where do I start

[Tom_Heath]

My thoughts are yes the firebox would want to be bigger with a rf.

Tuning plates I think would run fine with the box you have. And once they are set, there good until a large temp change happens with the outdoor temps. They can be set up with locking set screws so they can move in the future.


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[thatlevi]

So I think I have decided to go with a bigger fire box Mostly because I found A 24 inch round tank like 3/16's thick. I will take more pics when I get the tank home from the farm ;)

[Tom_Heath]

Awesome deal, I will look at the numbers and see what it looks like. You always have the option to set the round tank firebox just inside the food chamber a little bit if needed to. Like if the numbers were running on the low side.

Looking forward to the pics.

[thatlevi]

Ok so I got a new fire box its 20 inches across and forty five inches long aka (a forty gallon compressor tank) so does it matter how far the tanks overlap. I just thinkin' bout my fire box hang out forty inches that seems like alot. I was think more like thirty inches. tucking it under the cook chamber alittle farther. does this create more uneven temps. or am I over thinkin' it.

[Frank_Cox]

the most efficient way to marry up a firebox and a cook chamber when using a round firebox is to use an eyeball shaped hole between them. if you overlap them with the firebox going under the cook chamber the baffle plate will have a hot spot in it at the overlap area. the flames will climb out of the firebox and come into direct contact with the bottom of the baffle plate in that spot. i recommend you follow rak's example with the way he did his firebox.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=186
he cut his tank for the firebox to the desired length and then split it in half length ways and added some splices in between the splits. you would need to cut the end bells off the tank if they are helical and plate them off with flat plates. also i would do the same for the firebox end of your cook chamber if you still want to use the air tank. the flat plates are needed to make the eyeball shape.....
now having said all of that, the distance of the offset between the tanks does matter. when figuring this dimension you will need to take into consideration the square inches of your firebox to cook chamber opening. that will determine the minimum opening height of that hole and the offset will need to be enough to allow for that.

[thatlevi]

[thatlevi]

I feel like I am on the campain trail I have switched Ideas more time on how to go forward then when are senators do when they get a tough ?


So maybe it back to tuning plates

[Frank_Cox]

LOL, tuning plates are ok also. You just have to spend some time dialing them in. The tuning plates would be easy to move but they take some patience to deal with. A reverse flow plate is very accurate when figured correctly. The only reason I brought up all the firebox stuff is to advise against putting it under the cook chamber on one end. Now you could do a center feed firebox and have it under the cook chamber but that is a whole nother discussion.

[Tom_Heath]

Try not to stress over it levi, change is a good thing sometimes.

There is so many ways for it to work, when we offer an idea, we're trying to offer the best running rig that we know of. Yes it will burn with the fire under the food tank. Is it gonna be a perfect burn? No. But it will work, and it will smoke food. Just not ideal.

You can take any route you like if there ends up being a style you really like. We can help you make the best of what you end up with.

[thatlevi]

So I was just thinkin' so I better ask. would a series of smoke stacks across the top work the same as tuning plates. dampers on said stacks open or close more to tune the heat. is that something that would work or do you all think it would fail miserably just a thought

[k.a.m.]

thatlevi, I do not think it would fail miserably I do think you will have a cooker that cannot be controlled properly. With the proper draft in a cooker the tuning plates allow the heat/smoke to rise appropriately to the grates and then exit the chamber. If you apply several stacks the heat/ smoke will take its natural course and go straight up leaving you with a hot spot on the firebox end, so you will close that stack down and the spot moves further down and so on. You will be playing musical chairs the whole cook. In my opinion you will be better off choosing a design that is proven and you want then go for it. Then at a later date if you choose to build another cooker experiment with it. Most folks build one cooker in their life because they want to know they built it. I have built a few cookers in my life and yes I play with ideas and experiment but I also know from experience where not to go or do. What I am trying to say is for a newcomer to building a cooker it is easy to get caught up in ideas that look cool on paper but just do not work in reality and you do not want to spend time and money building something to just come back and ask how do I fix this. These are just my thoughts.

[thatlevi]

thanks k.a.m. it was just a thought. So I asked. I think I like building them more than using them to cook. this is number one there will be more thank you

[Tom_Heath]

I would be in agreement on this one. Lots of time would be spent changing dampers.

Always keep in mind, every cool thing you see on a smoker was at one time unheard of.

Imagine what the world of smokers thought the first time they heard of someone trying to build a reverse flow.

I liked the one where a guy ask about building a center feed reverse flow. WOW what an awesome cooker he ended up with.
I really LOVE that one.