Bkndsdl's Insulated Hybrid

[Puff]

Maybe you can add extensions on the caster mounts and raise it 2" or so without over extending your cooking height?

Nice job !

[Bkndsdl]

Maybe you can add extensions on the caster mounts and raise it 2" or so without over extending your cooking height?

Nice job !

Thanks Puff. I'm actually thinking of raising it up some now that I have it on wheels and I can see the actual comparative height. The real test will be I put the horizontal cc on it though; Hoping to get my oxygen bottle filled today so I can get that done as soon as possible. If I decide to raise it that won't be too big a deal, just gotta figure out how I want to go about it.

[Bkndsdl]

Very cool

Thank you sir!

[Bkndsdl]

I was able to get the horizontal fit in place just so I can get the lower support tube at the vert to horiz connection placed just right. Once I got that tacked off it started raining so I had to stop work. Plan is now to take the horiz back off, weld the support brace, then reinstall. That's a chore without help to lift this thing.

All the stuff inside is what I have to do to get everything back in the shop now.....my brother called it a smoker/workbench, lol.



I will definitely raise the grill. when I pushed it outside to get this shot, it was so low it got stuck.........took me 15 minutes to get it back in the shop! It's also a bit lower than my liking as far as cooking height. Here are a few perspective shots showing where things will be at this height, first shot is the top of the horiz, which is the hinge point for the doors. Second is the bottom opening, or the first grate level. I am thinking I want to raise it at least 4", possibly 6".





Made the next steel order, which will give me all the horizontal outside plating and the outside sides of the vertical, so I should be able to start insulating and enclosing part of it next week. It is supposed to be nice Saturday so I'm hoping to get a lot done this weekend.

[Puff]

For my gravity feed, and you probably know this, I welded in 4"x4"X1/8" pads into the frame corners the used the 2" box tube for about 4" long for extensions with 4" sq pads drilled to mout the casters.

They looked like the flying fighter things from the original Star Wars movie if you turn them sideways

[Rodcrafter]

Oh yea

[Bkndsdl]

I got some time to work on the smoker this weekend.

I was able to split the cooking chamber bottom and start on the slope. I figured I'd go with 1/8" to a foot; this will give me 1/2" at the end of the slope, which I think will be plenty. First thing was to cut three angles to the desired slope. Since I'm going with 1/8" to a foot, I placed the angles at 12" increments and cut the first one with a 1/8" deep cut, the next was 1/4", and the last was 3/8". Here they are to give you a visual, the one on the top is the 1/8", next is 1/4, last is 3/8".



Next was to install them under the bottom of the sloped plate. I put a 1" sq tube under the angle to use as an alignment tool. It's hard to see, but here is the 3/8" angle set in place before welding. It fit PERFECT.



It fit so good, I was able to take what I cut off the 3/8" angle and set it in place on top to fill the gap. Like a glove!



Once those were all in, I removed the triangle piece at the front of the slope, scribed the new cut, and set it in place. It has a slight bow from the center to the ends, which will help in facilitating drainage. Welded it all up and ground it smooth. Here's the end result. Very, very pleased with this.

[Bkndsdl]

Got the smoker raised. I ended up raising it 6" and am very happy with it. I need to get some more 1/4" plate to make the last two pads for the casters on the inside end of the vertical.



Much more clearance.



I was able to get the front inside put on, and got the face of the horizontal started. Hope to put this on before the weekend so I can start insulating.



I picked up the next order of steel Monday; this will allow me to finish the insulating and shelling of the horizontal, and two sides of the vertical. I picked up some more angle and square tube so I can hopefully start on the horizontal doors and grating angle. My next cut steel order will be my last. I have decided to go ahead and cut the exhaust from plate to save some money. Bit more welding but a stick of 4" x 11ga tube is $112.......I'd rather weld it.

[Big T]

[Bkndsdl]

I was able to get some stuff done today.

Got the tuning plate rack in and welded.



Got two of the outsides braced and ready for the insulation and outer skin. The two tubes in the middle are to brace the rack supports.



Got the drain tube installed and welded out.



I wanted to put the insulation between the vert and horiz cabinets in before I put the front on, so I had to finalize the drain for the vertical. I will need a drain when I'm cooking something that won't get a drip pan, say like chicken. So, here's what I came up with. I took a piece of angle and cut a slope on it.



This will make both a slope and a level shelf rack; I will make the slope level, therefore creating a slope draining forward towards the front of the cabinet.



It slopes to a square tube that's installed between the two chambers. The square tube has a hole cut in it the same size as the sloping angle, so the slope will drain into the tube. Here is the square tube....



Here is where the tube exits, inside the horiz; it is open on the bottom, and will drain onto the sloped plate, eventually ending up at the drain.



Once that was in and welded, I was able to insulate the side, then cover it up. I used the drop from the door cutouts to make this piece.





