Building My First Smoker

Miketheforester · Post by **Miketheforester** » December 8th, 2012, 5:26 pm

Crap!!!

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The day was going so well. I finished getting edges cleaned up on the opening and door of the cook chamber, wire brushed the inside surfaces of the cook chamber, and started cutting the brackets that will prevent the door from warping and form the hinges, that is when it happened... I ran out of oxygen on a Saturday afternoon! Don't you hate it when that happens?

Smokeone · Post by **Smokeone** » December 8th, 2012, 5:54 pm

Well theres just one thing to do then, grab a refreshment and sit back. More dream time!

Post by **Rodcrafter** » December 8th, 2012, 5:57 pm

OKIECOOKER wrote:This will be a good build to watch. I used a old piece of pipe for the inside of my build that was 1/4, and have no prob with mine. I think bigger or thicker is better then you don't have to worry about it. Spend the money up front, not do it again later.
Good luck with the build.

That has been my thoughts so it seems everything I make is very heavy. But, I love it that way.

The Czar · Post by **The Czar** » December 8th, 2012, 7:40 pm

I thought the idea was to have refreshments before and after and watch somebody else work?

TuscaloosaQ · Post by **TuscaloosaQ** » December 8th, 2012, 7:49 pm

Miketheforester wrote:and started cutting the brackets that will prevent the door from warping and form the hinges, that is when it happened... I ran out of oxygen on a Saturday afternoon! Don't you hate it when that

Very nice job on the cooker.... if you can keep those doors from warping you have accomplished something that few have ever done

YouTube · Post by **Frank_Cox** » December 9th, 2012, 10:03 am

Miketheforester · Post by **Miketheforester** » January 5th, 2013, 8:16 pm

Got a little more done today. Got the hinge/door braces fabbed up and tacked on. Tested it out and it opens and closes perfect. I was real happy with myself, started the full welding of the braces, AND THEN RAN OUT OF SHEILDING GAS! I don't know what my deal is lately, but every time I get on a roll I run out of gas of one kind or another. This can only mean one thing... Beer time has arrived.

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gatewood iron · Post by **gatewood iron** » January 5th, 2013, 9:40 pm

Lookin pretty cool there Mike. Anytime is beer time when your workin at your place.

Post by **Tom_Heath** » January 6th, 2013, 9:15 am

Mike, I love the way you have done the door. That should keep it where you want it.

YouTube · Post by **Frank_Cox** » January 6th, 2013, 10:35 am

looks great Mike! killer work on the door!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Smokeone · Post by **Smokeone** » January 6th, 2013, 1:28 pm

cdarnell · Post by **cdarnell** » January 7th, 2013, 7:26 pm

Miketheforester wrote:but every time I get on a roll I run out of gas of one kind or another

My Wife thinks it's a good thing when I run out of gas... Just saying...

Miketheforester · Post by **Miketheforester** » January 28th, 2013, 9:49 pm

Got a little more done here in the last couple days. Time is always in short supply and it may be wishful thinking but wouldn't it be a coincidence if this thing was ready for a test run on Superbowl Sunday?

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Miketheforester · Post by **Miketheforester** » January 28th, 2013, 9:56 pm

Got a question. So I have the store bought 4" damper I want to use and the 4" pipe I want to use it in. Problem is the damper is actually just shy of 3 3/4" and the pipe is just fat of 4" leaving a gap of about 1/2" or a little less. Is this a "no go" situation or is it not essential to be able to totally close down the stack?

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Gizmo · Post by **Gizmo** » January 29th, 2013, 6:47 am

Mike you got some heavy gauge pipe there. A perfect fit prolly doesn't exist out there but you could be closer than that perty easy. Also, if you make a good shunt cap for the stack to plug it off then you have your safety bases covered.

The world of stove pipe (just sheet metal yanked into a circle) is different than the world of real pipe - I used 4" exhaust pipe on Edgar - it's cheap, it fit and it worked great. This opens up the world of exhaust pipe, fittings, chrome tips, etc.... very macho!

Anything beats hand-building your own internal flu damper and I have the busted knuckles to prove it ....

Miketheforester · Post by **Miketheforester** » January 29th, 2013, 6:25 pm

Rick what is a shunt cap (or is that a typo) and what safety concerns are you referring to? Sorry for my ignorance, but I don't want to miss any important details.

gatewood iron · Post by **gatewood iron** » January 29th, 2013, 6:33 pm

The world of stove pipe (just sheet metal yanked into a circle) I like that.

Post by **Tom_Heath** » January 29th, 2013, 9:27 pm

gatewood iron wrote:The world of stove pipe (just sheet metal yanked into a circle) I like that.

I like it too.

Well I think that anyone that has a DC stick welder should make there own flu damper and they should hold it in place with a good strong magnet while they weld it to the axis rod.!!! Oh wait,,,, or could it be AC.... been a day or two, now I cant remember. LOL

Gizmo · Post by **Gizmo** » January 30th, 2013, 5:41 am

Short answer:

Think of it as a storage plug for the stack. A shunt cap is anything that will cut off all airflow out the stack independent of the flu damper - which helps kill the draft intake if the whole thing is well sealed.

Answer that requires some time:

Take it from someone who has had a "runaway" (out of control fire) - you Really want a way to completely choke your FB if necessary just in case you do too good a job building a fire or get called away. I caught one with a pegged temp gauge (and still climbing) one night when company showed up and I wasn't keeping a good eye on a new design. Warped the entire firebasket out of usable condition. Keep in mind that I'm not talking NASA tolerances here but if you seal the whole thing well and have a reasonably good fit on your stack and draft controls so they close to nearly nothing then you can effectively stop a runaway in it's tracks. I consider it a safety issue. I looked and I haven't posted a pic of Edgar's shunt cap but you will see the chrome tip on the stack. On the reducer end (another dropoff) of that same chrome tip I welded a center plate (dropoff I still had from holesawing a stack opening on an earlier project) into it with a screw-eye bolted through the middle to help when removing it. It kills the airflow and keeps the rain and critters out.

whew!

The Czar · Post by **The Czar** » January 30th, 2013, 8:15 am

dang Rick...take a breath there buddy....

Gizmo · Post by **Gizmo** » January 30th, 2013, 12:25 pm

Sorry...

Smokeone · Post by **Smokeone** » January 30th, 2013, 2:32 pm

I get it now. Good post Rick!

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Miketheforester · Post by **Miketheforester** » January 30th, 2013, 6:39 pm

Thanks for the insight Rick. I get what you're saying. I think I will ad a little material to the outside edge of the damper to snug up the tolerances on that a little, and add a shunt cap. And if adding material to the damper destroys it, I will just make an all new setup.

Gizmo · Post by **Gizmo** » January 30th, 2013, 7:09 pm

I would suggest a whole circle of 14 ga the correct size less an RCH (real close). Then cut the center section out where the cross axle has to feed/twist thru there - bolt each half to the existing plate and you're golden. If you can reach it then aluminum tape the center section closed too if you like after it's installed. With a good head of smoke rolling you should be able to flip that damper closed and see instant smoke back up out your draft - that's when you know you nailed it. whew! this thread is wearing me out - gotta go lay down ...

Smokeone · Post by **Smokeone** » January 30th, 2013, 7:43 pm

Ricks gonna need a nice tea and a "smoke" after this.

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