baffle plate thickness

[midwestsmoker]

hello all,

Newbie here to this site. Have built a smoker before (pic in the welcome forum.) I searched this forum and did not find an answer to a question I am pondering.

I am gathering material for a home/backyard reverse flow offset horizontal smoker. The details of the build have not been finalized, probably in the area of a 3' to 4' cylinder/pipe; 24' to 36" in diameter, metal thickness 1/4" or 3/16", non-insulated square firebox.

The question I have is.... for the baffle plate, what is the minimum thickness you would use or suggest? I was originally thinking of using the same steel that the firebox will be made out of, (1/4" or 3/16"), but got to thinking...why?

I am tempted to go with a thinner piece of steel for the following reasons:

1) a thinner plate might radiate/disburse heat quicker than a thicker plate; without giving me the hotspot common in
offset smokers.
2) if the other function of the plate is to channel smoke to the far end of the smoker... is thickness important?
3) trying to save weight, this planned smoker will be on a set of wheels, but anywhere I can save a few pounds, making
it easier to maneuver, I am all for that.

I am not talking tin foil thin..... but just curious what the thoughts might be.

[The Czar]

3/16 is good....it doesn't take so much fuel to get it hot...once it gets hot it doesn't take much to maintain it....


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[Rodcrafter]

I would like to add to what DC is saying, the heat he referred to is going to traverse down the distance of the BP. We call the benifit of that heat radiant heat. The thicker steel makes this heat more even than it would be if it were thinner.

Jm2cw

[DUAYNE B]

[midwestsmoker]

thanks for the input... anxious to get started......

[PetesMeat]

I use 6mm (nearly 1/4in) in mine and it works well.

[Gizmo]

If you could put in a 2" thick BP then you're absolutely correct; it would take most of Saturday just to get it up to temp and the cooker would weigh more than the tow vehicle ….. but it would be the most stable temp smoker you ever operated.

If you read all the posts on this forum and averaged the opinions I think you would discover that a 1/4" thick BP is the best compromise of all the benefits vs. all the drawbacks.

[Clover Ridge Smokers]

[bluecatfish]

And my vote is for 1/4" BP.