Cook Chamber Wall Thickness

[Texasbowhunter]

Hey guys I was curious if we could discuss this topic I have been curious about...

I just finished about a month or so ago my Mini gravity feed smoker using 14 ga for the entire construction of the unit...
Although the plans called out for 16 ga. I wanted to go a bit heavier in construction so the choice was 14 gauge on my part...since I never welded before the thinner material was going to be a bit more challenging for me...


So after just my second smoke and 1 seasoning I noticed that it seems to takes on average 1.2-1.7 hr. to bring Cook Chamber up to desired 225*
This past weekend I tried something different and allowed the ash box door to remain open while the interior temp came up to temp...The idea here was to allow plenty of oxygen to the fire and get it going quicker to reduce the waiting time …Took about 1.2 hrs. for the fluke temp meter to show 225*…I can only presume it may have to do with the inner wall thickness being 14 gauge...however I'm not ruling out operators error...either...

So the question I have is when I build the next one would it help anything significantly to reduce the inner Cook Chamber thickness to 16 ga?
paul

[pr0wlunwoof]

Do you have a blower on the fire box?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Texasbowhunter]

No I have not invested in a blower at this time
perhaps one may be in the future, but I felt I wanted to try and learn the unit as it is before I vested in the blower unit

[wbegg]

Get a blower. It will get you up to temp in 15-20 minutes.

[ajfoxy]

Definitely get a blower.
In the meantime to speed it up a bit, you can put a skillet or large pan of hot charcoal directly in the cook chamber when you are warming the thing up. This in addition to your normal firebox heat.

[Dirtytires]

The thicker metal will definately take longer to heat than thinner material but 16 to 14 gauge should be minimal in time difference. I have never used a mini but can’t imagine waiting almost 2 hours to get to temp.

I’m sure the guys will chime in on if that is normal.

[Texasbowhunter]

I hope some of the guys would chime in for some guideline's that are not using a fan...Just for some compairisions as to what they are experiencing...
I can only hope its the operator who is unfamiliar with his new toy and not something else...
I did not figure it would be a worth while change that would make some drastic change, changing from the thicker wall to the thinner wall...especially just one gage...
paul

[Chromeski]

I'm following this thread: I haven't yet built my mini and I was considering using thicker sheet. There is no doubt it will take longer to heat, but will also retain/ recover heat better. How you light the coals initially will make a difference as well. Are you starting with a lit bucket or using a torch to start coals at the bottom? I think leaving ash door and chute door open while it builds heat is probably the way to go?
The real question here is for the guys that followed the plans how long does yours take to get to temp without a fan?

[mp4]

I followed the plans and it takes about an hour to warm up. I light with a torch and do have a fan but don't typically use it until it's close to temp. I do leave the door open while its warming up.

[Frank_Cox]

Yep, this is totally expected. I have built a bunch of these style pits and all different sizes. without a fan I have seen the larger ones take as long as 2 hours to come to temp.
Usually with a 10cfm fan on any major brand controller you can make temp within 30 minutes or so.
Thicker material on the cook chamber like 16ga to 14ga wont have that dramatic of a difference.
the thickness change is only .0149 (fifteen thousandths)
Going from 16 gauge to 1/8 inch would make a noticeable impact though

[Texasbowhunter]

Thank you guys
I had hoped it was the design of the beast although I'm sure the operator can still use some improving to get the time reduced in bringing up to temp
Perhaps when I get the weed burner and retire the propane torch from the equation perhaps this will be a better fit...
Again Thanks for the support on this matter
Much appreciated...

[littlerascal56]

Just finished this GF build and did a cook on it yesterday. Filled with Kingsford, then lit with weed burner. Only had the torch on for less than a minute, and smoke was coming out of the cabinet and charcoal chute. I pulled the torch, closed the ash dump door, fill chute door, and put the FlameBoss fan in the ball valve. Set the FB for 235, and it was up to set point in 15-20 minutes. Had ribs in it from 11am to 7 pm, and ran like a charm. This cabinet likes a fan for sure.

[Big T]

That's a good looking build!!

[Pete Mazz]

[mp4]

Nice!

[Rodcrafter]

Yes, you gotta be proud of that!


Making memories!

[littlerascal56]

It drug out over 7 weeks. Lots of moving parts to build one of these, and I was picky on fit and finish.

[Rodcrafter]