The Great Smoker Build (275-gal. fuel oil tank)

[RouletteRun]

I guess I've been working on my smoker build for a couple months now, it doesn't really seem that long but I ran into some problems with the fuel tank I got, there was a rather large area of rust on the end where the firebox is going that I had a difficult time patching but patched it is and I've gotten all my rack slides mounted into the tank and the racks themselves mostly completed and I've got the tank mounted onto its carriage frame this past weekend. I've still got a long way to go but I've gotten it to a point where I'm starting to see the end of the tunnel, I wanted to share a few pictures.

[Dirtytires]

It's a good feeling to finally see some progress take shape. Nice work....keep at it.

[Squiggle]

Looking good dude, gotta love that light at the end of the tunnel, well done!

[Rufus T. Doofus]

that looks really cool. I like the rounded top door idea too. Congrats. It feels so good when it starts looking like a smoker instead of a pile of scrap metal

[Big T]

It's really coming together

[Pete Mazz]

That'll cook a pile of food!

[Rodcrafter]

Nice work.


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[RouletteRun]

I got my firebox mostly welded to the tank this weekend, I've still got to crawl inside and double pass weld the inside seams for the top (not at all fun when you're flux-core welding), then do the outsides of the seams so I can grind them down for beauty purposes. I might do the door first, but we'll see. I've also got to make a grate to keep the fire up off the bottom and sides of the firebox.

[Rodcrafter]

Nice!
Do you really think you need to do that much welding? I only weld the outside. At about 4000# per inch there should be plenty of weld. In my opinion.


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[RouletteRun]

Nice!
Do you really think you need to do that much welding? I only weld the outside. At about 4000# per inch there should be plenty of weld. In my opinion.

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Well, I'm only using 11 gauge steel and I got a little spooked/intimidated by all these smokers I see being made with 1/4" steel and I got worried about the possibility of warpage and such, that's the purpose for adding all the 1" angle inside the box. This is my first smoker build, trying to learn as I go. At the same time, I've got a Brinkmann Smoke n Pit that's made out of what appears to be 11 gauge steel and I've had it for 15-16 years now with lots of use and no ill effects from heat. I'm not usually one to over fire my cooks.

[Smurf]

On the handful that I've done stitched the inside welded the outside solid and sanded. Seems to work for me.

[Rodcrafter]

The FB is the part that will do all the warping really. Under the BP will run around 500 degrees but above it down to your cooking temperature so no warping to the CC happens. The area just above the FB on the end of the CC gets very hot, but offset smokers tend to have a very hot FB and normal CC


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[RouletteRun]

The FB is the part that will do all the warping really. Under the BP will run around 500 degrees but above it down to your cooking temperature so no warping to the CC happens. The area just above the FB on the end of the CC gets very hot, but offset smokers tend to have a very hot FB and normal CC

For better or for worse I'll be finding out what happens, in the meantime, I'm taking steps to mitigate warpage and strengthen seams as I best I can see to do. In a worst case scenario, I cut this firebox off and start over with heavier steel, not something I'd look forward to but it is what it is, for now. I've made my firebox, combustion air intake, throat, and sized my future stack according to calculator specs which should help move heat from the firebox to the CC efficiently.

Thanks for the info, I'm always willing to learn.

[RouletteRun]

Today/tonight I was able to get a nice rack built for my firebox, it's 24" x 24" with two 8" high sides and slightly over 5" underneath for air and ash with plenty of room to pull ashes out if need be.

[Rodcrafter]

Nice work


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[Big T]

[Squiggle]

[Rufus T. Doofus]

Regarding FB warping, I'm experiencing 1/2" of warp at the top of the door on the 275 gallon unit I built recently. I did a 2" insulated box and door. I filled the 2" tube door frame with perlite as insulation. Too. The hinge side doesn't move around because it's welded. The latch side moves about 1/2" at the top, less at the bottom.

The inside of my door is 1/4" steel and 1/8" on the outside. I think the 1/4" is is expanding a lot in the top half of the FB. and the insulation is keeping the outside relatively cool compared to the inside. So it warps like a good curve ball pitch. When it cools the warp disappears.

Not sure if you'll have this kind of problem since your FB isn't insulated.

[RouletteRun]

I made some huge progress on the smoker today I got the door mounted onto the firebox using my simple hinges that work great, they're made out of 1/2" box tubing and 3/8" rod bent at a 90* angle coming out of the box tubing. Unlike the rest of my doors this one I can take off if I want/need to. This thing opens butter smooth without even a squeak. All I've got left for it is adding a latching handle.

After I finished with the door I began working on mounting the stack onto the smoker, it's 39" x 6" x 3/16" and it's heavy. lol Originally, I had planned on trying to do a 90* bend out the side of the smoker but had no clue how I was going to manage it and came up with this workaround, most all the corners are reinforced with 1" angle. All it needs is a damper for the top and it's done. I"m probably going to also drill a hole in the bottom of that side box to let any condensed smoke drain out, I only cut an 8" x 8" hole in the side of the tank, I could also go ahead and cut it all the way down from the inside but I don't want to weaken the tank too much.

[Big T]

[Squiggle]

[RouletteRun]

If anybody would have a want to see this build a little more in-depth I've got seven videos of this posted on youtube, the most recent one posted about 3 a.m. this morning. My video editing has gotten much better from this first one, I finally took the time to learn how to use my video editor I've had for a few years now. https://youtu.be/d7sPc34Dor8

[RouletteRun]

A little more completed today, I got the reverse flow plates cut and installed. The one on the left just above the firebox is semi-permanent and is stitch welded in place, the other two are movable, interchangeable, and can be spaced if I want to. The gap between the far left plate and the middle two plates is intentional to ensure some smoke gets into the bottom left-hand side of the smoker. I've still got things to do with it but I now feel like I can call it a smoker because I could build a fire in it and it would roughly act like a smoker should act, granted, it's still missing a stack damper, door latch handles, a counterbalance for the top hatch, door gaskets, and a few other little odds and ends but I could build a fire in it, the smoke and heat would travel through the smoker and out the stack, I think that qualifies in a rough sense. It's a little hard to tell but there will be about a 5" - 6" gap between the reverse flow plates and the bottom rack.

[Rodcrafter]

Good job


Making memories!

[Squiggle]

Awesome stuff dude, nice work!