Reverse flow insulated cabinet

[rockcrawler74]

I need help, been using my new smoker and learning how it works and I have a question. How come my water pan isn't going empty? I seem to be using very little if any water at all.

What I have between the cooking chamber and the fire box is as follows. Fire box, charcoal basket is 7 inches tall, about 3 inch above that is expanded metal supporting fire brick which is 1 1/2" thick on top of that sits a 3/16" steel plate, which is the bottom of my cooking chamber, in the cooking chamber I set the water pan directly on the plate. The water pan holds 5 gallons of water.

After 6 to 7 hours today at 250 the water pan was still full.

The food seems to taste okay. Do I have a solvable problem or should I just cook on the way it is?

[onesquin]

Can grease from the food drip in the water?

[rockcrawler74]

Yep and on to the steel plate around the water pan

[Gizmo]

I bet your water level is down slightly - but barely noticeable.

That particular cooker design has a very slow air exchange with the outside air so any condensate that comes off the water is hauled away at a very slow rate. Put another way: Once the air inside the CC becomes saturated with moisture then no more condensate can leave your water pan.

You could try putting a 1/4 inch deep water supply in the bottom of your pan to see if you can boil that off cooking a boston butt. If you end up adding water throughout the cook then keep records - pretty soon you'll know exactly how much water to start with for a long cook.

[Pete Mazz]

With a reverse flow the water pan is mostly a drip pan, especially with the fire brick and steel barrier between the FB and CC. Most of the heat/smoke goes around it. On my vertical, a 6-7 hour cook wouldn't go thru more than a gallon of water or so and I use the water pan as a baffle plate/heat sink of sorts.

[rockcrawler74]

Thanks for the info guys, I'll keep at it and get a few more cooks under my belt before I start to panic. I took a temp reading of the steel plate last night. The CC was at 275 and the steel plate was reading about 400. I've only done ribs and mac n cheese so far, can't wait till I get to try brisket

[rockcrawler74]

So do I dare try it with out water? Or will it be too hard to control the temp?

[Rodcrafter]

It will be easy to control as long as there are sealed doors. Most people don't use water in their cookers.

[Pete Mazz]

You might want to line your drip/water pan with foil or an aluminum tray. The drippings will make a mess of things and at 400 degrees the fat will burn off. I use the steam table disposable pans from Sam's Cub or Costco as they fit almost perfectly in my smoker. Another option is to add sand to the pan to act as a heat sink.

[rockcrawler74]

Finally got it painted and all finished.

[Mankussm]

Holy smokes!!! That's a cool vertical setup.

[Rodcrafter]

Very nice [BEER MUG]

[bluecatfish]

That's way too pretty to mess up smoking meat!

[Big T]

That's a sharp looking rig !!

[Pete Mazz]

Wow! Very nice.

[Gizmo]

Very Qoooole!

[cancerboyuofa]

Looks great. What kind of paint did you use?

What type of insulation?

Sent from my Venue 8 Pro 5830 using Tapatalk

Sent from my Venue 8 Pro 5830 using Tapatalk

[rockcrawler74]

I just used a enamal paint from the hardware store and a spray gun. I did follow all other recommended steps and used all the same brand of primer/paint. Insulation is just a fire resistant rated at 1500 degrees

[nightperson]

whats the gap at the top of your false wall?

[Puff]

Beautiful work....looks like it should be in the kitchen instead of the refrigerator

Love the color and clean build

[rockcrawler74]

The gap is one inch.

[rockcrawler74]

I've got the unit up for sale locally, hoping to sell it and build another just like it and put alittle cash in pocket.

Wanting/needing a tig welder pretty bad.