the slave era as they used techniques passed down from Africa and combined their techniques with the techniques carried over from various parts of the old world and a few from the local Indian population. Bar b Que is taken seriously by southerns, black and white alike. It has been corrupted by some people to mean cooking on a gas or charcoal grill...even an oven, then loading it down with sauce for flavor. No such thing down here. Low and slow. Usually 5-10 hours or longer at a maximum of 250 degrees yields the most tender and juiciest portions of beautifully smoked meat.

Southern Bar B Que came around out of necessity. Smoke houses were built to keep meat, (anyone ever remember the salt box) when refrigeration wasn't around for long hot summers. Open pits were developed and used to feed large numbers of people...and the two merged into a process that could be replicated more easily, and efficiently with large portable smokers. After all, where's there's bar b que, there's family. So that means they need to be portable and carried around. Catering Bar B que is a big thing as well, cooked on site, where the smell of the smoke and meat hangs in the air while people are gathered around eating until their hearts are content. Of course, add to that the fact that there are as many bar b que joints as there are snakes around the south.

What's the right style? Its the style that people enjoy eating. I'd add to that one of the most popular que masters is Myron Mixon, of local fame. His old style bar b que has won attention nationally as the best many times over. He's one of many that gets it right.

[DaveO]

After all, where's there's bar b que, there's family.

Everything's bigger in Texas: my family south of Corpus has a small barn dedicated to barbecue. At the last family reunion I paced off the grill at 6 ft wide by 40 ft long. Prep for Sunday dinner starts Saturday afternoon, and Saturday night is a preparation party where a lot of family reunion-ing takes place. (Lone Star has fallen out of favor since the recipe changed some years ago, but suitable replacements have been found.) Arguments over sop and how and when to apply are common but it always turns out great.

[SeanMurphy265]

On the bbq forums, I saw where some people are use the barrel stove kit doors. I just ordered this one from Amazon. I'm still not sure if I will use it, but I think it would look good and function well on a smoker.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..._ya_os_product

[SeanMurphy265]

My barrel kit just arrived, I ordered it for the door, but I'm still not sure if I am going to use it. The damper (which I had not planned to use) was damaged in shipping I guess. The vents on the door may be too small to provide the proper air flow.

[performance]

It'll be large enough. You'll need to get the fire going first, then shut the door. Once hot, it will suck air through if need be.

[Tritium]

Those broken pieces look to be the work of Universal Parcel Smashers (UPS).

Thurmond

[performance]

If cast iron can't make it through what can?

[SeanMurphy265]

If cast iron can't make it through what can?

I thought you guys would get a kick out of that!