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Yeah, the tubing was pretty thin. I don't remember the exact dimensions.

The top door on mine is 36"x32" and if I remember right it weighs about 120lb with the 2 layers of 10 gauge steel. Its not easy to carry around, I know that. I will give the X brace a shot if I ever have any free time, and go from there. Thanks for all the tips.

So, Puff, what are you suggesting? I am open to any ideas at this point. I would prefer not to rebuild the door from heavier material, as the door is already about all I can handle when removed, but if it comes down to that, I will do whatever works.

I would say at it's worse, the latch side is probably warped out by about 1". I will try the X brace and see how that works, then change gasket and hinges if still needed. Any particular type of rope gasket you recommend? I tried one on my small smoker, and it ended up just all falling off.

Does it sound like that would be helpful and/or necessary?

Thanks for the picture. Would there be any benefit to doing a "box" with the same material around the outside of the X?

Inside might work if there is enough clearance between the door and my grates. How would you suggest doing the middle of the X? Cut one piece of angle iron in half and then weld it back together, or should I notch it out somehow?

I believe the steel is 10 guage. What would you suggest for material on the x brace? I am not sure how I would do it and make that look decent.

It hadn't been added yet in this picture. There is a piece of 3" square tubing in the top right corner for exhaust. I thought about having a perforated plate between the chambers, but I was concerned the smoke wouldn't flow up properly as my water pan is pretty close to the top of the cook chamber.

The frame is 1" square tubing. I don't remember the wall thickness, but it is fairly thin. The tubing is stuffed with insulation, and there is a sheet of insulation between the two sheets of steel. It is a flat felt gasket.

I can show you a couple of my work in progress pics now.

Sure. It just cooled off from cooking today, but the next time I use it I will post some pics. You just want to see how it is warping, right?

Mine is a homemade unit. Basically the same setup as yours, just a larger scale. http://village.photos/images/user/8eebe29a-858d-4a42-a1fd-32600000b7c8/e18f597f-da22-40fd-8fb1-0ab85a40275b.jpg http://village.photos/images/user/8eebe29a-858d-4a42-a1fd-32600000b7c8/25d57a84-1442-4da5-bd2e-2f1d63c16d93...

They are bullet hinges. I am not sure how the hinges would have anything to do with the warping? The door functions perfectly when cool, but when it gets hot only about the first half of the door on the hinge side makes contact with the frame. The door is curled farther away from the frame the close...

I built an upright propane smoker, and I am trying to figure out a way to even out the temps. It currently runs about 15 degrees hotter on the top rack as the bottom. Would some type of baffle plate placed below the bottom rack help even it out, or is there another generally accepted method to help ...

I am normally smoking around 225. Pretty much as soon as it gets up to temp, the door becomes hard to close.

I got the door flat again using a 60 ton press at work :-) Now, the problem is that every time the smoker gets hot, the latch side of the door starts warping out and gets much harder to close. Does it sound like I just need to use much thicker steel for the skin of the door to prevent this? I am tir...

That is an idea. I was kind of hoping to be able to utilize the stop points on the grill valve so I could turn all the way to low without the risk of hitting OFF without pushing the knob down.

I have a custom built cabinet smoker with a Bayou Classic burner and regulator that I would like to add a control valve on the front of the smoker instead of just at the propane tank. Basically, this is what I have: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61b%2BC-NzkLL._SL1200_.jpg And I would like to...

Thanks for the tips. I will give those a shot. I don't know if it would work in this situation, but what about heating it with a torch and then holding a wet rag on it to shrink the metal rapidly? I have done that with warped tubing before.

Forgot to mention this is a propane smoker with a felt gasket. I doubt it gets as hot as the FB door on your smoker. I used it a few times with no problems until I left it burning empty for too long.

I am building a vertical steel smoker. My top cook chamber door warped on the top latch side when I accidently let it get too hot without a water pan or anything in it. I can pull it closed with the latch, but it is so tight that it is pulling the latch off the smoker. The door is square tubing with...

Sounds good. Thanks for the info.

Nothing specific that I know of. Some of it was remnant steel so it was sitting outside, But I don't know of anything else that has been on it.

Should I wipe it down with acetone or anything or just a dry rag?