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More pics of the firebox and the CC.

With the firebox pushed against the CC and aligned, I used a 48" metal ruler to project the top edge of the firebox onto the end of the CC. I dont have pictures of this but basically, I laid the ruler parallel to the blue level you saw on the firebox above and pushed it until it hit the end cap. Bec...

Another build update! Now that the firebox is built, I prepared to make the cut in the CC (tank 1) for the firebox to fit into. I knew i needed to get the tank level which involved laying a level on top of tank 1 and knew that the valve holes would get in the way of that so started off by cutting al...

Welding the outer wall to the bottom plate gave me some issues. Due to some imperfections in the first cut i made in tank 2, i had a gap up to 1/4" in some places between the plate and the outer wall. in some places, i inserted a filler metal strip to fill this gap and in others i welded a bunch of ...

My next task was to weld the inner wall of my firebox to the plate i just cut out. I centered the cylinder on the plate, made sure it was level with my garage floor (where the plate was sitting), tac'ed it in place then welded it solid. I only welded the outside of this joint though. this should be ...

I have another progress update! In short, the firebox has been built. I am going to share what i did that worked and what didn't work to help anyone who reads this in the future. When I got the plate rolled to form the inside of the firebox, i had them tac weld it closed. I started off fully welding...

dacolson wrote: ↑

August 24th, 2020, 9:38 am

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7536&start=175

At the bottom of the page are the pics of the finished trailer.

I like the build! Almost reminds me of a steampunk design.

Surface prep is key. I used that exact paint on my last build. Stripped the paint, then went over it with a 3M surface prep pad/pneumatic grinder. It was a ton of work but I love the way it turned out. after I painted it I baked the paint on with a weed burner so I could hit surfaces that wouldn't ...

Hey guys, I have another question. I think i want to avoid painting the smoker because i like the original patina that the tanks have developed over the years. I like the old worn look of them but i want to somehow protect the metal from getting any rustier than it currently is. Can i use something ...

I built a 250 reverse flow and detailed the trailer build in this post: http://smokerbuilder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2092 I finally decided on the 2x3 and the design of it made it easy to square things up and design it just big enough to sit on the axle perfectly. Check it out, the trailer ...

So true....metal can be cut and re-welded tho. And that means the first attempt is “practice” and NOT a mistake!!! Looks like you have things worked out pretty well and are off to a great start. Thanks! Thats one of the things I like best about metal working. I love being able to cut something off ...

This is great. Nice write up. Are you welding the end cap back on the new smaller tank? Hey thanks! Im going to need to cut more shapes out of that section for when I cut the valves out of tank 1. Other than that, that part is kinda scrap at this point. My neighbor wants the end cap to use as a fir...

I said this thread would be a build log and have made a fair but of progress over the past few days as I eluded to in my last post. I bought both tanks with valves off so they had been airing out for a long time so there should be no propane left. To take an extra precaution, I filled the tanks up w...

:yth: I’ll hit it with my pressure washer first. As high pressure as possible. Gets all the loose crap off. Thats a great suggestion. Ill have to try that when i get to the CC. The picture i posted above is the inside face of the outer cylinder of the insulated firebox. I cut a 36" section from one...

Hey so I have made more progress! I got a piece of steel rolled to form a 26" diameter by 36" long cylinder! This will be the inside liner for the firebox. 859A80DB-4A14-43C7-B556-C980AF0AA2E1_1_105_c.jpeg I have also looked at the inside of both propane tanks and the insides are quite rusty. How mu...

A 2 inch steel pipe is fine. I used a schedule 40 threaded pipe. Cut one end and weld it to the bottom of the baffle plate (or tank if building a traditional offset). You can then screw the ball valve (or pipe cap) on the threaded end. Standard steel is fine, absolutely nothing galvanized and no ne...

hey guys, Got another update for you. I have made a lot of progress on the smoker design and have started getting my material list together for the build. Below is a video of me flying around my current design. I still have to model the firebox door latch, top cooking rack, shadow plate, the CC door...

So I'll just read an article this morning that Frank put out that spelled out the differences in operation between a reverse flow and a conventional (Texas style) offset. I learned a lot in a short time...do you think I can find it now...heck NO! Turns out a conventional cooks from the top down and...

On the door - I would add a cross bar per the pic above. I did not on my first. I built my vents into the door which got in the way of cross bars. I get some warpage. Even on 1/4" plate. It settles down once my temps come into range but it makes airflow control a little less predictable. Did you ex...

Insulation can be any material that is heat rated in the 2000 degree range. Many here use Roxul or a ceramic insulation. Do a quick search of “high temp insulation” to get some ideas. I Chose to use a ceramic insulation because I found a 1” thick material that had same r-value of the 2” thick Roxul...

Mankussm has a pic in his current build thread: http://www.smokerbuilder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7581 Most of the way to the bottom of the first page of the thread. He calls it a ghost plate but it’s the same idea. Thanks that was a good picture of it. BTW i forgot to ask. Whats the best ma...

Sorry, no way to get a picture of my shadow plate. It’s tucked in behind the firebox and covered in soot...not going to be able to see anything. I screwed up and didn’t put it in during construction so had to wiggle it in thru the throat because I didn’t want to cut into my baffle plate. Most times...

Myself I would lower your FB to CC. You only need a dam across the bottom and that two inches you have there would be better served as an opening and lower the heat down in the CC. Also, If you are not set on a round FB a square box will drop that fb even more and keep the same sq" opening. So if I...

Welcome! Dirtytires has got you heading in the right direction ... for the most part, lol. I have my stack built at grate level - with a smoke collector - on both my builds. One’s a reverse flow, the other’s a standard offset. Both draft well and lay done a lot of smoke on the meat. And, there’s no...

Thank you for your detailed responses! You actually removed a lot of the confusion rather than adding to it. I appreciate it! The calculator gives chimney length from top of cook chamber. If you choose extend it down to the grate (and I don’t recommend it), you ignore that length and still add the c...