First build ,60 gallon center feed, maybe

[mofomatic]

Thats how the stack wound up mounting to the cc. Enough room for the lid to open up. Not sure if I should add a counter weight. Any thought for or against it?

MTF, I like that folding shelf you did on your build. I may borrow your idea. I need a shelf on the side with the swivle castors, perhaps a wrap around folding section like you came up with. I could have the strut slide into a bracket on the fb, a 1/4 pin with a ball detent to lock it in. Then I only need one moving part....I can see it in my head...

[Miketheforester]

Mofo, the picture in your head is merely where the trouble begins:). Sounds like you have a plan and trust me the simpler the better. As for the counterweight, if you can comfortably lift the lid forget the counterweight. If you can lift the lid but it isn't easy , might as well add the counterweight now or it will bug the crap out of you later.

[Rodcrafter]

I would agree with Mike, on the point that if you think you should add it you should. Unless the reason is the door hits the stack and you are concered it may slam shut on you while you are working inside the CC. If that be the case and the door isn't too heavy, you could just add a catch of your liking on the stack. So that when you open the door, you sort of latch it so it can't fall back closed.

My $0.02

[mofomatic]

I set it up so the door has enough room to go over center, so it should stay open against the soon to be built stop. It's final open position will be a RCH off the stack. The stack is just thin exhuast pipe, so there probably shouldn't be anything heavy on it. I wasn't concerned about it slamming shut, but that would suck. Other than a strong wind(?), I dont think it would fall.
One thing I did notice. If I dont use a counter weight, since the door does flip over center, I have to make the handle longer and dropping down past the bottom of the door. Otherwise it will be on the back side of the door when open.

When you guys use counter weights, how far can your door open?

I guess thats the real question. No counter weight and the door has to flip way over. Use a counter weight and I dont have to open the door as much.

I've been looking at everyones builds. looking for ideas. I've not givin this part much thought until I did my hinges and was opening and closing the door a few times....Back to the forums for research

[Rodcrafter]

What you are saying is right, if the door doesn't have a counter weight it will have to open further. The support(s) do become the door stop as well. It comes down to personal preferences.

[mofomatic]

Not anything major, but here is some progress.

[mofomatic]

This is most likely not a new idea. But I was happy when I figured it out. I got a piece of closed cell foam and cut it to the required square inches needed for each side of my BP opening. Then stuck a piece of 1/8 welding rod into the foam. used that to make a template of the inside curve of the tank end and how big the opening needs to be. Used that to trace the curve on the BP material, and also to set the gap once the BP was cut out.

So I got the BP tacked in, and the drain tube installed. Fire box grate done. The remaining to do list is pretty short, make the cooking grates, old paint off, new paint on.

Not sure what is more mind numbing, wire brushing off old paint or welding the BP in.

[Gizmo]

That's a great little tool there! It also works well using a piece of 12 gauge household electrical wire. fwiw

[mofomatic]

The end is near!!

cooking grates need a little more fab. thinking about another rack above the slide out. wont be able to use it with pork butts. but it could just about double the capacity for ribs and briskets.

i'm hoping to have fire in it saturday.

[The Czar]

Stellar bud!! Can't wait for my sample..

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

[mofomatic]

ok so i decided it couldn't wait any longer. I got the main grates done( i bought the steel for a top grate, i'll put that in later) and fired it up last night. wide open it got up to low 300 or so and seemed to to stabilize ok. played with the intake and exhaust, maybe 40% open on both and it got to around 230. So that's close enough to fine tune when i cook on it.

In the light of day. I noticed a shiny tacky black coating on everything. Am I supposed to scrub this out before doing the PAM spay treatment?

I am using the same fuel i use on my crappy sheet metal soon to be scrap metal smoker. Lump charcoal to get going and then alder for the rest. I never noticed a shiny coating on anything over there...Not getting a clean burn?

Any ideas?

one other thing...


I've been looking at these smiley face dudes over on the right there. why is this guy hanging out in a toilet?

[mofomatic]

so here was todays test run. came out good. still have some minor fab, but it can wait.

seriously though, what's up with this dude.

[Smokeone]

Good looking chicken! Bet it was tasty.

That smiley is a picture of DC the resident turd herder.
Actually it is for peek, so they say.

[mofomatic]

Cool, that makes sense. what does one have to do to get their own custom smiley face dude?

[The Czar]

No custom smileys.... ....I don't make the ...I just bend them....

Great looking chicken...now you know the other ....I need a sample....

[Frank_Cox]

wellllll,
TheCzar has been known to make some custom smilies in the past, but you hafta go to some outlandish extremes of awesome posting etc. to win them.

[mofomatic]

i"ll have to work on the awesomeness of my posts then...

So it's done. for now. I added the angles for the upper rack. which i will build one of these days. I found a nice bbq thermometer i liked, so i can ditch the cheesy digital one, wich actually works ok i guess, shows temps changes almost right after adding wood, opening/closing vents... none of this half hour stuff people have been talking about.

not sure if i will add a folding shelf yet. i'll cook with it a few more times and see how it feels.

maybe some hooks to hang bbq tools, but i need to wait on the shelf testing.

samples, sure stop on by, gotta get it fresh. the chicken may not be worth the trip, but the pulled pork is.

[Rodcrafter]

I bet your proud of that.

[Miketheforester]

You'll have to let me know, how often do you have to load it up to maintain temps? My offset rig is timing somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes, but I am thinking the center feed should have the potential to be more efficient. Let me know.

[mofomatic]

yup, pretty happy with how it came out. i've cooked on it a few times, not sure if i would change anything. maybe the stack baffle. i found on bright sunny days, the extra heat from the sun make a huge difference. temps shoot way up. I live in the NW so sunny days usually dont happen to often.

mtf, i fired it up today for some pulled pork and smoked salsa. got the fire going, got it holding at 250ish, put the meat on, after about 57 minutes, the temp was 257(also first cook with new gauge, its a treager with no calibration screw...have not checked it with a digital thermocouple type gauge yet...)anyways. there was a nice bed of coals and some fire still there. went ahead and added some more wood at that time.

so on an over cast day, easily an hour before adding wood. when i am done cooking, if i can remember, i'll stoke the fire one last time and see how long it actually holds temps.

[Miketheforester]

Thanks for the update. I can get away most of the time with 45 minutes between loading but that is stretching sometimes. I figured a center feed may be more efficient and it sounds like it is. Great job!

[mofomatic]

well, there is todays work. some salsa and some pulled pork. came out awesome. so far so good.

[mofomatic]

mtf, so added two pieces of wood. got temp to 245-250. held good for about hour and a quarter. then started to drop. hour and a half it was 200. hour 3/4 150. 250 seems to be the sweet spot. much lower than that and it doesn't burn right. i go from pale blue to lots of white. i guess i could try different wood, that might change things. this stuff is alder, maybe a few months old. i can still feel a slight dampness when i split it.

the pic is after adding wood, a few minutes to get back to 250 , and after at hour and a quarter.

so with a smallish fire and the dampers set right, i can get an easy hour out of it. if i made a bigger fire, maybe hour and a half?
at this point it was overcast, with slight sprinkles intermittently.
not sure how it would burn on a full sunny day.

[Gizmo]

Just for curiosity - try some Mulberry if you get a chance - doesn't put out as much heat as other woods in my opinion. Might let you build a stronger fire but still keep temps down … just a thought

[mofomatic]

Today's work. I have pulled pork down. Brisket is coming along nicely. Time to get ribs figured out