Just realized I had not modified the door. The door will be a single door.. pretty large I know. It will actually extend the door to the edges and hopefully have 4 hinges keeping it on.
I think you should just buy your barbecue "ready to eat" so you can devote more time to drawing up cookers.
Solidworks?
Are the walls insulated? If not I think most guys are gonna tell you to go with 1/4 inch. Lots of mass in that and great for stabilizing temps.
Otherwise on insulated walls I use 14 to 18 gauge liners myself. Careful with the rail mounts so they can carry the load.
And on the eighth day God created barbecue …. because he DOES love us and he wants us to be happy.
Current smokers: Egor (trailered RF) and Easybake (tabletop pellet drive)
Thanks for the comments so far. One of my main concerns is weight and I'd like to keep it as trim as possible and thought 3/16 might be an answer... but I am also very concerned about the temperature control. Trying to gauge how heavy this thing will be for towing purposes, and how much more it is going to be for 1/4" vs 3/16". Most likely cannot afford the extra price to insulate but still wanted to get the best bang for my buck.
I too assumed you weren't gonna insulate. If you don't insulate I say go 1/4.
Insulating might be cheaper, but I am not sure. One of the wizards will be along to help on that one.
BBQ is just smoke and beers!
Usually more beers than smoke.
After reading up on thermal mass the steel's ability to retain that heat couldn't be THAT different from 1/4" to 3/16". I mean it is 25% less in thickness, but I have this feeling that the 1/16th of an inch wouldn't equate to "that" much more consistent temps. I am in Dallas though so I am usually not subjected to temperatures below 30...and NEVER below 20. I do like the idea of a better, more even heat disbursement which is why I have made that diffuser. I have a feeling that will have to be reworked until I find the right tuning.
The slide out firebox, slide out water pan/baffle, and brackets will certainly be made of 1/4".. maybe even 3/8 due to the intense heat. I will not be using "thin" grating even though the picture shows that.. I was trying to make the drawing reflect that there will be grating there and will not be a solid box.
Thanks for all of your opinions so far and I'm glad you guys think it looks decent so far.
Your looking at 1500 lbs if you build it from 1/4 and thats just the walls only......no baskets ....no shelves...no nothin but the skin.
Not to mention the price of plate. I would think that you can buy 16 gauge and insulation cheaper then just the 1/4 inch plate.
In my eyes, 16 gauge is more then plenty thick if you plan your bends properly.
Insulation is really not all that expensive, I did a cabinet 36 wide 48 tall and 30 deep. Insulation is 3 inchs thick and I spent 40 bucks. Had I been 1.5 inchs thick it would have covered a cab twice the size, nearly the size you are talking about.
In my eyes, if you build from 1/4. I bet your final build will be around 2000 to 2500 just for the smoker. At Least.
What TOM said times 2 .... insulated is lighter and costs less.
And on the eighth day God created barbecue …. because he DOES love us and he wants us to be happy.
Current smokers: Egor (trailered RF) and Easybake (tabletop pellet drive)
wow.. excellent advice! Yeah, since I am not the one actually welding this the price of insulation would probably be way more than 80 bucks or so. But this is what I was thinking, thanks for the compliments and keep the ideas coming.
So just out of curiosity, could I then change the thickness of the metal used to 1/8", then insulation, then a layer of thin metal around the insulation? Checking to see if I can save money on the cost of metal, to allow for the builder to do insulated for the same price... and it will make it much lighter too. I also have a concern though that the bottom 1/3 of the cabinet would need a thicker gauge just because it is where the fire will be.
just noticed you said "solidworks".. had to look it up to realize what you were asking. No, I am using Google sketchup.. it's free (well the free version works for what I am trying to do right now)
I like it!!!
You may consider a Vertical reverseflow design. Click here : see KenV's thread
I use mostly 16 gauge for cabinet builds and insulate them. You will build a framework out of 2" or so 14 gauge tubing. if you want to use heavier steel for the inner and/ or outter skins that is fine. you will have better control of your hot and cold spots with the vert. RF design IMHO