Build Design Help

[smokeinnj]

Hey guys hoping i can get some input from all of you who have built smoker before. I was looking to build this smoker here are my drawings hoping ya all can help with any design flaws in it. It will be a 4' long by 3' deep smoke box with a 2'x2'x3' warming box on the side of it. The fire box on it will be 2'x2'x2' all made of 1/4" plate steel. It will be a reverse flow smoker. I will be building a trailer for it since all the trailers im finding for the price i can buyild something alot sturdier. Any assistance you guys can let please let me know .. now hopefully this pic attachment works.






Thanks guys any advice be much appreciated

[alleyrat58]

Welcome smokeinnj! The first thing I'd recommend is to run your numbers through the pit calc to see how close you are on the sizes of things. That will save you a TON of trouble and rework.

I'm sure Frank and some of the guys who are much better than I will be along shortly to offer their guidance.

[The Czar]

Welcome on !!!!!

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[SoloQue]

[smokeinnj]

Thanks all, and ill have to look up this pit calc you speak of and see how far off i actually am. Thanks for the advice

[Smokeone]

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[Gizmo]

The pit calculator is over in the welding and metal working section - last item and oddly enough it's named "Pit Calculator".

First hunch is to raise the cook chamber up until the bottom of it is at the height of the top of the firebox. Then slide the firebox over to be maybe a 1/3 of it's width under the cook chamber. Seems like the heat flow would be better into the cook chamber but I'm going more on hunch here cause I don't think there's a hard rule for this... fwiw.

[TuscaloosaQ]

Have not run numbers but it appears the firebox is undersized to me. Maybe I am wrong.... Better to be oversized than under

[smokeinnj]

Rick thanks i actually already googled it and found it and yeah my stuff is WAYYY off.. so i have to rework the numbers for the dimension again.

For adding a firebox do you think 2'x2' too larger should i cut that back to 1'6"x1'6" and then slide the box on over 6 inches at that point along with lowering the height of the chamber from 4'to 3' feet i should be more within the pit calcs ranges.

[SoloQue]

Better to be oversized than under

I've lived my life by that motto

[TuscaloosaQ]

Rick thanks i actually already googled it and found it and yeah my stuff is WAYYY off.. so i have to rework the numbers for the dimension again.

For adding a firebox do you think 2'x2' too larger should i cut that back to 1'6"x1'6" and then slide the box on over 6 inches at that point along with lowering the height of the chamber from 4'to 3' feet i should be more within the pit calcs ranges.

But what do I know

[The Czar]

Rick thanks i actually already googled it and found it and yeah my stuff is WAYYY off.. so i have to rework the numbers for the dimension again.

For adding a firebox do you think 2'x2' too larger should i cut that back to 1'6"x1'6" and then slide the box on over 6 inches at that point along with lowering the height of the chamber from 4'to 3' feet i should be more within the pit calcs ranges.

But what do I know

..... ....what do you know? Is this a trick question?

[Gizmo]

I was wondering the same thing DC - knowing me I probably said something I shouldn't have....

[The Czar]

I was wondering the same thing DC - knowing me I probably said something I shouldn't have....

Or is it you didn't say something you should have.....

[Gizmo]

my little brain is starting to knot up ...

[Tom_Heath]

Welcome aboard.

Interesting pit design. I like it.

[smokeinnj]

Rick thanks i actually already googled it and found it and yeah my stuff is WAYYY off.. so i have to rework the numbers for the dimension again.

For adding a firebox do you think 2'x2' too larger should i cut that back to 1'6"x1'6" and then slide the box on over 6 inches at that point along with lowering the height of the chamber from 4'to 3' feet i should be more within the pit calcs ranges.

But what do I know

Ughh sorry guys must of been the whiskey.. I mean to say should i shrink down the Warmer box not the firebox.. well here is what i came up with after taking in some of your recommendations. Sorry about that again its been a long week ...



What i did was i lowered the overall height of the pit and actually made it slightly thinner. After running the numbers on the pit calc i had to either greatly increase my firebox or shrink down the pit and felt lowering the height was probably the better option.

With shifting over the firebox as suggest i then took 6 inches off the warmer box but maintained the same width to it. Right now with all the numbers i have put in on the pit calc it seems to be right where it should be. So next step now is either finding a trailer to support the weight of this or just building one.

Thanks all

[Gizmo]

If you're heating the warmer box only by radiant heat and not letting the firebox vent through it then the warmer box size has nearly no effect on the calculation of the CC and FB ratio.

[smokeinnj]

So i have finalized the design on this thing finally. It has been run up against pit calc and every other thing i can think of.

If there is anything that you guys think needs to be done added please feel free to help me here before i drop a grand in steel to build this.

[Gizmo]

Pre-warmer cabinet for wood on the left under the CC? If you sheet it with tin it would give you some serious storage too. Fwiw

[Rodcrafter]

I like what Rick said too about sheeting the underside of the CC. You are going to make a awesome cooker there.

[smokeinnj]

Thanks guys yeah that sounds like a good idea to build a cabinet there to keep stuff in and should provide less her loss I would think too. Well once I get the build started I'll be sure to post a thread to show the progress

[smokeinnj]

One last thing in your opinion am I better using like12 gauge or something similar and doing it as an insulated smoker or just going with1/4" and don't insuilate. Thanks again guys can't begin to explain how your inputs have helped.

[Frank_Cox]

awesome design!
Insulate your firebox and use 1/4 inch for everything except the skin on the firebox. use 14 or 16 gauge for that.

[smokethis]

Better to be oversized than under

I've lived my life by that motto

Love it solo n that is what she said .......but on a serious note run it through the calculator and its a huge help and take all the advice u can get from these guys ......trust me I have seen some of the pits they have built and it is mind bottling

Also