my build

dportz87 · Post by **dportz87** » March 5th, 2016, 9:49 am

This is the start of my smoker, it is an old air compressor tank. the tank is 65x24x3/16. will get some more pictures of the tank.

Dirtytires · Post by **Dirtytires** » March 5th, 2016, 6:46 pm

I love the dedication.....that is snow, right?

Stewart · Post by **Stewart** » March 5th, 2016, 8:00 pm

Good luck with your build.

Post by **Rodcrafter** » March 5th, 2016, 9:40 pm

Cool, go for it. Pace yourself it takes a while, but worth every minute.

Making memories.

dportz87 · Post by **dportz87** » March 6th, 2016, 3:52 am

thank you will post pictures of the tank and fire box. Yes that is snow. I am to the point on my tank I will be asking all kinds of questions. I tried to use the calculator, do not think I did some thing right. When I put the reverse flow plate in how much gap at the end do I need? I want to keep the shape of the tank. I have a set of basic plans that are hand drawn with the plate on a angle towards the fire box, can I leave the plate level and have a bigger opening in the fire box? my fire box is 24x24x24x1/4. thanks

Post by **Pete Mazz** » March 6th, 2016, 4:38 am

Your FB size should be ~24 x 20 x 20 to get ~104% diff with your 120 gal tank. That needs a throat area of 77sq in. If you cut a 5 1/2" h throat in the tank you can mount you BP at that ht. That will give you ~6" to your first grate. A 4" round stack will need to be ~38" long as well. The BP gap should be the size of the throat area but could be closed down some from there with some extra metal when tweaking.

dportz87 · Post by **dportz87** » March 6th, 2016, 5:29 am

the plans that I am using call for a 5" inside diameter smoke stack 26 inches tall, and a 7 inch throat opening from the fire box to the cc. How much difference does this make? Thanks

dportz87 · Post by **dportz87** » March 6th, 2016, 5:34 am

Sorry forgot to add that the bp starts at 1 1/4 inch from the top of the bottom grate to the top of the bp with a 1" fall to the fire box. From the instructions that came with the plans.

mp4 · Post by **mp4** » March 6th, 2016, 7:16 am

I don't think you want and angled BP...especially if it's angled towards the fb. You want your drippings to be under your food, not pooling on the fb end where they are more likely to burn instead of steam back into the cc.

A 4" stack 38" tall is ~1500 cubic inches, a 5" x 26" is ~1600 cubic inches so they're close.

Make sure your throat is measured in square inches. Total area should be 77 square inches. I made mine as wide as possible and then just figured out how big the trapezoid shape could be from there.

dportz87 · Post by **dportz87** » March 6th, 2016, 7:25 am

Thanks for the help, I will make the bp level with the grates about 2" from the top of the bottom grate. the plans call for an opening 7 inches from the top of the cut to the bottom the same as my tank shape, like a smile. just trying to get this right the first time.

Post by **Pete Mazz** » March 6th, 2016, 8:29 am

Where are the plans from? If you size the FB correctly that throat would be way too big. The dims I gave you are the correct size for that sized tank. The larger FB would indeed need a bigger throat but it's too big for your tank at 24" square. The stack length is dependent upon the inside diameter so if you go bigger then it would need to be shorter, but again, all the dimensions work together.

dportz87 · Post by **dportz87** » March 6th, 2016, 8:53 am

Sorry I do not remember who I got them from. I think they are for a bigger tank then what I am using. I can cut the 4 inch's off my fire box and reweld no problem there, will use your recommendations for the openings. Thanks

Post by **Big T** » March 6th, 2016, 2:34 pm

Pete has you pointed in the right direction, there's nothing worse than putting in all that work on a smoker that doesn't perform very well. I like to keep my stack tall enough to keep the smoke out of my eyes but not too tall to get through the garage door. Some guys make theirs removable if the height ends up being a problem.

Post by **Rodcrafter** » March 6th, 2016, 3:27 pm

Yes, Pete will take you right to a great smoker. Use your plans for ideas, use the pit calculator for numbers.

Making memories.

dportz87 · Post by **dportz87** » March 6th, 2016, 4:59 pm

thanks to every one for the help. I think I got the calculator down, I put my tank size in and came up with the same dimensions, 20 1/8 wide by 5.5 inch high. Again thank you every one for the help.

Squiggle · Post by **Squiggle** » March 6th, 2016, 5:03 pm

These boys certainly know what they are talking about & your smoker will be top notch if you follow their advice!

dportz87 · Post by **dportz87** » March 20th, 2016, 5:43 pm

here are some pictures of my fire box

dportz87 · Post by **dportz87** » March 20th, 2016, 5:47 pm

dportz87 · Post by **dportz87** » March 20th, 2016, 5:49 pm

dportz87 · Post by **dportz87** » March 20th, 2016, 5:51 pm

mp4 · Post by **mp4** » March 20th, 2016, 7:13 pm

I really dig the diamond plate firebox...very cool!

dportz87 · Post by **dportz87** » March 20th, 2016, 9:14 pm

Thank you

Dirtytires · Post by **Dirtytires** » March 20th, 2016, 9:28 pm

Cool log rack....did you support it or are you relying on the welds? Neat idea.

Out of curiosity, how did you sizes the air intakes? They are cool but just don't look big enough. Have you done them before? I was wondering how easy they are to adjust (I'm guessing they screw in/out) once hot.

Great ideas....thanks for sharing.

Weldun · Post by **Weldun** » March 20th, 2016, 9:45 pm

I think the chain fire grate is ingenious,taking a mental note on that so if I ever get to build a smoker with a fire box I'll incorporate that .

dportz87 · Post by **dportz87** » March 21st, 2016, 3:45 am

thank you for the nice comment's, there are 4 of the air inlets, same principal as my wood burning stove, they are 3 inch pipe with plugs from a water header, when I welded them in I tried them with the heat from welding and they worked. Yes they do screw in and out, will find out when I put fire to it may have to change them. the chain I found in a scrap yard and thought that it would work good for the grate, there are 4 pieces of 2x2x1/4 angle iron under it to help support it, plus I welded the chain to keep it from moving.

SmokerBuilder.com

my build

my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build

Re: my build