I also insulated the front section of the horiz where the gap between the doors will be. I drilled two holes in this area too for my probes, one high for the upper grating and one lower for the lower grating. One other thing I did was to get the lower racks started, but I ran out of 1x1 angle. Didn't get any pics of that but I'll do that tomorrow. It was a very productive day.

[lester]

mike that's an impressive cooker your building there, can't wait to see the finished product. Good work.

[Rodcrafter]

Yep what he said!

[Bkndsdl]

mike that's an impressive cooker your building there, can't wait to see the finished product. Good work.

Yep what he said!

Thanks guys!

I was able to frame out and skin one side of one door, and that's about all I can do with the material I have right now. I need more angle and sq tube to go any farther on doors, but with this one door I can figure out my door handles, which will tell me the height of the shelf on the front, so I can do a lot with one door. I can insulate and skin the side of the horizontal and the bottom of the horizontal, but really concentrating on getting the doors situated so I can insulate and skin a lot at one time.

Thanks for looking!

[Big T]

It's really coming together nicely, I see the Signal Marine shirt in 1 of the pictures, is that where you work ?

[Bkndsdl]

It's really coming together nicely, I see the Signal Marine shirt in 1 of the pictures, is that where you work ?

Thanks Big T. No, I used to work there, I worked for Signal Ship Repair in Mobile, the old Bender yard. I work at Ingalls for ABS now.

[Bkndsdl]

Well..........I drilled the holes for the horizontal outside skin......can you see the DUH?!?



Whatcha gonna weld to??!??!!?



Drilled the holes in the corners where the tubes are open. DUH!! I did the back bottom one the correct way but only by accident, lol. Fixed it pretty easily but still coulda been a lot worse; this was a blessing in disguise because I almost forgot to insulate it before putting it on!! If the holes woulda been right I might not have caught it until I had welded it on.

[Rodcrafter]

Nice catch, we all make mistakes

[Puff]

Oh my yes ...

[Bkndsdl]

So, some good news and some bad news. Bad news, I don't know if I'll have a job next week. Long story short, I am a contractor, and with the low oil prices our companie's business is forced to let contractors go. I am going on sea trial next week which will mean lots of overtime, but we come back in to port on Thursday and Friday I just might be let go. So, obviously I'll have to curtail spending any $$$ on the smoker until I find more stable work. Good book says to cast all your anxieties on Him, and that's all I can really do, so I'll trust that God has a plan for me.

Good news is, I have some material so I can do some work on the smoker without spending any money.

Here's my foldable shelf idea. Got this from the ceramic cooker I used to have. The shelf will be held up by a 1/4" rod and a notched piece of 1" tube. The shelf will be able to be tilted up, pulled back, and laid down. Here's some pics to explain.

Here's the slot and notch in the square tube. To make the slot I drilled two 5/16" holes in the tube 1/2" apart, then used my cutting disc to remove the material in between the holes. Not happy with the cuts on the ends of the holes, but it got the job done. This is a test piece. For the notch, at first I tried to drill it by placing two tubes in my drill press and drilling between the two, but it ended up putting too much stress on the drill press so I used my grinder to put a notch in it it instead.



Here is how the shelf will be held up; the tube is slid all the way towards the smoker, and the notch on the tube is under the 1/4" rod. This is when the shelf will be in use. Disregard the notch on the bottom, there is a more shallow notch on the top of the tube.



Next, the tube is shown in the slid back position and is now clear of the 1/4" rod. The shelf can now be put in the stowage position. Again, disregard the bottom notch.


Here it is in the correct orientation. Shelf in use.....



Pulled up and back, clear of the rod.......



And finally in stowed position.



Here it is on the smoker.



Another view, showing it resting on the 1/4" rod.



And here is a shot of the notch clear of the rod.



There will be three of these installed to support the shelf. Thanks for looking!

[Rodcrafter]

Nice

[Big T]

Sorry to hear about the job ending but that's a nice design on the shelf.

[Bkndsdl]

Well, sea trial went well, and I have been told that there shouldn't be any more layoffs.......God is good.

I was able to get one of the lower grates made. I used 1/2" angle for height restrictions, and put the grate below the angle. I didn't want to have to grind all the welds where I'd have to weld it if I put it on the top, plus it looks cleaner to me. Here's the grate, and the retaining tabs.

[Big T]

The grate turned out great

[Bkndsdl]

The grate turned out great

Thanks man! I like it pretty good myself, although I believe I will be cutting the retaining tabs down a bit; they seem a bit big to me.

Ok guys, I have a question. I am going to be using tadpole gaskets, namely these:

Tadpole gaskets 8815K12

They are 3/8" in diameter. I do not have them now, but I was wanting to get the gap for the door set before I put them on. My question is, should I put a 3/8" gap between the door and seat, or should I allow for some crush of the gasket and go maybe with a 1/4" gap?

[forty_creek]

I would leave atleast an 1/8... I have been playing around in my head with the same thing. It's gonna flatten in time plus the pressure/weight of the door.

jm2cw!