Couple of thoughts on your build...PVF&F wrote: ↑January 26th, 2022, 8:45 pmWell here’s a couple pics. I had a look at ol Frankenstein this evening. Things pretty rough, considering covering the whole thing and have a square fire box, semi insulated. I really want a cooking grate on the FB. There are some designs that I have seen that have that so I guess I’ll research and find the one I like best. Here’s Frankenstein:
93ACFB42-B913-4027-8316-B9821F89C17A.jpeg
I also went ahead and split my CC. Kinda regretting it. It only opened up 3/8. Kinda halfway thinking about spreading it open to 1” so I can weld in some 1/4x1” strap. Thoughts? I don’t wanna create new issues by doing so.
I did; I used to have that sheet metal thing I'm now using to cover the bottom half of the exchange as a throat baffle—it's a Workhorse Pits' design, with a 20-30 degree lip pointing downwards. What I found while using that is that temps were extremely even across the entire cooking grate but draft was highly reduced, there was lots of backdraft when running it with the door open or ajar, only using the inlets it would not push so much smoke back out. Which is to be expected, having essentially the top half of the FB barred, and as far as I can see from other WHP owners' videos on YouTube that's how those pits are expected to behave with the FB door open.Brewmaster wrote: ↑January 27th, 2022, 5:21 amThat's quite the huge throat, thanks for posting that's an interesting pit! Have you tried inverting your blocker device to block the top 1/2 of the throat, Workhorse-style?
This one comment might have me making a last second change before I work on my FB.sandro wrote: ↑January 27th, 2022, 11:26 amI found that the meats I produced with such a design had a much more subtle smoke profile which is not what I'm looking for,Brewmaster wrote: ↑January 27th, 2022, 5:21 amThat's quite the huge throat, thanks for posting that's an interesting pit! Have you tried inverting your blocker device to block the top 1/2 of the throat, Workhorse-style?
I saw that you used the old WH style baffle as part of the new throat blocker there, but was wondering if you've inverted that whole thing as it is now, blocking the top half of the throat rather than the bottom half as with WH design, regardless of the baffle. I'm just curious more than anything I guess. It's too bad your's didn't work that well, but really at the end of the day the stack will play a big role in draft and convection as well. I'd like to see you get rid of that butt-hole stack and install grate-wide plenum at grate level with it, I realize it's a lot of work and $, but just saying.
Not me! It may not work well in the 16x36 chamber with whichever way the throat was at the time, but it certainly does work as intended from what I've witnessed (if spec'd right I guess?)ThinBlue wrote: ↑January 27th, 2022, 12:50 pmThis one comment might have me making a last second change before I work on my FB.sandro wrote: ↑January 27th, 2022, 11:26 amI found that the meats I produced with such a design had a much more subtle smoke profile which is not what I'm looking for,Brewmaster wrote: ↑January 27th, 2022, 5:21 amThat's quite the huge throat, thanks for posting that's an interesting pit! Have you tried inverting your blocker device to block the top 1/2 of the throat, Workhorse-style?
I believe the issue with the smoke profile is due to the pit's design being so different, as @Brewmaster said my 16x36 is another world compared to even the smallest of WH's lineup. I bet if I had even a 1957 I'd be telling a different story
Oh I get you. Yeah I tried that as well but I had the feeling that heat almost completely missed the Franklin plate as it was rising a bit further down the cooking chamber than it did with the throat opening at the top. Man, it really is difficult to test these things out, fire is fickle and you can't really put a camera inside the chamber. Though I have an idea involving plastic wrap, wood chips, and a 9v PWM fan... Could make a video out of it. If I find the timeBrewmaster wrote: ↑January 27th, 2022, 4:44 pmI saw that you used the old WH style baffle as part of the new throat blocker there, but was wondering if you've inverted that whole thing as it is now, blocking the top half of the throat rather than the bottom half as with WH design, regardless of the baffle.
I'd love to do that too, and I'd get started right now but I don't have an angle grinder nor a welder, so it would be quite the investment. And I know that once I have a grinder and a welder I'll build my own pit directly... Point is I'm living at the topmost floor of a building with no elevator. Ya wanna help me out hitching pipes and steel upstairs? Cause I'm ready to go hahaBrewmaster wrote: ↑January 27th, 2022, 4:44 pmI'd like to see you get rid of that butt-hole stack and install grate-wide plenum at grate level with it, I realize it's a lot of work and $, but just saying.
I can confirm the WH style cooker design drafts like a freight train if you so wish!
By cooking grate at firebox, do you mean at the outside? Line some Oklahoma Joe model with a plate for cooking on the top of firebox? Im curious about this one. Thats seemDirtytires wrote: ↑January 27th, 2022, 10:38 amCouple of thoughts on your build...PVF&F wrote: ↑January 26th, 2022, 8:45 pmWell here’s a couple pics. I had a look at ol Frankenstein this evening. Things pretty rough, considering covering the whole thing and have a square fire box, semi insulated. I really want a cooking grate on the FB. There are some designs that I have seen that have that so I guess I’ll research and find the one I like best. Here’s Frankenstein:
93ACFB42-B913-4027-8316-B9821F89C17A.jpeg
I also went ahead and split my CC. Kinda regretting it. It only opened up 3/8. Kinda halfway thinking about spreading it open to 1” so I can weld in some 1/4x1” strap. Thoughts? I don’t wanna create new issues by doing so.
Insulation is your choice. It helps with safety and a helps decrease heat-loss so your pit uses a bit less fuel. Unless you cook in cold or extremely windy conditions, you will not notice much of a difference.
Everybody wants a cooking grate on top of the firebox but it is not typically a good idea. It gives one more place for heat to escape and usually ends up being too small and uncontrollable to be of much use anyway. You definitely cannot use it while smoking or your drafting will be screwed up so my recommendation is to build a separate grill as your next project.
As far as your pipe goes, I'm not really sure why people split them anyway as warped doors are less work to fix than cutting and welding. But anyway, you already cut so if your plan was to release tension than you have to fill the exact gap you have or you will just re-Introduce more tension. Spreading it 0.625" creates more tension than putting it back to the way it was.
Just my opinion....it's your project.
Thank you for the example, ill take a look
I've only done single doors so far, but that's due to the size of the CCs I've been working with.