Thats a great looking smoker CRS. Was it just easier to square up the cylinder to mate the firebox instead of notching it or was it just for esthetics? Notching it looked like a bit of a pain so I was just going to set mine up for center feed. This build viewtopic.php?f=11&t=3210 is what I was thinking of shooting for.
Either one will make a nice cooker. The only big difference in my opinion is; the center feed needs to be very controlled seals so that the fire can remain small enough to not overheat the CC. Where an offset can burn at it's normal flame like an campfire. I use sticks so I feel better about having a hotter fire so the smoke remains thin and blue.
jm2cw
Current Smokers: Backyard RF Offset and Hybrid RF Offset trailer rig with Cowboy cooker and fish fryer, always room for more........
I tsp/soap/water filled the tank a few days ago. Basically ready to start any day that I can settle on whether I should go center or offset feed. After seeing CRS' build I'm really leaning towards offset, and with rodcrafter's bit of info on fire maintenance that's probably the route I'm going to go. Might try to start cutting tonight since I'll be out of town on business all next week. I'll make sure to take plenty of pics since it never happened without photographic evidence.