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Looking good! That is one seriously heavy duty cook chamber!

Jeff

Plugging along! Cut out and patched the two large bungs that we sticking out the back. Going to leave the drain hole in the end bell, and a bung that will be hidden by the front shelf. They may come in handy later on as ports for remote probes etc...Grinding down the welds from the old legs, and oth...

Definitely will be more test runs before food. I've got some cosmetic stuff to do, now that I know it works. Going to cut out the bungs and drain hole, weld in filler plates, and dress them in. Also need to fab up the stack damper/cover, then paint. Some additional bracing on the frame, and some she...

Nice!

So far seems to be running great! Running it with about a 4" deep bed of lump charcoal in the box, and a couple of alder splits. It hit 250F at 25 minutes, and 350F at just shy of 40 minutes, and climbing. Burning clean. At 350, there's barely a hint of smoke, mainly just heat waves. With the firebo...

It's alive!

Jeff

Thanks Big T. Almost there. Burnout/test burn tomorrow! I had the compressor tank sandblasted inside and out before the build. Do you think it's necessary to build a fire in the tank as well, or will a good hot fire in the firebox for a few hours be sufficient? Plan to start a good load of lump char...

Another slow day. Had salmon to put in the freezer(and on the grill for dinner!), and other things to attend to. Got the CC door hinges and handle welded on, and that's about it. Just need to make a charcoal/log basket, and then planning on a test burn on Sunday! I can't wait to see some smoke come ...

:LG: You will be glad you have the shadow plate in my opinion. Thanks, I'm hoping the shadow plate will be 5 minutes well spent!. Not much to report today. Tacked the CC door flanges on, and that's about it. Hinges won't be here until Friday, so will not be making test smoke until this weekend. Jeff

Thanks Big T! Chomping at the bit to do a test burn. Waiting on a local shop to slip roll the 3/16"x2" flat bar to flange the ends of the CC door. They're swamped, and running behind. Seriously considering going with 1/8" flat bar, and just hand bend it. The 3/16" just wouldn't bend without hinging ...

Put a handle on the firebox door, and then called it a day. I have a thing for motorcycles, and wanted to add at least one part from a bike to this pit. When I saw this brake pedal off a '91 Sportster, I decided it would be the FB door latch. Made a 1/2" stud, and bushed the brake with some bronze b...

Was looking at the scrap piece from cutting out the throat of the fire box, and decided to weld it in as a small shadow plate. Mounted it as though it hinged into the smoker, and is about 1-1/4" below the baffle plate. May have been a waste of time, but it was there, the welder was set up, and I jus...

Wound up doing a top mounted exhaust(sort of). Put it right on the corner where the end bell breaks over. Also left 1-1/2"-2" sticking inside the CC. As you pointed out, I can always kludge up an extension If I want to play with the tuning.

Jeff

Didn't make much headway today. Basically just welded in the grate ledges. Next task is the chimney. Trying to decide if I'll put it at the top in the usual location, or move it down closer to the center of the end, pretty much in the middle of the main and upper grate( ala Franklin BBQ and others)....

Dirtytires wrote: ↑

July 16th, 2018, 9:30 pm

I never use my drain....and my pit is a bit bigger and has been loaded. Just don’t see a need at this size range for one.

Good to hear. Seems like a lot of work, and very little utility.

Jeff

Big T wrote: ↑

July 16th, 2018, 4:38 pm

That's a neat design for the BP gap. You could make a larger piece, bolt it on and see how it changes the tune of the pit.

Thanks Big T. That's exactly what I have in mind.

Jeff

Thanks all. The more I research, the more I think I'll skip the drain, and just scrape after each cook. Welded the "dam" on the BP this morning. Going to fill with an inch or so of water, and do a leak down test on my BP welds before proceeding. Probably just go with a simple drain plug in the botto...

Just a little progress today. Fit the main baffle plate, and the filler for the end bell, and welded in place. Instead of welding the gap filler at the other end, I decided to make it so that it could be removed/replaced. So, I cut out the trapezoid of plate, and welded a piece of 1" angle to it. It...

Yep I welded inside and out as well.

Jeff

Just following the blueprint. I have a plasma cutter, so it makes no difference to me what shape I cut it. I'll just stick to the print.

Jeff

OK I'm sold, wide as possible. Thanks guys! I'll be putting in tracks in such a way that it will trap the shelf so it can't tip forward. So, as you guys suggest, I can just pull the bottom shelf out a ways, if I need to access it. Great advice, I really appreciate it!

Jeff

http://virtualweberbullet.com

Go to this site and you'll learn how to run your charcoal no problem. I've done briskets with charcoal on 18.5 and 22 WSM's. Only time they're fussy is in high winds.

Jeff

My tank is 24" diameter. Looks like about 8" spacing will do. Could still fit a butt or brisket if need be. I'll likely make the top shelf on mine either 1/2 or 3/4 width, to give easier access to the main shelf. As long as it's wide enough to hold a pan of beans/sides.

Jeff

My baffle plate will be in 3 pieces. The main plate is 33" long(full width), and fills the cook chamber from end seam to end seam. Will then scribe the firebox end to fill the end cap of the tank, and then cut a trapezoid to create the required gap at the other end. Weld them in place.....done. Then...

For those of you who have added a second(upper) shelf in their smokers, about how far above your main shelf did you mount it? Do you like it, and if not, what would you do differently next time? My smoker will be a horizontal 80 gallon tank based RF.

Thanks,

Jeff