Horz Reverse Flow Smoker 36L 16" OD pipe build but like ideas suggestions help

[LeonardK]

Here's the opening to Fire Box or Diverter Plate

[LeonardK]

Looks like this may be best I can do

Have to make 2 splices on a side pc I can put in the back


box for 15.25 x 36 CC 2028 FBox recommended. Internal 11.25 x 13 x 14.875 = 2175 cubic inches
this box plan
Front Door and Back 12 x 13.75
Sides 14-7/8 x 13
Top & Bottom 14-7/8 x 12


Drawing is scale and full size. One box no splices, the other has one Side pc with 2 splices


Sheet is oversize by 3/8 both sides, that's the 3/8 I needed. Puzzles... I'm ready to go cut and assemble.

This is a new drwg with welds on sides instead of on top

Leonard

[LeonardK]

Hi Pete

Thank you for answering and I just want to make sure, because I'm going to weld the stack on later today.


From where the stack starts to just the top of smoker is about 9 inches in length and would have the backpreasure or resistance of 9 inches of pipe so if I add 12 more inches to get smoke overhead this would be 21 inches with the amount of resistance associated with that length.


Would this impede the flow too much???


The pit calculator recommended 8.75 inches.


From your experience, will this extra stack exhaust length make any difference?

Plan with Long stack the 8.75" rec ends at top of CC, stack top is 12" more total = 21"

Leonard

[Pete Mazz]

Should be fine

[LeonardK]

Hey Pete I just found and used your throat calculator for overlapping cylindrical tanks, using same as for this build calling area needed 18 sq inches and 15.25" ID and zero for dam gives ans Height of Overlap 2.939" or 2-15/16ths and Width 9".

Thank you, the calculator you wrote is great!

Throat Calculator for Overlapping Cylindrical Tanks by Pete Mazz
https://planetcalc.com/4580/


Going to build another one using pipe for Fire Box and 32.5 inch section of pipe for the throat too.

Leonard

[Pete Mazz]

[LeonardK]

Sure is nice getting wheels on it, no lifting equipment.

Is there an idea guide of something to suggest easy good ways to build your handles, latches, etc????????


The little things are not so insignificant.


Leonard

[Chromeski]

Look at other builds and see what you like. Frank does have some hinges and handles for sale depending on what you wanna do.... build looks good so far

[mp4]

Here's how we did handles on my brother-in-laws smoker.

[McBroom]

Here's how we did handles on my brother-in-laws smoker.

I like the way you done these handles.


I love my truck!
Blue Mule 18 Ram 4x4 C/C
Off Road.

[Dirtytires]

Handles and latches are completely up to you. Just another way to make it “yours” and is limited only by your imagination and available tools.

Personally, I used a 3 inch bullet hinge as they are indestructible and built my own latches.

[Big T]

They can be simple or fancy, the main thing is that they function properly.

[LeonardK]

Almost done, but to see how it cooks and how much wood it uses

Gives lots of smoke flavor with wood, but, this smoker just does NOT seem to cook right, hard to get temp up and keep it up without a full firebox and a roaring fire always going. Makes me think there is a flow problem. Something also a welder in my friends shop told me as well. Said he made his 16" rev flo 4 foot and throat ends 6" high sloped down toward middle (2 plates) to drain grease put a nipple there.

As it is, seems the smoke gets there, but , not enough heat and not consistently either.

So this idea applied to mine throat ends would be 4.857" and slope down to about 3-7/8" at center to drain grease

When applied to this smoker would it use less fuel if flow were improved like this????????




Thinking of getting back to the Gravity Feed I started earlier, after I make this rev flo work better

This FB is 1/3 of CC and the GF FB is 1/80th of the CC

18x22x29 = 11484 fb 2.5x6x9.5 = 142.5

cc/fb = 80.6

and burns only 1#/hr


Leonard

[Dirtytires]

If your intention was to be more efficient than a gravity feed than we all would have told you to stop before you even started.

They are two completely different animals. The offset will always be less efficient due to its size and heat loss. However, I personally feel a rf produces a better product but that is a discussion for another time and highly subjective to ones definition of bbq. The compact size, insulation, and use of charcoal as a fuel makes a gravity feed much more efficient.

If you are trying to save money on fuel than you should mothball this pit right now. However, I encourage you to use it and explore the areas where it exceeds what the gf can do. A pit cannot be measured in efficiency alone.

It looks like a really compact and well built unit. Nice job.

[Big T]

[LeonardK]

Few days ago I cooked it was 33 degrees, didn't seem quite right.

Found out later coal/wood only makes a pile just so big/tall so when I threw something on top pile it clogged throat...didn't find till later.

So I made a burn box I can pile it 7" high easy

Now to use the temp probe method cook a brisket to 160 deg, foil add rub and instead of a can of coke... 10oz of burbon, then cook to 200 deg





But why do some put a can of COKE on a brisket when you foil it?????






Anybody do brisket, put coke on it when you foil-crutch it??? I read some marinate with coke 12-24 hours softens the meat, how good does this work?

I'm thinking about this coke marinade too

Thought I would fix w/ salt, hot crushed pepper like serrano rubbed all over then the burbon later




If you like to still taste a good spicy heat, jalapeno looses heat, serrano loses some, maybe on long cook won't last but I could put it on when it gets foiled with the burbon.

Too scared to try habanero or those little round pico peppers, what are they called, funny the birds like to eat them. They planted a big bush in back yard, those and habaneros eat you after you eat them.


