School Smoker

[thague90]

I'm always the negative nancy, but without full airflow thru the fan, I might me worried about overheating and fan burnout. I'll bet a quick trip to radio shack, a $20 bill and a little luck you could wire in a variable speed dial. I know cost is an issue but so is safety.

Actually that would be a much easier way to adjust the fan speed... Yup I think I'm going to do that now

EDIT: I took the blower and motor into my electronics professor at school (I love the resources I have right now) to get some expert advice on adjusting the fan speed. He told me to run it at full speed with the baffle over the blower the way I found it, that way the separate cooling fan in the motor will always operate at full speed. I guess this is the normal way to adjust the flow rate of a continuous duty blower/motor combo. It would still be nice to be able to change the speed without having to climb under the smoker, but that project is on the backburner for now.


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[thague90]

Installed feeder today. Working on the hopper. CNC burner went down just before I got the plates cut so I ended up calling it quits for the weekend.










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[Big T]

[Rodcrafter]

Yeah that


Making memories.

[Squiggle]

Very cool dude!

[thague90]

Got the sheets for the hopper burnt from my drawings today. Worked out perfect. The manual break was a little undersized but I made it work. Started tacking it together before the lab closed down for the day. I also welded a couple studs to a square piece of ⅛" to make the flange for the base of the hopper.














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[Big T]

Great work on bending the metal for the hopper. I know those bends and angles can be a tricky thing to get right.

[thague90]

Thanks. I'm really happy with how they turned out. I'll have a standalone picture of it when I finish welding and can pull it out.


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[Rodcrafter]

[thague90]

Got another hinge in the mail to replace the one I lost. Finished welding the hopper. Pictures for proof.











Now I've just got to insulate and skin it and I'm in business.


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[Squiggle]

Then figure out how to get it home!

[thague90]

Ya know what... There has been this voice in the back of my head just mumbling away; "it weighs a hundred pounds you can move it... Two hundred pounds you can roll it...three hundred pounds you can still roll it...four hundred fifty pounds... You should get help... Five hundred and eighty pounds Tom, what the hell are you going to do now?"

I have ordered over 500 lbs of tubing and sheeting...that doesn't include the weld weight, hardware, wheels, or the pellet feeder. I'll be honest... I drive a Jetta... I have no idea how to get it home other than walking it all the way home. LOL


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[Squiggle]

You need a mate with a ute(pickup) that you can bribe with smoked meats!

[thague90]

I want to put two thermometers on the door. I added 2 supports across the door to meet the purpose. For this, I cut a length of 2x2 along opposite corners. That way I could reach in to weld the nut to the inside of the support and I saved on tubing. I used a length of 2x2 and c-clamps to hold the inner sheet tight to the support and put a 2" staggered weld along the support to hold the sheet tight to it. The thermometers will screw in place through everything once the insulation and outer sheeting goes on.






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[thague90]

I want to put two thermometers on the door. I added supports across the door for something rigid to attach to. I cut a length of 2x2 along opposite corners to make both supports. That way I could reach in to weld the nut to the inside of the support and I saved on tubing. I used a length of 2x2 and c-clamps to hold the inner sheet tight to the support and put a 2" staggered weld along where they came together to hold the sheet in place. The thermometers will screw in place through everything once the insulation and outer sheeting goes on.






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[Rodcrafter]

Nice


Making memories.

[thague90]

Ok... So... Where should I put the temperature probe for the digital Traeger controller?


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[Dirtytires]

To be honest, I might call a flatbed tow truck to haul it home. I had a brother in law have to move his big mechanic toolbox when he changed shops. Nobody else in town would touch it.

Schedule it at the drivers off time. And remember, till you borrow a buddy's pickup, rent a trailer, buy 3 tie down straps, buy pizza and beer for 3 friends to help and fix the ding you put in it when it rolled down the ramp, the flatbed is actually cheaper.

[thague90]

One of the guys in the shop has a pickup with a lift-gate. Moving problems are solved for now. I got the Roxul insulation and am ready to close up the frame with some sheeting that I will CNC later today.
But I do have a slew of questions about finishing this thing up:

---Where should the temperature sensor get mounted in the cabinet?
---should I weld the outer sheets right to the frame or screw them on so they can be removed?
---I have a 1" gap at the front and rear of the drip pan, will that be enough for the heat/smoke to rise up?
I know I have more questions...but its 2AM and my brain just quit working...

[thague90]

Progress:
-drip pan
-hopper housing
-outer sheets/panels

Nothing welded yet, but it is fitting together nicely.















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[Squiggle]

[thague90]

So I have been told that I needed to put a raceway for the heat in here. Is it a huge issue that I didn't design one in here? I was thinking that I could run some angle up the back and run another sheet up to make the raceway. Any thoughts on this?


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[thague90]

Any input would be greatly appreciated here. Getting close to the point of no return.


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[Rodcrafter]

I guess you should, maybe make it look like channel iron but about 10"-12" wide. Run it as high as you can from the fire pot to the other side, and as high as you can under the drip pan since the fire pot is below the pan.

jm2cw


Making memories.

[thague90]

I went ahead and put in 2 pieces of 1"sq up the back corners of the whole chamber. I added some bent pieces of 1x1 angle to support the drip pan. I decided to run the raceway up the back because I'm down to a limited supply of sheet and I didn't have enough to do both sides. I hope it works out ok.












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