1st smoker build

[Buggs]

Quick question is there any recommendation for the placement and the number of the thermometers?

[dacolson]

Personal choice really. The only real use I get from them is directional temp changes. And as pit jewelry lol. If I have 2 doors, I’ll either put one in each door, or one at either end of the pit and one between the doors. I take actual cooking temps with digital pit probes at the grate level, center grate.


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[tinspark]

Man, that think looks great! Work of art. I like everything about it.
The suggestion that I received when I was placing my thermometers was to make them symmetrical in the tank, evenly spaced in other words. I honestly never hardly look at my manual gauges anymore since I have been using digital probes, but that's just me..

[Buggs]

Thank you all for the kind words and advise! My only hope is that it flows correctly when I get done.

[Buggs]

Okay back at it tonight.
1st photo with the smoker FB even with the axle? Not sure yet.
2nd photo with the smoker sitting on cross braces?
Opinions and suggestions on either?

[Big T]

The top picture looks about right to me or at least that's how I normally do it.

[Buggs]

What kind of ground clearance should I have under the fire box?

[dacolson]

I’m guessing those wheels are around 25” diameter so the bottom of your axle is round 11” off the ground. You’re only hanging past the rear wheel maybe 24”. You’d have to get that tongue up pretty high to scrape much. Most cars sit around 5 to 6” off the ground so I think you would have a ton of leeway to get it where you want. You need to think about grate height if you plan on standing on the ground when you are cooking. Figure out where the bottom of your pit is off the ground with a 36” grate height. I’m guessing your FB is hanging 20” below the bottom of the CC. You’re bottom grate sits another 15” above that. You’ll have to have your grates at 40” to even get 5” of ground clearance. With you racks being 30” deep, you’re going to need to mess around with height and position on the trailer to figure out what works best for you. Maybe even push to back - off centered to the passenger’s side - and build a deck to walk on. I’m a short guy though so grate height and depth are always on my mind.

[Buggs]

dacolson your about spot on with all the dimensions.I will see how close i can get the CC to 36".

[dacolson]

And for the record, I’d be nervous w just 5” of clearance. But that’s just me. I’d be more comfortable with a few extra inches.

[Dirtytires]

Top one...otherwise you are going to need a stepladder just to flip open the doors.

[Buggs]

Major progress tonight.

[dacolson]

Sharp

[Big T]

[Buggs]

I scored some smoker candy today!
5” face going to look good TDC!

[Dirtytires]

And a true smoker gauge. It's fun to see some of the useless dials that go to 550 and people that want to get that high on a smoker. If your gauge pegs-out, you are too hot!!

I love it!

[Buggs]

And a true smoker gauge. It's fun to see some of the useless dials that go to 550 and people that want to get that high on a smoker. If your gauge pegs-out, you are too hot!!

I love it!

One of my friends gave it to me, it’s set 90 degrees low so it’s perfect !

[Dirtytires]

So when it reads 150 degrees it is really 240?

Not sure I would like that. My point was that true smoking is intended to be done below 250 so the dial was perfect. If you are going to recalibrate it and have to add 90 degrees to every reading, than I would just get a different dial.

To each their own!

[Buggs]

Dirtytires, I get your point. I would have to recalibrate to read true. I understand that I need to work with temps under 250.
Thank you for the input.
On a separate note my stack baffle parts showed up tonight.

[Big T]

Nice!

[Kcd2016]

Dirtytires, I get your point. I would have to recalibrate to read true. I understand that I need to work with temps under 250.
Thank you for the input.

We talking about bbq or recalibrating your thermometer? If it's cooking then I humbly disagree!

On a separate note my stack baffle parts showed up tonight.

Looks slick! Laser cut? Are these custom made to order or store bought?
(edit) Oh wait! Those the tear drop smoke stack covers from the smokerbuildermfg.com store?

[Buggs]

The parts are laser cut, I have a friend that works at a place that does it. I draw them on cad and he will cut them for me. It’s a great deal for me. He made me a sign for the top of the smoker , butt that will be in a later post. We were talking about the thermometer!

[Dirtytires]

Hang onto that friend. I just got quotes from 3 local shops to cut a set of 10"x10" bed-plates for a shop press out of 1" plate. The quotes ranged from $700 to $900 dollars. I ordered them out of Oregon and had the 50# of plates shipped to my door for $225. My point is, I'm not sure how people afford laser cutting without a connection.

I'm jealous!

[Buggs]

Sorry it’s been a while! My welder has been working a lot of overtime. I’ve been busy collecting parts and pieces. We tweaked the doors and worked on the fire box door, let me know what you think? I’ve ground all the paint off the fire box as well. Made new rails for the trailer with all new mounting hardware.

[Big T]

Looks awesome!