Cabinet Reverse Flow vs Gravity Feed Questions

[Kcd2016]

I'm looking at building a cabinet style smoker.

https://www.smokerplans.net/index.php?m ... cts_id=221 (22x18 vertical reverse flow)
https://www.smokerplans.net/index.php?m ... cts_id=128 (GF - Is this what y'all are calling the mini?)

I am partial to the flavor of a 100% wood fired stick burner. Can anyone tell me if they can taste a difference between these two style smokers?

Are you guys using lump or briquettes in your gravity feeds?

How often does the gravity feed fire need attention?

I assume the reverse flow model requires tending the fire every 45 minutes or so?

What thickness of materials will both of these plans call for?

Can anyone give me an idea for many sheets of steel/sticks of tubing I'll need for either of these plans?

[Pete Mazz]

That is the mid-sized GF. These will run 12+ hours with a full chute of charcoal. The RF is new so you might to call them.

[Kcd2016]

Ah I see, this is the mini: https://www.smokerplans.net/index.php?m ... cts_id=177

How new is the RF? Is the RF insulated? I can't find any build threads with this one, anyone have any photos of actual builds?

[Dirtytires]

A wood fired pit will always produce a better tasting meat than charcoal does. But yes, tending every 45 min can become a chore.

[Brisket Envy]

I built an insulated reverse flow cabinet smoker for my food truck a few years ago, and used a charcoal basket with one fair-sized split surrounded by charcoal on three sides to make kind of a consumable minion style maze, and I had virtually zero fire tending to do. Kept an eye on the temp, and occasionally adjusted the intake.
It produces plenty of smoke, and a nice smoke ring.
It used up the split and maybe 3/4 a bag of charcoal, in a 12 hour cook. Toward the end of the cook, I would have to sometimes collect the remaining coals into one pile, to keep the fire going, but that was about all the fire tending I did.
If I let the temp get to high, it took forever to bring it back down.

[Kcd2016]

Very cool! Do you have pics/build thread? I'm guessing with the minion method you used charcoal briquettes?

I'm thinking though that if I went RF I'd try to run 100% wood, otherwise might as well go with a GF design. Right?

[Brisket Envy]

I have some pictures on my old laptop. If I can find the laptop, I’ll share the pics and what specs I can recall.

I used Lump for a while, but briquettes Burn utterly consistently, so eventually they won out.
I never tried running only wood, but I would have sacrificed the consistent burn rate if I had. I was the only one working the food truck, so I had to be able to lock everything up and leave to pick up supplies at Sam’s, periodically.

I don’t have any experience with GF, but if you can feed chunks of hardwood with the charcoal, it may do just fine.
Cutting up the splits into briquette-sizes chunks might get tedious.