New guy first build

[ajfoxy]

Coming along nicely now.

[JRINNE]

Little more detail work done. Added some diagonal straps to the wc door for appearance. Wc and fb door latches are done along with the temp gauges. Looks like I’ll doo a test burn Wednesday. We did actually cyst the smoker loose from the trailer and moved it as far forward as I felt comfortable trying to increase younger weight on the trailer. Here’s a few more pics.

[JRINNE]

[JRINNE]

[Big T]

[Dirtytires]

It’s the detail work that takes forever. I ‘finished’ my smoker 2 years ago but wanted to do a little touch up and clean up before I painted it.

Well.....it still isn’t painted And I’m still finding things to improve/redo! So, my point is take your time as no set timeframe to finish. Looks nice!

[JRINNE]

Question for you all, doing first burn tonight and everything sems to draw well. I have about 25 degrees different from one end to the other. Firebox side is hotter and I do have a showdown plate installed. What do I need to adjust to get a more even burn or is it acceptable? Also I had the intakes wide open ant the flue half open. Thanks for the help.

[JRINNE]

Also forgot to add I have a bigger swirling wind which I realize isn’t helping. Beer is cold though. Lol

[Big T]

The first thing to know is that everyone runs their pit a little different than the next guy so it's really trial and error on learning what the response to each adjustment is. There is a video on the site of how to build a fire in a RF, I would recommend watching that if you haven't already saw it. The wind can cause a lot of problems because it is stoking the fire and that isn't always a good thing. You want to use the intakes to dictate the size of the fire so you don't want them wide open unless you're bringing the pit up to temp. Once it gets close to temp you can close the intakes down to regulate the size of the fire. I like to keep them open just enough that the fire maintains a clean burn and I only have 1 or 2 small splits of wood on at any given time. If you have big flames in the FB they'll be drawn into the CC and overheat the SP and BP so keep a small clean burning fire and good bed of coals. The stack is what draws the heat out of the FB so if it's closed down some then the heat is staying in the FB longer and that adds extra heat on that end of the cooker. I would leave the stack fully open and try to use the intakes to control the temps until you get a feel for your pit. Another thing that you can do to fine tune the temp end to end is raise or lower the nose of the pit to change the airflow. I like to start with the pit level and the adjust from there, I usually end up with the tongue a littler higher than the FB end but that isn't always the case. Just do a few test burns and play with the adjustments to see how it responds and don't be afraid to try different adjustments. Also it usually takes 20-30 minutes to know what effect your adjustment made, so I would make them one at a time. Once you get a feel for it, you can throw some snacks on there and enjoy a cold one while you put your knowledge of the pit to the test.

[Dirtytires]

Good advice from Big T....would add that keeping a detailed log helped me learn my pit. Jot down outdistanced temps and general weather conditions as well as wood types, your adjustments and what the result was. Change only one thing at a time and you will soon get a really good handle on your pit.

To answer your other question, 25 degrees difference is pretty descent in my book. With a little patience, I’m sure you can knock that down a bit.

[JRINNE]

Very good thanks for the info. I did jot down a few notes last night, and I will try adjusting the intakes next time. Overall the pit ran well once up to temp. I was able to maintain 225-250 from one end to the other.

[JRINNE]

Pretty good progress today, installed the shelf brackets (will be usuing a 2” thick piece of cedar for the shelf). Made the cc door handle brackets and cut a piece of black walnut that I will debark and sand down. Installed the fenders. Made and installed the wood box, and have the cowboy cooker in place (more to come on that later). Just a couple little items along with removing the rest of the paint from the tank and some clean up and we’ll be ready for paint. Here’s a few more pics.

[JRINNE]

[JRINNE]

[towtruck]

That's looking very nice!

[Big T]

[JRINNE]

Been away for a bit with deer season, but did get it painted. Just need to finish sanding and put finish on the shelf and the handle, and need to finish the grate for cowboy cooker. Gonna cook a couple racks of ribs and a pork roast tomorrow, so I’ll get you guys some q view. Thanks for the help.

[JRINNE]

Not sure why it’s upside down but there she is.

[Chromeski]

If u didn't build it upside down it would be a great looking smoker

[Big T]

[JRINNE]

22 degrees out today and able to get it to run right a 250, took a while to get there but maintains well. I’ll post a pic when the q is done.

[AndrewPalmer71]

Job well done brother!

Sent from my SM-J727V using Tapatalk

[Chromeski]

Well done

[JRINNE]

Thanks for the replies I appreciate it. Another mouth watering pic for you fellas. Couple racks of ribs, pork sirloin roast and some chicken parts. As expected some adjusting to do but overall pretty good. Enjoy!

[Chromeski]

Looks good to me, I'll take one of each