Thanks Guys !! I forgot to mention the C.C is 25 x 48 and the F.B.is 25 x 18 all 3/8 thick with 1/4 end caps and the B.P is 3/8 also. So far all the materials have cost is a case of beer and digging through a friends scrap pile.
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)
How big do I need to make my fire basket ? My CC is about 100 gals and my FB is 33 gals. I watched Frank's video on building a fire in a RF and it didn't look like it needs to fill up all of my FB. I'm really asking more about the height of the sides than the foot print.
Most of the baskets are built to clear the door opening. Basically leave enough room that you can slide it out, and maybe a little extra so it will tip down so you can add wood or coals. Clear as mud?
BBQ is just smoke and beers!
Usually more beers than smoke.
A couple more questions, 1) do I need to have an air intake lower than the bottom of my fire basket or will the intake on the door at fire level be good enough ? 2) What is the best place for the top cut on my C.C. door ? I've seen some at TDC, some past TDC and some less than TDC, how far down are the ones that are less the TDC ?
A lot of builders go an inch past TDC on the top to help with rain run off and an inch below horizontal so the grate rails can be installed in such a way that the grate top sits exactly at 3 o'clock when on the rails (slide-out).
Personally I've always gone noon to 3 o'clock because I thought it made the best seal on the finished door & frame assembly. Remember if you frame your door then even if the opening is only 90 degrees the finished door panel ends up larger where the seal has to work.
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 input, I was hoping to have my CC door opening cut by now but I haven't made it that far. I've spent the last few days working on my over designed FB door and I wasn't able to get my air intake to work like I wanted so the whole thing is in the scrap pile. I always remind myself to K.I.S.S. but that other part of my brain kicks in and I come up with all these great ideas. Hopefully my next post will have some pics of my completed FB door.
Well I finished my redesigned FB door and got it mounted. I swear it took longer to figure out how to get the hinges to open the door without binding up than it did to build the rest of the door. I was starting to run out of ideas after about the 5th or 6th attempt.
nothing fancy but it is real smooth with no drag
I made the intake just a little larger than recommended and put a piece of X-metal behind the opening, just for saftey
I just put a piece of angle for a handle on my air intake
I still have to build a latch for it but my brain was kinda burnt out after wrestling with the hinges. All in all it wasn't too bad for a half a days work.
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 guys, yea bluecatfish that's not what I pictured when I started to build them. My door is double paneled so I had to get the hinge's first movement to be pulling straight out before it could swing. After several failures I finally got this one to work.
I liked the look of the rounded mount since everything else is round
I will probably go with the straight cut style on my next build. I didn't think it would be easy to roll 1/4" plate but I didn't think I would have to heat it as much as I did to get a smooth arc. I just wish I could get a little more time to work on it, seems like as soon as I get going , it's time to stop.