She's really a grill - with a couple mods

[Mississippi smokin]

Ok guys this a grill I'm building for my father in law- he's not really a smoker guy but loves a charred bloody steak off the grill , and I do as well so I'm putting a little Xmas gift together for him -- here are some pics I have a three minute video I made but I can't figure out how to post it ----- feedback is appreciated good or bad

[Mississippi smokin]

[Mississippi smokin]

3/4 ball valves on both sides for intake, used an old chipping hammer to build the handle and the door hinges

[Mississippi smokin]

someone will need to show me how to post the video if I can

[Big T]

That should make a nice size grill. I'm not sure about the size of your intakes, most grills that are built for high temperatures have large intakes. It may be fine but they seem a little small to me.

[Gizmo]

Looks like a nice grill - should add some 'panache' to the patio!
At first glance I'm guessing you might need more intake air than 2 - 3/4" openings. If you leave the door closed for extended periods to increase the smoke flavor then the fire might choke some on you. Grillin' takes more air than slow cookin'

[mp4]

I made one similar (but much larger) a while back that had a drop in grill grate. I wish I had made it slide like a smoker grate though so I could add coals or remove it from the heat if it got too hot.

[Mississippi smokin]

Ahhhh I see ... I never started my first grill/smoker I started my first 3 nearly simultaneously and all three are still in production . I do tend to act first and think later and thus have made several mistakes on this one and the rf you may have seen in that thread . Luckily no mistakes yet on the Uds but it's a much simpler build. So that being said at this point how would you guys recommend remedying the intake problem? Scrap them and go a different way or would adding a couple more work? As always thanks guys

[Squiggle]

More is good.

Looks freakin awesome though.

[Gizmo]

With the cost of ball valves being what it is - I think they would go back in the drawer for a GF mod or something and buy a couple of the sliding intake dampers from Frank - or similar. I'm thinking maybe a pair of 2" openings should do it purty close. Keep in mind that once you find the draft you like you will likely never change it again for grilling so adjustability may not be a big concern.....

[Mississippi smokin]

Ok got it, I was aiming at making this a grill/ smoker so I'd like to leave the three-quarter inch ball valve's. If I had a 2 inch slide damper that seems like it might fix the problem . I hope so anyway what do you guys think ? Can the valves stay or do they need to be scraped? I've built everything by hand so far by that I mean I haven't bought any parts for this grill I haven't actually put any money into it besides the expanded metal the thermostat and the paint I've yet to use. I pick up bits and pieces when I find them kind of like a scavenger hunt and that's kind of the fun for me. If I can't find a part I need I build it although rather clumsily sometimes. That being said I really want to avoid buying any parts for this I want to try to keep to the whole theme of it's all redneck and pretty much handmade. That being said I'm going to go back to the drawing board on this damper situation and see what I can work out, any other issues you guys may see please let me know, I don't want to deliver a big pile of shit to him I want to be proud of this baby--- thanks as always -

[Mississippi smokin]

Bear with me guys I'm a work in progress

[forty_creek]

On intakes you can always close them...so bigger is better IMO
jm2cw


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[temurf]

That is gonna be one sweet looking grill.

Here's my two cents: It looks to me like you might want to replace that wire fire grate with something beefier.

[Mississippi smokin]

Yea no doubt about that , I have some #9 raised expanded metal I'm going to build some fire baskets out of this weekend so I'll use a piece of that and raise the edges up a little , I think that should do the trick.... As far as my intake being to small I'm still undecided as to what I'm going to do . Since my tank is round and my ash pan has a flat bottom there is a bit of dead space underneath it. I'm tossing the idea around of maybe stubbing an 1.5" pipe down with threads and a cap for use in grill mode maybe put a little chain on the cap , I could put one or two down there. If I did it right it would make washing it out a breeze ... Two bud lights in I came up with this so if it's retarded just tell me lol I'm just young sponge soakin up the BBQ Sauce

[Big T]

Your idea should work fine as long as your ash pan doesn't restrict the air flow. I would go with two intakes if it was mine, like FC said you can always close it off if you don't need it.

[Mississippi smokin]

I think I may have just over an inch of clearance between the ash pan and the bottom of the tank and more than that on the sides where it bells out so I think it should be enough air flow, definetily will put two . I'm tempted to throw a fb on it but I really don't think he'd use it so I will probably save the steel for another project.

[Big T]

No sense in wasting good metal

[Mississippi smokin]

burn out tonight wind was a little high

[Mississippi smokin]

Well I got my fire a little too hot last night, walked out There to close the lid cuz the fire was pretty high and the left side was cherry red around the area where I'd cut the door out. Checked it out this morning and the paint is definetily gone lol but the door did warp just a touch but I really don't think it's noticible so I don't think I'm gonna mess with it. Any tips to prevent this on my rf build when I burn it out? I know I don't want it getting as hot as this one did

[Mississippi smokin]

[mp4]

"Too much is just rightc isn't always the best advise in this case! Depending on the paint you want to burn off, it might be easier to have it sandblasted.

[Mississippi smokin]

First coat of paint

[temurf]

[Big T]