Egor

[SmokinFF]

It's great that you have Eli standing by and watching his little brother come to life. He'll keep an eye on his firebox while you build the CC. Excellent work Gizmo!!


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[Gizmo]

Thanks for the kind words guys!

BigT I'll be building the CC from 3/16 sheet metal. In fact the whole rig is 3/16 except the BP and FB door - they're 1/4.

Puff that handle actually acts as a strong-back to help stiffen the door at the free end too - sort of designed itself. I like a fairly fat handle on the FB cause I'm usually running it with big gloves on.

SmokinFF Eli is leaving Saturday with his new owner so I better get busy.

[Rodcrafter]

Nice work Gizmo, I'm thinking of a similar plan for my FB, basket and ash pan. Nice work!

[vizion]

Nice work Gizmo, I wish my shop looked as nice as yours does...

[Gizmo]

Thanks RC - Vizion !

Vizion - that's the 8th shop I've built in my lifetime - I learn something every time I build one so they keep getting better over the years…. sort of like cookers….

RC what I'm building right here is the result of a lot of trial and error over several builds …. just about every part has a reason for being the way it is ….

[Clover Ridge Smokers]

Perfection as always Gizmo

[Puff]

Nice advance planning on that handle. When you think about it...it makes more than perfect sense. I've had to pull my welding gloves off too many times to take hold of something that could have easily had more space around it by design. Great to have that experience behind you.

I have one shop started 33 years ago. I've moved things around 800 times. It's still not good. I could use a nice 30 x 40 pole barn. I could also use a big lottery win

[Gizmo]

Thanks CRS and Puff!
Puff if you hit the lotery don't forget your old buddies here at smokerbuilder.com ….



I finished the FB tonight.

Open




Closed



I didn't think to take a picture of the back - too boring …. just a 4 inch horizontal slot along the top to weld up to the CC.

[Puff]

What is the thickness of the FB... Is it 1/4" ?

[Gizmo]

Only the door is 1/4". The rest is 3/6".

[bstory]

Are you going to insulate any of this cooker or is the 3/16 good with the 1/4 fire box door and 1/4 baffle plate? That looks awesome by the way.

[bstory]

Also do you like those latches. I bought some for the cooker I made for my father inlaw but didn't end up using them. I have 2 pair.

[Big T]

do you install temp gauges on all of your FB's ?

[Gizmo]

Thanks for the kind words bstory and BigT!

@ bstory - Short answer: No insulation is needed. I hope I like those latches - this is my first design with them and as RC says - "it's just steel" so if they don't work I'll just cut them off and redesign. THeoretically they should be the best latch method of all for any cooker door short of gravity.

Long answer: My very first cooker was back in 2009 was a $59 Chargriller offset end-fed made of 13 gauge chinese steel and it darn near worked. I figured out later that it was wrong on the calc numbers (throat size etc.) - not the metal thickness - a suspicion that led me to this forum in the first place. After some research I found out that the rest of the world was converting these to propane to fix the problem so I did too. Since it wasn't legal for KCBS comps a buddy of mine bought it from me with the conversion and his son-in-law is still cooking with it.

The benefit of a 1/4 inch BP adding some mass/temperature stability is, for me, worth the added weight and expense. The benefit of having a more warp-resistant 1/4 inch door (from heat and rough use) is also worth it to me. I'm also going to enjoy seeing the look on the guys face that rear-ends me in traffic and discovers Egor is fine and he's the one heading for the body shop with his "crumple-zone" front end on his plastic/tin vehicle.

Besides, if CRS can run 1/4 inch walls on his cookers in Minnesota at -800F below zero then I can surely get by with 3/16 in Nebraska with typical temps running a little warmer.

@ BigT - Short answer: I think a gauge has it's place on an RF firebox door.

Long answer: I learned way back on my charcoal box experiments in 2009-10 that the gauge on the FB door on an RF tells me what is going to happen to my CC temp in about 20 - 25 minutes - pretty handy once you get on to how to read them. I found with Edgar that I could watch the FB gauge and set my FB temp by adjusting my fire size and airflow with much quicker feedback to the point where my CC never moved. Don't get me wrong - hitting and holding temps on an RF while cooking "Q", complaining about the government and doing 12 oz curls is a lot like herding cats. But it's a lot more fun if you have the right equipment. The extra $20 gauge fits in that category. My hat's off to the old-timers that can hold their hand over the FB for a few seconds and say; "that's about right" and get by just fine. Pays to know your equipment but historically-speaking I'll probably sell Egor before I really know him.

[Smurf]

Pretty impressive Gizmo. Nice design on your fire box.

[Smokeone]

Nice Gizmo! I'm glad your mind never sleeps, makes life easier for the rest of us!

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[Rodcrafter]

Nice work, Gizmo I like the idea of the t-gauge in the FB. I never have tried that, but it does make since. What is the high end of the temp on you gauge of choice about 1200?

[Gizmo]

Thanks Smurf!

RC I would love to have 1200F but the highest temp I can find is 800F and I usually cook with a FB temp around 600 - 625F. So you have to stay on top of it. You also have to make sure it's behind a shadow plate - in my case it's the solid (14 ga.) end panel of the basket.

If anybody sees a 1200F with only a 2.25 inch stem let me know!

[dwwantasmoker]

Gizmo, I like your idea of this temp gauge on the firebox do you mind if I use it on my build and what distance do you have from your basket plate and the temp probe ?



By the way and all you guys on this site have been great help. Thanks again.

[Gizmo]

I've only got about a 1'4 inch between the tip of the stem and the end panel of the basket. The actual temp is not as critical as the repeatability - you'll get used to it as you cook with it and you'll know what different FB temps will mean to the CC.

[Rodcrafter]

Hey Gizmo,

I was wondering what your thoughts would be on the idea of putting a long stem T-Gauge just inside the throat opening below the BP inside the CC? I say that for anyone who may not have room inside the FB for the stem and shadow plate.

[Gizmo]

RC I think that would be scary close to the FB temp.
Should work fine.
Are you planning on putting the gauge stem through the main tank/CC so you can read it?

[Puff]

Gizmo, you mention a shadow plate in the FB. Is this the solid front on your fire basket? Or, is the something else in there to kill a hot spot? I may have a place for your 1200 thermometer... The people up the road are ceramics artists and have kilns in their basement....I'll go ask this week

EDIT: looked up analog pyrometers ....perfect for your needs and they go up to 2000 - 2300 degrees.... Cheap too...lowest price I found was about $85.00. Sorry, nice idea....digitals use ceramic thermocouples... Accurate and repeatable but too pricey

[Gizmo]

The end panel of the basket is the shadow plate on Egor.

[Rodcrafter]

Are you planning on putting the gauge stem through the main tank/CC so you can read it?

I think I will and we can use it for the sake of testing.