First Build. Cart first or later? Centering door

[Dirtytires]

Flat baffle plate...no angle in the middle as it’s not needed. Also, consider not adding a drain. They look cool but are really useless in my opinion. I’ve been smoking hard on mine for 2 years and have actually stopped using mine as it’s easier to scrape my plate with a wide putty knife than clean the drip bucket.

[Tipps]

I may be late to the party...

I did my legs for the pit last. Got the cook chamber up on jackstands, and the fire box was resting on ground when I racked it all up. I was able to shim firebox with a 1x to get it where needed.

I put my grease drain on stack end, and actually made my cook chamber slope very slightly that direction. I forget I have a drain but when I open it there’s quite a bit of fat that drains.

Build is lookin good, press on!

[Chukknob]

I may be late to the party...

I did my legs for the pit last. Got the cook chamber up on jackstands, and the fire box was resting on ground when I racked it all up. I was able to shim firebox with a 1x to get it where needed.

I put my grease drain on stack end, and actually made my cook chamber slope very slightly that direction. I forget I have a drain but when I open it there’s quite a bit of fat that drains.

Build is lookin good, press on!

Those must be some tall jackstands!!! Lol. I tested my saw horses and found they will hold the weight of the pit chamber but I doubt it will hold the firebox and pipe. I was going to use a jack to lift the firebox and mate it to the pipe. The only problem from these is getting it off. So I think I might be back to building the cart first....

On another note I learned not to undercut the circle pieces I had to make. They were too big so I had to trim about a 1/4 off both!

[Chukknob]

Maybe I can use concrete blocks for the pipe and a jack stand for the firebox.

[Chukknob]

Hey so my firebox is pretty big for my pipe apparently. I'm copying the design from Pits by JJ, Lonestar and a few others. The firebox is 24x24x22 and my chamber is 24x58.

What is going to be the drawback of having a firebox that's too big? I think they look strange when they're so small.

[Big T]

An oversize FB makes it harder to maintain lower temps, not impossible just harder.

[Chukknob]

I think I’m gonna line the bottom with firebrick which should shave off some square inches. I’d rather not cut the firebox pieces again.

[Dirtytires]

Did you run the pit calculator? It will tell you for sure how your dimensions work out.

[Chukknob]

Did you run the pit calculator? It will tell you for sure how your dimensions work out.

Yes. My “design” which I stole from Lonestar Grillz had me at a square box which was 24x24x24. That was way over 150% differential. I’m trimmed it back to only 22” deep and it was still too big. So I trimmed a little more to a 20” deep box and the bricks and I’ll be a little under 125% over. They sell a lot of pits and people love them so I figure their dimensions must work well?

[Dirtytires]

They sell a lot of pits and people love them so I figure their dimensions must work well?

Now that is funny. The public will buy anything in a pretty box with good advertising. Not saying it doesn’t work or wasn’t designed well but many products we buy are not.

So I’m happy you checked the calculator. And now you are aware that it will most likely burn hot and you will need to decrease the volume with brick.

[Chukknob]

They sell a lot of pits and people love them so I figure their dimensions must work well?

Now that is funny. The public will buy anything in a pretty box with good advertising. Not saying it doesn’t work or wasn’t designed well but many products we buy are not.

So I’m happy you checked the calculator. And now you are aware that it will most likely burn hot and you will need to decrease the volume with brick.

Will it burn too hot because there’s so much air in the box or because it will take more wood to heat the firebox? Sorry for the question I just don’t get it. Pitts by JJ uses the same dimensions as well.

[Chukknob]

If I wanted to build my cart out of 2x2 or 3x3 square tubing, what gauge should I be looking for?

[Chukknob]

The hinges I’m using for the CC door and FB door. Caps welded on the pipe. Thing weighs a ton now. The hand grinder is my friend lol. Practice but weld. Hadn’t welded for 20 years and it shows.

[Chukknob]

Hinges

[Chukknob]

Crappy practice weld

[Chukknob]

Caps welded on. Welds were fugly so I’m smoothing them all out with the grinder.

[Big T]

We've all had to grind a weld down to make it pretty at some point so don't let that discourage you. The 3 X 3 tubing is overkill in my opinion, I would use the 2 X 2. I build a lot of storage racks with 11 gauge and they hold a lot of weight so that should work fine if you can find it in your area.

[Chukknob]

Thanks Big T. I’m gonna call the metal place for that 2x2.

[ajfoxy]

Until you become a "good" welder, you learn to become a good grinder... Grinding and paint can cover gorilla welds quite well.

[Chukknob]

I'm hoping to cut the door out tonight. I've read up on the different methods of cutting the door out. Some prefer cutting it all the way out. Other prefer leaving a few spots and welding the hinge. I haven't decided yet. My tank is 3/16" so I'm not liking my changes of the door NOT springing.

My real question is which option is easier for welding on the strap. Inside strap looks the coolest to me but having them on the outside seems easier to pull off for an amateur. Thoughts?

[Big T]

I prefer outside strapping because it helps keep water out of the CC. I wouldn't weld the hinges on until you have the door cut out and strapped, if it does warp then you can straighten it with a jack and chain. If you're going to use a gasket on the door which I would recommend, then you'll need to space the door before welding the hinges in place.

[Chukknob]

Big T so you prefer to cut the door out completely, strap it, gasket it, and then set back in place to weld hinges?

[Big T]

Yes, they almost always twist or warp regardless of how you cut them out. If it's welded in place, there isn't much you can do with it but if it isn't mounted you can use the jack and chain method to straighten it.

[Chukknob]

So far so good. I have one inch or so of the corner to cut and don’t see any springing. No loud pops. I’m hoping it won’t spring when I make that last cut. So if it doesn’t....will I even need gaskets? I don’t mind them. Love them on my BGE of course. So now if that’s the case should I just weld the hinges or will welding the strap later cause so warping?

[Chukknob]

Cut door.