What peppers do yall like to put on your brisket/smoked meats if you like it hot?

[Big T]

I don't put anything in there when I foil them and it always has a lot of Au Jus in the foil from the brisket its self. I'm not sure why anyone would put coke in the foil but different people have different techniques. I've seen guys put a can of beef broth in there to try to keep the beef flavor but I've never done that myself. I don't care for a spicy brisket myself, just salt and pepper or a store bought rub. I believe that Frank used some jalapeno rub that he bought and he said it was really good, there should be a thread in the food section. I have a rub called habanero death dust from oak ridge bbq that I use on wings and it has a real good kick to it, just don't over do it.

[Dirtytires]

Don’t get too complicated. Simple rub or salt/pepper never left anyone hungry.

Why would you need to pile wood anywhere close to 7 inches high? A small pile of coals and a small split or two is all you should need.

[LeonardK]

Hi

Bought HEB $1.96/# 15# brisket trimmed down to 7.5# wow, they really left a lot of fat on it, so it really cost $4/# trimmed pretty lean

Also got a pork 5.98# pork but trimmed to 4-5/8# also bout 2$/#

Earlier chicken bombed just mediocre, hamburger OK guess I just wasn't accustomed to using much fuel to cook

I've been reading and learning all kinds of things about smoking, like meat takes most smoke when cold, put on fire soon as I trimmed fat


Pulverized serrano and burbon in blender, covered both with same and some salt, stabbed pork butt with meat probe, cooked to 160 deg 225 deg cook all the way up.

At 160 splashed Ezra Brooks sour mash burbon all over everything in pans covered w foil, cooked to 198 deg.
Here's where I pushed it hard being 6 hours smoking to 10pm, loaded that burn box COMPLETELY FULL of lump coal and mesquite, damper open 2.25 turns bout 3/16ths and air full open cooking up to 280-300 deg air 11sq inches open, 198deg at 1245am

Moley Hoses looook at those smoke rings! About 1/2 inch and 5/8 thick. First time cooking brisket and pork butt and I like the outcome. Real strong smoke taste and I love it. The serrano heat did not cook out much, good heat. I would cook again like this too.

Seems I really have to load that burn box absolutely full for it to keep a good heat and push int temp of meat to 198 deg.

Leonard

[Big T]

[ajfoxy]

[LeonardK]

Look at these two companies claim they smoke 14 to 16 hrs and a full 18 hrs. Not hard to do and I guess if you do it commercially ...
I was looking around thinking what do people charge for smoked brisket, variety of answers, 10 yr old thread BBQ Brethren says about $15 to $16 per pound. Found these 2 adds where they sold it 16 to 18 hrs smoked in Hickory, huh? I got a real good cook and flavor w/ my cook on 9 hrs, not soft fall off the the bone but good.

Maybe I might buy some of theirs and try it, see what the best of the best of the BEST really taste like.

Finished a cook twice cooked and that 18# brisket sure lost a lot of weight to 98oz or 6.125#, these were the cheap $1.96/# brisket... a friend showed me to bend them try to gauge how much hard fat there was in them. But I had already made the mistake on the 2 big ones, lots of hard fat, made much better picks on 2 more later purchases. Very 1st one I cooked lost about 50% turning $2/# to $4/#, but really good. And I haven't even tried the other better grades yet, just figured they would leave a lot of fat where you could not see it.


After you foil at 160 deg int, it doesn't really matter what the heat source is. I smoked about 6 hrs steady 225 with charcoal and mesquite wood, foil then fill firebox completely full to cook about 2.5 or 3hrs at 280 to 300 deg.



Has anybody built one about like this and put some kind of oven element 120v or 240v in the throat?


I just thought, already I make my own special electric cords, repair electrical stuff sometimes.

How hard could it be, leave a bolt-on plate opening opposite FB opposite end of throat. Rec throat is 17.53 sq inch and segment is
2 and 5.3/16th inch or 59.2mm tall. Element would restrict the flow a little so I might consider making the segment 2.5 inches or 2.625" tall just slight adjustment for the element.

I know we have ovens for that too but that's also getting 2 things dirty and moving these things too and lots more grease would get into the oven OR I did get a lot when I cooked chicken but not so much when cooking brisket and pork butt. The drain I put would help with the chicken.

Imagine just installing a thermostat in CC connected to the control and that would be about it. This could be done to make smoking temp stay regular and you could just use fire for adding smoke flavor, the two could run at the same time, electric would vary to keep your temp setting right. This might lead to using 50% fuel and wood to smoke.


If you have seen this, post up the thread here. Post anything you have seen/ know about.

I summarized the Pit Calc #s in a pic too

Leonard

[Dirtytires]

I don’t like to see propane in a smoker cause it’s dangerous, in my humble opinion.

Adding 220v of electricity to a metal smoker is just inviting the coroner to your next cookout.

[LeonardK]

I know what you mean and I should have put what I first thought of, using only 120v and I had 2 additional, use a GFCI and to ground the smoker with a rod in the ground like they do breaker boxes

[LeonardK]

Close to finishing

FB latch, angle for table, paint



I'm trying to figure a good tensioning latch that won't require a tight tolerance or complication to make
Look at the fire box in pic, the only tricky thing left

Latches for doors stuff like this tricky

Anybody know good ideas for a door like this needing a latch


Started this evening something easy and fun, cut sand and burn the wood table then put varathane

Like to cook on this with the table!

Leonard