New build..oil tank question

[Rodcrafter]

After all that is the temp we are concerned about right?

[Rodcrafter]

[Puff]

Gee...I forgot to add it is the 275 oval oil tank

[Rodcrafter]

Gee...I forgot to add it is the 275 oval oil tank

That wouldn't change the fact that the temp you want to know is at the cooking grate level. Since you cooker will be tall you may want more than just one elevation monitored.

jm2cw

[Puff]

Thanks for confirming my guess....I' am planning on two levels of grates since it is so tall. Since it lacks length, it may make up for it in height but I am concerned about the temperatures being equal and consistent ? They would only be separated by about 12 inches. Are there any concerns for drippings and other surprises from the upper shelf or should I just stick with the one level?

[Grabber70Mach]

Don't put your chicken on the top rack with the beef or pork getting chicken juice dripping on it.

[Blazer]

Puff you will be fine I would just watch putting raw meat over top of meat that is getting ready to come off.

[Blazer]

Grabber beat me to it. Great minds think alike.

[Puff]

Good Advice... Since I have never tried smoking ANYTHING....That did not yet cross my mind. Now it's glued in place..
I'd almost thought.. " well, the drippings will provide added flavors" The reality is more like contamination

Thanks for that one....
AL

[Puff]

For the guys who have continually responded to my questions and those seasoned builders... I apologize for what may seem to be common knowledge or repetitious

But this is ALL new to me. This smoker isn't a gigantic one like the ones I have seen here on the forum but for my first trip to the steel store...wow. Those 1/4" sheets weigh a ton. I had to opt for 2x4' sheets as that is about the biggest I can safely handle at the moment. They are 82 lbs each. They loaded them in with a fork lift and all that took seconds. Getting ready to build the fire box. These sizes will create several pieces of waste but I already have a few design ideas that will help keep them in use. The expanded metal sheets are lighter as you all know and I can get my grates cut out easily from them. I also picked up some angle for the grates to slide in and out on as well as flat stock to trim out the doors. The weekend is supposed to be cooler on temps so its nicer to work. Got my weld on hinges today from Frank so I might actually get to make it look like something.

Just gotta sharpen up my hacksaw to cut those sheets

[SmokinFF]

You're on the right track now. All you lack is finishing up.

[Joe D]

Awesome. Oh yeah! Nothing like wrestling sheets of 1/4" plate. Those hinges work well. I have them on my build. Looking forward to seeing your build come together.

[Puff]

Thank you guys, When I was 27, a much older friend who was in the steel business made a 1" adapter plate for a 65 foot radio tower on my back yard. It was used to adapt the bolt holes from my original base mount to a different pattern since those bolts went right into the concrete.

As I went to grab it out of his truck he started" let me just tell you this, you can't out muscle that piece of metal, BUT you can outsmart it". I am sure he's gone over 20 years now but that phrase comes to me every time I need to move something like this!

[Puff]

Spent 3 hours today....made a door ! Oh boy, this is gonna tak e longer than I thought.

[Puff]

Spent 3 hours today....made a door ! Oh boy, this is gonna tak e longer than I thought. Any thoughts on these hinges or just tack them in place?

I thought the frames would help camouflage the simple door cuts and they do. Also add 1" angle to the inside of the door to help hold gaskets in place

[Puff]

A weekend always helps to make some progress. Based on some. Of the shops I see on this forum, I feel like I am building this with a propane torch...but either way, I'm hoping the final product does what It is supposed to.

Hinges ready to weld in place

Doors are welded on to the hinges

They work !

Still got a bunch of work to do including the baffle plate, firebox, grates, etc...

Should make a great brisket by Christmas

[Puff]

I am looking for this weekend coming, to install the bottom baffle plate. My question is: how long is the baffle plate from the firebox to the gap that will allow the smoke to flow into the cook chamber? How many inches Should there be accommodate this design... It is a reverse flow.

Also, I have constructed the doors with a 1 inch angle inside of each door. By a stroke of luck, they fit perfectly. Apparently, the curve from the saw blade gave me enough space to weld the angle inside. I also welded one-inch flat around the perimeter of each door which gives it a better cosmetic look.

If you look at picture number two, on the bottom left side you can see that the corner is slightly raised. This happened on all four corners because I had clamped the angle to the metal of the door and obviously removed any curvature that it had matching the tank. I am waiting for the gasket materials to arrive. However, if it does not seal well... Is this going to be a problem?.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Gizmo]

Leave a gap the same size (or slightly larger) than the throat opening area. The BP is for heating up and re-radiating heat so as large as practical is the rule - However, the gap area will interfere with the cooker's ability to "breathe" if it's smaller than the throat opening - clear as mud?

[Rodcrafter]

What Rick said; as for the doors fitting and sealing. I would say I hope you welded the hinges where you could remove the doors. If not you can still tweek them with a jack and a chain to reshape if needed. What I do is check them before I weld the hinges on. Then make the adjustments as needed, then the welding. But I have wished I had done it that way too.

jm2cw

[Puff]

So I will use the pit calc to get a dimension approximate to the 1/2 circle of the throat cut and cut that at the end of baffle plate.

As for the doors, my inner lip angle gives a good "light trap" but I know in a suction of a fireplace , it will leak so I may need to cut the corners out about 3 inches on the 90 degrees points and fabricate a sort of built out section to equal the door flats spots. Or...just thought of this....what about bending the bottom and top edges inward to make an equal gap and then use the gasket material to seal it across the entire top and bottom and sides? I see no way without an elaborate trap and seal to make it air tight. Is that correct....

this is my first big project other than restoring motorcycles but they were built already, i was only reassembling them. Haha

Clear as mud ? It is now, I might have assumed a restriction in that spot was part of a master control plan...I guess that is all accomplished at the firebox damper and the chimney

[Gizmo]

If your CC door is that tight I would just silicone the seal on one side and put wax paper on the other side (so you don't silicone your door shut) and you should have a very serviceable seal without the fire-rope.

[Puff]

Thanks Gizmo-Rick, that's a great idea...does it hold up or well or is it something that needs to get re-done every few months? I've had silicone hold up for weeks and hold up for years under ever greater extremes so I guess you just play it by ear.

Here's another question...my chimney, according to the plan, is 6" tube for approx 36". There is a 90 bend in the part where it comes out of the side of the tank a few inches and the goes up towards the sky. Steel store has 6" o.d. tube in 3/16 which i am thinking is still quite heavy for the side attachment to the oil tank wall without either a thimble of sorts welded to the inside or out ...or a tie rod type of support diagonally tacked on from top of chimney to center of the top of the tank. On ther other hand... I found 14 gauge tube in 6".... Is that any thinner and lighter?

[The Czar]

The thickness of an exhaust don't matter..,,

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

[Gizmo]

I prefer thinner because it's cheaper, lighter and easier to work with. 14 ga. would be perfect.
And as DC said - it won't effect performance anyway…

[Puff]

14 gauge will be here on Monday...thank you again for the help

Gotta think a materials and or cut list makes a good addition to the plan