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Finished up the trailer today - hope to have it fit to the smoker tomorrow.

I made a fire box for something similar...only a fuzz more redneck for a friend of mine. ;) It was only a couple feet from the box - we made a thimble out of some old air cleaner covers for the pipe. It worked good...even in WI. IMG00174-20110114-0751.jpg IMG00176-20110114-0751.jpg IMG00175-20110114...

Could you put the hinges on the other side of the corner, a flat gasket on the door and use the cook chamber edge for the sealing surface? If that would work you could maximize your rack space. It would basically be the way I made my firebox door.

Welded up the shackles and cross brases today. I broke down and bought some nice rims & tires too. Now I have to figure out how to make the trailer tongue. I was planning to use an old boat trailer pole but it was bent too many places to be salvageable. 2015-06-22 20.51.57.jpg 2015-06-22 20.51.27.jpg

The only thing missing in the video is a good looking assistant!

Got it tacked into place today. Next step is to weld the shackles in place and then set the frame hight.

My youngest daughter gave me a down payment on a plasma cutter. I found it inside a hat that my oldest son gave me. I've been on the fence between a Thermodynamics 52 or a Hypertherm 45...the hat pretty much ended my dilemma.

Started fitting the axle this week. The way I originally planned the frame placed the axle too far forward. I spent today making frame extensions which will allow me to move the axle to within an 1 1/2" of the fire box. I planned to use wheels off an old car I have but learned today (the hard way) t...

My mailbox sure smelled good when it arrived. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet but I sure am looking forward to giving it a whirl!

I don't like to sell it - it's too much work and it seems to cheapen the experience. It's a whole lot more fun to share and trade. It's a family operation too - Grampa's tractor and trees, my cooker, firewood comes from whom ever has it...labor from family members, neighbors and friends.

Axle arrived this week along with 4 reasons to get the cooker finished.

I like to barter - especially for unique things. I've traded for bull calves locally, BBQ sauce from Illinois and Kansas, goose sausage, home made jelly, honey, venison bacon, home made jewelry....rubs and seasonings would go good on the list. :-) I'll send you a quart and you send me what you think...

smokendink71 wrote:Just made another large batch of all of my rubs and seasonings if anyone is interested let me know and I'll hook you up.

Would you trade for pure maple syrup?

Tacked the cc flanges in today.

First year I made it I spent $60 in propane for $60 of syrup...and it tasted like the old galvanized pan my father-in-law used many moons ago. It ended up being bear bait for a buddy of mine.

Very cool!

We burn whatever is free or easily obtained. Lately it's been elm - my brother-in-law brought some pine and it worked fine but filled up the ash compartment fast. It takes us about 30 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. You can't overheat the syrup but you can over cook it. We were working on ...

We bottled up 77 gallons of syrup this year. Every year we get faster. This year I installed a bigger fan under the fire and my evaporation rate went from 30 gallons/hour to 50. One of these days I'll get a flue pan and should be able to evaporate 80-100 gph.

Point well taken. I used that style hinge on my Maple Syrup arch and figured if it holds up to that...well, it's substantially more heat than I'm thinking the smoker will be. Here's a picture of my arch in action this spring so you'll see what I mean...granted, it is insulated, but it's basically a ...

Put the door on today - just bolted the hinge on with 1/4" bolts to be sure of the fit and it turned out good. Next step is to figure out how I want to latch it shut.

I put it there for cleaning but hadn't thought about plugging it...i probably should, huh?

How much overlap is best? I was thinking 3/4"...

Next question - cc door flange on the inside or outside of the door? I like the look of it inside personally but I'm curious if one way seals better than the other.

What is the general rule of thumb for stack diameter? I was thinking of using 5" square for my 180 gallon cooker. It would be the equivalent of a round pipe 5.64" which puts the stack around 54" tall. Does that sound about right?