Build question

[Ihuntelk2]

I am currently building a 6 foot long 2 ft diameter reverse flow smoker. I have mounted on trailer. Not welded completely. Marked out my doors and welded on my hinges.

Question I have is should I heat up smoke box before cutting the door out completely. Not sure if it will spring on me.

The steel is 1/4”

[dacolson]

That’s gonna be a good looking build. Welcome. There are so many discussions on this topic and so many different answers with nothing conclusive. I think from common sense that you could guess heat would relax to steal a bit and help potentially avoid the door spring but there’s no guarantee. I have cut doors in 4 tanks now and it is 3 to 1 that have sprung. My guess is it depends more on how big of a gap was there between the two ends of the flat plate that was welded together to make the tank. If it was a small gap - less stress on the steel when it’s welded together- then there’s probably less likelihood that it will spring. There’s just no way to tell until you cut it. I’d suggest just cutting it and prepare to bend it back a little bit or use gaskets to fill any gaps.

[dacolson]

I’d cut the hinges off too. They’re going to be hard to deal with while you cut the door and if it springs at all you’ll need to take the door off anyway. Also if you plan on putting flanges around the outside with gaskets you’ll have to redo the hinges anyway.

[Ihuntelk2]

I’d cut the hinges off too. They’re going to be hard to deal with while you cut the door and if it springs at all you’ll need to take the door off anyway. Also if you plan on putting flanges around the outside with gaskets you’ll have to redo the hinges anyway.

Well i cut the doors out around the hinges already. I the only portion on both doors that are not cut are the bottoms. My plan was to weld on all the door flanges start a big ass fire inside , let cool then cut the bottoms and weld on the flanges on the bottom.

[hogaboomer]

If it's going to spring, it's going to spring. You're not going to get it hot enough to stress relieve it with a fire. When they stress relieve piping they heat it up to around 1200 or so and keep it there for several hours or more.

[Rodcrafter]

I agree, I normally don’t put the flanges or hinges in place until the doors fit correctly. I just consider it the process.

But hey you might be the lucky one, but if not don’t feel bad. If you put all the flanges on too they will get bent as you realign it if they bend.


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[Big T]

[dacolson]

Good luck brother. Doors are a PITA.

[Dirtytires]

Ditto....forget the fire. If it springs, deal with fixing it as it’s a pretty easy process. Your fire isn’t going to help prevent it.

We get a lot of people who want to put hinges on before they cut off the door....most have to cut them off and re-align them. You will need the door off completely to straighten it (if needed) and it’s a TON easier to put the flanges on and work on the inside of the tank with the door out of the way. It is super easy to re-align the door once the flanges are on and then you put down your gasket (compress it half way) and tack on the hinges.

[Ihuntelk2]

Update on door cut. With hinges and flanges attached. Very Minor spring. Looks super manageable. Here some pictures what do y’all think?

[dacolson]

Bummer. Not too bad though. With a gasket you may be able to get close but I think you’ll have to cut your hinges off to get the door to fit right with gaskets. You can also use toggle latches to close the gap further. Not sure I’d go through the trouble if it were my own. If I were building this for someone else, I’d probable take the door off and bend it back with the jack and chain method.

[Dirtytires]

Should straighten pretty easily.

I straightened mine and then welded on my straps. I used 0.25x2” flats and don’t have a bender. The spring in my straps forced me to tweak the door just a bit after they were added. So don’t get discouraged if you have to pull the chain/jack out twice.