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I have never used a dial type therm that actually gave me the right reading. Maybe the probes are to short and don't get a good reading on all my thin walled smokers. They do add some bling to the smoker so I put them on anyway. But I just count on digitals in a block of wood sitting on the cooking ...

What k.a.m said

welcome to the site and good luck when the storm hits ya.

Was out in Ohio over the weekend visiting family. They wanted to take me to this great BBQ joint. I was excited as it was some small town true Q joint, so I thought. I haven't learned my lesson yet so I ordered a pulled pork/brisket dinner. More pot roast BBQ, had to soak the pork in sauce AND coal ...

Welcome to the site. That build to cover any party. Look forward to your build.

Tom. I calculated his oval tank based off the 32 deep X 45 tall X 60 long. He said his firebox was 16 X 24 X 24. I calculated his cook chamber as the oval shape. But I do think I calculated it as 48 tall, I don't remember. But I measured the volume of a 32 cylinder and then added the volume of the l...

Sounds just like Illinois. If you are from Illinois, then you are from Chicago.

haha, scratches, oh they are there now. That was pics when it was new. Its far from new now. The propane works great. Just fill the basket full of charcoal and light the burner. I shut the propane off after about 30 minutes and its ready to roll. When I did that big smoke a couple weeks ago with the...

Here is my current rig I built last spring. It started out as a 300gal fuel tank I found at a buddys farm. It was still up on the stilts you normally see them on. I was able to use a lot of the steel from the stand it was on for this build as well. Most of the material on this build was recycled off...

Personally I would just deal with the firebox. Build a bigger firebox with a good RF plate. That will make a huge difference on your smoker. A warmer box doesn't really determine the size the firebox in my opinion. Its the other way around. A warmer box is essentially just that, a warmer box. The he...

For that tank you will need a firebox of around 26,000+ cubic inches. The one you have now is 9,200 cubic inches.
Height X Width X Length (all inches) will give you the cubic inches.

You smoker is around 79,000 cubic inches for reference.

Is this an oval tank? Its sounding like your firebox is on the small size.

The key to this is giving us the dimensions of your smoker and we can work off that. The RF plate can be as thick as you want it. The thicker the better for heat retention especially on thin walled smokers. The size of the fire box really only matters on the small size. It can be as big as you want ...

Welcome usm, Looking forward to seeing your build.

Fill the tank with water. That will push all the fumes out of the tank. Other also put some dish soak in there also.

That tank has a wall thickness less than 1/8. Its closer to 1/16. But that isn't that big a deal especially with a reverse flow. I am assuming this is the oval shaped tank. My big smoker is a thin walled fuel tank just like the oil tank you have. As long as you keep it sealed up then it will work fi...

Edna's Kid wrote:Yeah but they're hard to keep lit!

Welcome aboard Travis. Like Edna's Kid mentioned, we all started out somewhere and that is why we now build our own the way we want them.

I have a lincoln 175 (probably the older version of the 180 you posted) and love it. Have had it for a long time. It does require 220v so you have to take that into your thinking. If you have plenty of access to 220v then go for it. Its one of those deals that you don't want to pass on something wit...

Welcome to the site. Look forward to the build as well. Like Frank said, those hot water heaters tend to have a special lining in them and also the actual tank may be galvanized. But that is your standard home water heater. Not sure about something that big. The tank dims sound perfect.

money shot

I had to use my new UDS this weekend for something. So I grabbed a few bags of deer from the freezer. Most people have a hard time smoking deer because it dries out real easy. I always had that problem as well until I figured it out. Here is how I smoke deer and its always a guaranteed hit. BTW, I a...

Well the comp wasn't that impressive. There was maybe 15 teams there and there was a couple cool cookers. But most were using webbers. The tasting wasn't what I expected. Paid $5 to get a medicine cup size sample of pulled pork. Got maybe 12 samples and 3 of them I liked. I am surprised how differen...

I don't think its sanctioned by anyone. Its a benefit for something. Not sure how many will be there.

Going to my first bbq competition tomorrow. Well, not to compete, but to check out everyone's rigs and eat some Q. Its a new comp that is actually close to me. Had several people ask if I was entering, but I am not ready for that show yet. Just want to go and check it all out. The do have a special ...