First build decagon, center feed, build with plates. Not the normal way.

[tinspark]

Cant wait to see this thing fired up and rolling.
Also curious to get see how that articulating damper adjustor works.
The shadow plate over the firebox was a good move and should shield the thinner stainless so that it doesn't warp
Looks like it'll work great. Nice progress!!

[etotore]

Bit more done.

Tomorrow Stack, mounting.

[Rodcrafter]

I was just looking this build over and reading your plans of progress, and I came up with a couple of questions. Mind you I'm not at all being critical just trying to help you.

1. If understood you correctly, you are going to have holes in the BP, is that right? My thinking on this is this pit is large enough to have a great deal of meat cooking at any one time. That being said, the amount of grease that will be running into your FB may be problematic. I know you want to be able to turn the heat way up if you choose, that would have it's limits as you're trying to make more than one type of cooker in this build. If it were mine I would not allow an opportunity for grease to get into the FB.

2. You were speaking of equal air flow into each end of the CC, if this type of cooker isn't level it will make a huge difference in that equality. At any time you can use that to your advantage, if you want one end hotter than the other. I look at air/smoke traveling through a smoker like water running through it if it were upside down. I may be hard to follow to some people but it sounds right in my mind. lol.

It's easier to talk about these things than build and rebuild.

jm2cw

[etotore]

I was just looking this build over and reading your plans of progress, and I came up with a couple of questions. Mind you I'm not at all being critical just trying to help you.

Not easily offended, more happy to have conversations, think more people makes better solutions than alone.
Then said have been thinking a lot on how to do it.

What I'm trying to achieve:
I will incorporate/test out an overpressure/ under pressure principle to the smoker.
Overpressure under the baffle plate (RF), funnel to increase the smoke speed when it get thrown in lower pressured Cooking chamber. Borrowed idea from Kamado Joe https://desora.co/projoe/

Initial test setup

test.png (6.58 KiB) Viewed 384 times

Think it needs some extra words.
Black color is the chamber walls
Green color is BP,
Orange is vertical fins , the lime colored plate are sliding on to adjust low and slow temperature setting.
Blue plate, is to force an increase of the speed of smoke..
My initial run will be to fire up, full open stack, full opening from FB..
Full fire !!! ,, then slide the lime colored plate, bit by bit closing the opening until temperature in cooking chamber is around 250-290F.
Different woods different BTU so need to be higher than 210F, after test I will extend BP to that opening of that size.
Then all temperature adjustment will be done on air intake side to fire Chamber in later cooking, not on stack.
Also mean opening is tuned in for this construction, not really based on the calculator that much.

The red color??
Will be added its a flap opening, to make opening bigger for increasing heat to 400F in cooking chamber.
For doing pate, pizza and bread hopefully.

Equal openings on each side.

BP will be level, horisontal

Orange is drip plate added after initial test run, pipe is already welded, having a second pipe sliding inside..

Will it work, I don't know probably can answer in a week or two.

I think if overpressure works, slanted BP will matters less too.

[etotore]

Ordered
Grill thermometer bundle for measuring and regulating your charcoal-fired grill, with active fan control

[Rodcrafter]

We can't say you haven't considered.........

LOL look forward to see how things work out.

On this sorta cooker a fan unit will help.

[etotore]

Only a few days from test burn, it looks like.
Could simplify things a bit.

Baffle plate is now cut to correct length according to PitCal, that is probably to big for center feed.

test2.png (4.97 KiB) Viewed 372 times

Trying to make the Blue plate so it can be inserted after test run with "normal" Baffle plate opening only.

My idea, is to run with full fire. Write down max temp: Open air to extra clean burn plate (not sure with that one) and see if temperature goes up even more. Then do some thermal camera pictures to look for hot spots.
Have minimum three (maybe 5/7) metal buckets hanging in chamber, with sand. Left, right, center and up and down.
To verify heat uptake, in different areas.

Then reduce throat opening (slider) until I see that temperature goes down.
Then increase it up again with an inch, check if temperature comes up to previous level.
If test ok, that value will be used to reduce cut out hole of main throat hole opening from firebox to the tested usable max opening plus 25%
Will make the sliding damper give more fine tuning possibilities.. Write down opening size

Second test, close throat.
Hopefully I can manage to add, blue plate on the go.
Open Throat..
See if temperature drops, with full opening, if yes how much? (If a lot abort test adjust baffle length restart test)
If no, start to push lime colored plate on each side, until temperature start to drop.
That will be practical max opening for this build RealLifePit value, ??? or ???

Third test, continue to close lime colored plate until temperature drops to approx. 350F, low and slow opening. write down value.

Is there any other tests I should do, ? Fire chamber size? What should I look for?

[Dirtytires]

I’m confused... but gotta say you definitely were able to use all the colors of the rainbow. Most impressive!

Just remember that it will take a fire 30-60 minutes to fully react and settle down from an adjustment. During this time you will need to be adding more fuel which introduces a new set of variables. You can definitely get the information you want but expect a super long test session.

[etotore]

Okay,, adding some more colors

Done some preliminary tests, not the proper one yet.
Made some food on it too.

Sadly no proper test can be done yet, missing thermometer for checking temperature in chamber, from outside..
Some how Philippine post are working covid slow.

Found an issue, with first burn, so it looks like edge of fire chamber top, should be 2" minimum away from baffle plate edge.
To avoid to much heat convection. Fixed that with a small deflector plate,

Will adjust the door a bit so it closes better.

I have now only a 1.4 mm SS plate as baffle. Equal to 4.2mm thick Steel temperature wise.

This is with high heat, 302 F
Quite equal on both sides from outside, with lower heat from the outside looks like one side is marginally colder..

My test boxes, comes out more or less with same temperature, empty cans from food..
They are different material type and sizes. this was with 226 F

Food come out very moist, lovely smoke flavor. But it was not a controlled cook.
If I can repeat this every time

I don't have a hot spot in center, just the whole plate is very very hot, quite equally.

Put a aluminum foil tray raised a little bit over the baffle, suddenly a totally different temperature value on that one.
So I'm not sure if the temperature I see on the camera is affecting the food above it..

Will add shelf next, and do some more tests, cooking was done hanging the food, mounted a ladder in the top for hooks.

So my double tray setup after that.

[dacolson]

I love it. Very cool process. Engineering at work. I really hope you get to the point where you have predictable results from modifications so you can create some sizing calculations for a center feed.

[tinspark]

Nice work!
Glad it worked out
Thanks for the build share!!