205 gal RF natural gas pipe smoker

[ronn1234]

Hello all,
My name is Ron I have started my new smoker build please forgive the pic heavy first post. I am in no real hurry to build this thing but my goal is to have it smoking by June.....2014 I hope haha. Ok so a little history first, I started smoking meats about 2 years ago i bought an Old Country 20" x 48" smoker from Academy. I love this smoker but it is just not big enough!!! I have become very popular at work seems like.

So how do i plan to resolve the Smoker being to small well. I procured some natural gas pipe CC 30"x67" by 1/4" and a FB that is 30"x 26"x1/4". Here is some photos of the pipe in my truck.

Next, I cut out the end caps out of 31"x31"x1/4 for the FB and dry fitted them. I had to use an gas torch and grind to fit lo plasma torch for me . Then i repeated the process for the CC.

Here is the dry fit

and a closeup

[Big T]

There's nothing wrong with building it old school

[bstory]

Gonna be awesome I can't even cut like that with my plasma lol

[ronn1234]

With the FB and CC dry fitted I started the task if cutting out the doors. I am offsetting from the top center line of the CC by 1" as there is a weld bead top dead center. I have cut 2 doors 29"x 24.5" there is a space of 1.5 inches in the center in-between the doors. This really really sucked I started all the cuts with a 4.5 inch 7 amp angle grinder i kept hanging disc's and having them explode on me. I also managed to burn up the angle grinder no idea how LOL. So I took it back to the store and got another one haha . I eventually broke down and used my circular saw OMG!!!!!!!!!! that really sucked. I liked the angle grinder way better. This is where I am at this point I am making my hinges so I have not cut the doors completely out yet. Here are a few pics of the doors almost cut out like 99% in these pics the smoker is upside down so I could cut the bottom portion of the doors.

another one of me cutting the end caps love the sparks

[ronn1234]

So here are the 2 hinge design's i'm looking at I like
I like this one the best notice how the nuts in the back are secrete door stops I love the idea

Next i like this one but i would not have the bar running hing to hing i will put 2 pieces on the CC side and one in the middle of them on the Door side. In between the 2 on the CC side i will put a piece of metal to act as a hidden door stop. LOL if ya can tell i want the door stops hidden.

[Clover Ridge Smokers]

[Grabber70Mach]

Nice looking.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

[Rev.Mike]

[ronn1234]

Hello all,
Well was a busy day all i was able to get done was to make the rough mock up of my hinges for the CC doors.
I'm wondering if any of you have opinions on if i have enough height for the doors to be able to open. The center of the bolt hole is right at 1.5" above the CC itself. The hing on the door has roughly 1/4" gap between the hing and the door flange. What do you guys think? btw there will be 2 upright pieces attached to the CC not just the one shown here, that a 1/2" bolt will go through.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome..

[Gizmo]

I can't tell for sure which side it welded to the door and which to the tank. If the left side (where your hand is) is welded to the door then all your number seem about right to me. If the short side is welded to the door then no - the door will drag too much…. I also would set firerope inside the lip of the door before welding the hinge to establish the proper gap - but that's just me…..

[ronn1234]

That is it exactly the left side is the door side. I did not think about the fire rope my smoker i have now does not have that and it is pretty sealed hummmm. So i have a simple question if i weld the hinge before i cut the door loose do i need to tacweld a lip on the inside bottom edge of the cc to stop the door from swinging inwards? How do yall normally proceed once the hinges are set?

[Big T]

I cut my door out and weld a couple of stops on the inside top and bottom of the CC. I set my door in place and make sure it hasn't warped or sprung, if it has I use a jack and chain the get it back into shape. I then weld my flat bar to the edges of my lid and glue my fire rope to the flange on my lid. I let the glue dry for 24 hours and then I set my lid back in place and wrap a couple of ratchet straps around the tank to gently snug the lid down. I weld my hinges in place, remove the straps and open the lid. I don't have any leaks on my CC door at all, if smoke can seep out then cold air can be drawn in once you establish your draft and this can lead to problems maintaining a consistent temp in your CC. jm2cw

[ronn1234]

thanks for the breakdown Big T. How much flange do you have overlapping the CC my flange is 1.5" wide and i have about 1/2" overlap on the CC do you think that will be enough overlap or should i set it around 3/4". One last question where do i buy this fire rope at?

[Big T]

I used 2'' flat bar and just split the seam on the lid so I have about an inch of overlap. There is a link on the main page of this site to bbq parts, they sell different types of gaskets. I use 1/2''-5/8'' fire rope and use high temp rtv from the auto parts to glue it on.

[ronn1234]

Cool thanks for the info i really appreciate it.

[dwwantasmoker]

[ronn1234]

Hey all,
Here is a small update i placed the hinges on one door and cut out the bottom completely, all that is holding the door on is a few spots at the very top it sprang out less than a 1/4" not to bad not really sure what will happen when i release the top but i think it will be fine. Oh and i cut the top and bottom strap for installation probably tomorrow. K nuff of that here are a few picks.

Dry fit of the hing

Hinges installed minus the 1/2" pin

a straight on view

View from other end

door spring bottom right side less than 1/4"

Door spring bottom left side maybe 1/16th" really none at all

[bluecatfish]

[ronn1234]

Ok for today's update I got the right door completely cut out. Next i'm going to put the straps on the outer door and then set the hinges for the left door.
Here is a few pics

about to open the magic door HAHA

1/2 way open :-)

TADAAAAA Door open!!!!!!!!

[Clover Ridge Smokers]

[Big T]

[ronn1234]

Hello all,
Here is what I was able to get done last night. The first door is just about done today I wool lay the side straps and place permanent pins in the hinges. Be genital on the weld with the exception of my practice beads this is the first welds I have done in 23 years so I'm happy.

[Rev.Mike]

[Gizmo]

I will never "be genital" with another man's welds…..

[Rodcrafter]

My my my