70# propane tank vertical smoker build

[Rule Hard]

I already bought a cheap little temp probe and then I ran across this one at home depot. It was 18 bucks but I like the big face and the readings seem more precise. I also like that the probe sticks into the chamber a bit more.
I found the "smoke" and "bbq" temps a little odd though.

[dacolson]

Tacking to the table is a great idea too. Like it. Any myth if to hold them in the right spot while you weld it to the tank.

[Rule Hard]

Made some progress after a long day at work tonight.
Tacked my legs on and the exhaust.

I didn't do it in any of the cook ays mentioned before. I just kinda wung it. Like I had said before this is kind of a break from what I typically do in the shop so I'm trying to keep it simple and easy. Worked out perfect.

[dacolson]

[Big T]

[Rule Hard]

Heating season kicked off to a bang so I've been fixing other people's fireboxes instead of building this one.
But today I hit it hard and got a lot of the time consuming stuff done. I welded all the door seal edge or stop on. I welded the legs in completely, I welded the exhaust on completely. Then I finally got the doors back on. Unfortunately the top door is still giving me issues. Right at the spot where the two tank ends welded together the tank is sprung open and the door has twist in the same spot. Tried everything to get to straighten out but I cant get anything to hold. Other than that everything is going swell. I hope to get the rest of the fab done tomorrow.
Build the fire box, add the intake, door latches, and make the rack supports.

[dacolson]

Great progress. Are those welds on the inside of your door flanges hitting the inside edges of the door cutouts?

[Dargo]

Nice looking welds.

Clean hinge install making them part of the lid flange.


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[Rule Hard]

Great progress. Are those welds on the inside of your door flanges hitting the inside edges of the door cutouts?

Nah. It's just fusion welded so no filler. It's very small plus the gasket space it fits perfectly.

[Cole Leffert]

Looking great! I also like how you did the hinges! Gives it a real clean look!

[Rule Hard]

Looking great! I also like how you did the hinges! Gives it a real clean look!

Thanks. I did good up on the hinges. When I did it originally I put the hinges on so that the moving part was on the tank and not the door so it wouldn't rub as it opened and closed. When I put it together the second time I overlooked this. I just need to file a little so it doesn't become an issue. Lesson learned.

This also makes me want to build a square smoker from plate. Would solve a lot of issues this round one created. But let's see where this takes us.

[dacolson]

Great progress. Are those welds on the inside of your door flanges hitting the inside edges of the door cutouts?

Nah. It's just fusion welded so no filler. It's very small plus the gasket space it fits perfectly.

Great idea with the fusion weld. Never crossed my mind. Thanks for sharing.

[Rule Hard]

Great progress. Are those welds on the inside of your door flanges hitting the inside edges of the door cutouts?

Nah. It's just fusion welded so no filler. It's very small plus the gasket space it fits perfectly.

Great idea with the fusion weld. Never crossed my mind. Thanks for sharing.

Yeah with tig welding it's something I use often. All the exhaust I build for motorcycles each joint has 3-5 good hot tacks then the rest of the joint I weld with no filler. Makes a nice clean smooth joint. Tig is nice for some things but it's also much more time consuming then zapping with a mig. That's next on my list.

[Rule Hard]

Okay well I'm back out in the shop with a fresh mind and I've started at the smoker and had my coffee while I pondered. I'm going to cut the top door back off. (Hinges are just tacked) and I'm going to stick it in my press and try to untwist it once and for all. These doors have really ate up most of the time on this project and I'm ready to move on to the next steps so I'm determined to make them right.

[dacolson]

Good luck! Doors suck

[Dirtytires]

Walking away and taking a break has helped to solve many of my issues over the years. Amazing how a different approach pops in when you come back to the project.

Door spring can definitely be a problem and is time consuming. On the bright side, fixing it now will mean you never have to worry about it again. Frustrating but worth the time to get it done right.

[Rule Hard]

Well I took the top door off and pressed it into shape. Welded it back on and it fits almost perfectly.
The bottom door in the other hand seemed to fit but once I out the gaskets in started to run into some issues. So I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and cut the words and to the same thing I did to the cook chamber door.
I hit everything on the doors with a flap disk and cleaned the seal edge with acetone and installed the gaskets. Top door is sealed up really well. Maybe a small spot or two that is questionable.
Not quite as much progress as I had hoped for but I finished up a bunch of loose ends for sure. I'm going to draw up my ideas for the charcoal basket and see where the week takes me

[Saskattak]

If building these smokers was easy, no one who own a pellet grill lol.

And I fully agree on the taking a step away from a project. You get consumed i the same thoughts until you break that cycle. Waking away makes the AH-HA moment reslly kick in. Definitely did that building up my Xterra offroader


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[Rule Hard]

If building these smokers was easy, no one who own a pellet grill lol.

And I fully agree on the taking a step away from a project. You get consumed i the same thoughts until you break that cycle. Waking away makes the AH-HA moment reslly kick in. Definitely did that building up my Xterra offroader


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That's exactly why you'll notice so many project bikes in my shop. I woke in one until I get stuck then I move over to another.

[Rule Hard]

Okay so the coal basket is going to be framed in angle iron. The rest will be expanded steel. Nothing new there.
One thing I plan to do though is have some steel wire or rod on the front and back side for handles to make it easy to load and unload. The other thing I wanted to do was have the basket hanging from the top so I had easy access to the bottom to scoop out ash. Also if I add a port in the bottom to push the ash into.
My solution to this is to have the angle iron facing outward on the top sides. Then in the firebox there will be steel wire the the angle iron will set on so I can slide the firebox in and out.

[dacolson]

Looks like a solid setup. Will the ash sit in the bottom of the firebox or are you making some sort of ash pan? Seems difficult given the air intake coming up through the bottom middle.

[Rule Hard]

Looks like a solid setup. Will the ash sit in the bottom of the firebox or are you making some sort of ash pan? Seems difficult given the air intake coming up through the bottom middle.

The intake will no longer be underneath. It will be in the door.
The bottom of the tank will catch the ash. With the coal basket removed it will be easy to scoop out. But I could also add a bung with a cap that will make it even easier temp empty ash into a bucket.

[dacolson]

Not a bad idea. Especially if you are trying to scoop it up through the FB door from the bottom. I like it.

[Big T]

If your fire basket isn't the full height of the FB door then you can add some short legs to the bottom of the basket with flat plate on it. You'd be surprised at how much ash they'll hold. An opening in the bottom will also work but it needs to be air tight or it can cause issues with controlling the temperature.

[Rule Hard]

If your fire basket isn't the full height of the FB door then you can add some short legs to the bottom of the basket with flat plate on it. You'd be surprised at how much ash they'll hold. An opening in the bottom will also work but it needs to be air tight or it can cause issues with controlling the temperature.

That's something I hadn't thought about...hmm.
If I put a cleanout in the bottom it will be a 2" bung with a cap. Pipe thread so it will seal easy. I work for a mechanical contractor so that stuff is easy to come by.
I've been holding out for a bigger ball valve for the intake but it's like we've not thrown any away since I started building this thing. .