500 Gallon Reverse Flow Build

[Eckroll]

Yep I agree. Sounds like the best option.

[Rodcrafter]

I like that option the best too. I personally would make the door away from the FB be the first to open. Because if I wasn't going to use the whole CC I would use that end first.

jm2cw

[Eckroll]

I was thinking just the opposite on the doors. That way when it's full I won't be forced to open the far door and cooling down the entire smoker. Thoughts?

[Rodcrafter]

I guess if it is full you will have both doors open anyway. But if not full you will have the best of both heat ranges on that end and you will be away from the heat of the FB. Now Forty Creek, has two big doors and a small door, in that scenario I would say because he also has an CC above the FB the small door on the FB end is best. My thinking in his case is the whole hog needs to be away from potential hot spots that being on the FB lower shelf and the opposite top shelf. But since the whole hog is a bottom shelf sorta cook away from the FB.

But hey, it is only my preference it is your cooker and you are the one who will be cooking on it for the rest of your life.

jm2cw

[Eckroll]

Thanks for the feedback Rodcrafter. I'm going to lean on your experience and run the doors as you suggest. I didn't get anything done last weekend. With any luck I'll get the doors cut this weekend.

So I had some friends ask me "How the hell are you going to roll that thing over?". So if anyone else is interested the picture below should explain. I lifted each end with a floor jack and slid a railroad tie on each then rolled it over. Be sure to use safety stops in case it gets away from you. Once it was in position I used some wheel chocks to lock it in and also used a couple of horizontal 4x4's for added safety.

[ducatidom]

nicely done

[Rodcrafter]

"It's so heavy" has been an ongoing theme over the last couple of years. Of course I would say the same thing if I didn't have tools like this at my disposal.


The best part will be how you're going to get it on a trailer.

Be careful


Making memories.

[Eckroll]

Holy smokes! Take that picture again with the truck in the air! Looks like the forks are under it. Lucky for me I do have that John Deere tractor with bucket and clamp on forks. You can kind of see it in the picture behind left of the tank. It only has 1100 pound lift capacity so I might have to call in a favor from one of the farmers anyway. I'm guessing it will weigh close to 1400 when done not including trailer?

[Rodcrafter]

Oh the forks were under it. I was building the bumper and didn't want to get on the ground.


Making memories.

[Eckroll]

Yeah that is awesome. If I ever come across a deer carcass with a "Jesus" stamp on its side I'll think of you

[Rodcrafter]

I bet you will. LOL


Making memories.

[Eckroll]

I got the feet cut off and the drain hole cut and ground down. Just need to plug it and I'm ready to cut the doors.

While I was doing this I remembered something about my other smoker that has bugged me since day 1. When I cut that door it sprung on me just a little like 1/4". It's nothing major but requires a little extra care to seal. I don'tn want to repeat the same issue. I know I can solve it with a hinge that ribs down the front of the door and integrates the handle which could look cool and serve a function. The other option is doing the square doors. If you include the time to make the counter weights for round doors plus making those hinges go to the handle I'll save time by going with the square doors. Do these larger tanks have the same tendency to spring when cut? Will heating it up before help relieve the stress? Any advice is appreciated.

[Eckroll]

Here are some ideas. I'm playing with.

[Pete Mazz]

Heat is your enemy with doors. Best method I've seen is to cut 90% out leaving 2" sections uncut around the door. Let everything cool down and then finish the cuts.

[forty_creek]

Ditto Pete!


Drankin, Smokin and Dreamin

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rodcrafter]

Yep what he said!


Making memories.

[Eckroll]

OK doors are laid out and the initial scoring is done all around. I ran out of cutoff wheels so I'm done for the day. I left all the corners intact and two inches on each door at all the middle sections to come back and cut after the hinges are in place. I'll get more wheels tomorrow and continue. I'm a bit jealous of you guys with plasma cutters and monster fork lifts.



I also left the door 2 inches shy of 3pm. My other smoker dribbles grease and water down the front when cooking as it comes down the back of the door. I'm hoping this will keep all that crap inside.

[Eckroll]

For those who are interested the doors are 36" across each. Also the railroad ties are awesome to be able to roll it around and get into comfortable positions to work on it.

[Rodcrafter]

If it was me I would put the 3 pieces of flat bar on the vertical portions of the doors, and then cut the bottom of the doors and the top. Then I would see if the doors sprung at all. And if they did then you can bend them back into shape while they're off the tank. But since the vertical pieces are in place you can just tack some junk in the middle of each for a make shift handle and set them on and off to get the final seal done then weld the top and bottom flat bars on then the hinges.

jm2cw


Making memories.

[Big T]

If you weld your hinges on without proper spacing for your gaskets then you'll end up with leaking door gaskets. jm2cw

[Eckroll]

Sounds like you both are recommending the hinges go on after the doors have been removed and final fitted. BigT if I'm understanding right you are suggesting to install the gaskets, set the door, then weld the hinges?

[Rodcrafter]

That's right


Making memories.

[Eckroll]

OK guys I got the doors off today. I cut the equivalent of 18' of .30 steel with cut off wheels and recipricating saw. That took about half a day and I wouldn't say it was fun. I opted not to install the flanges because I want to weld them from behind for a cleaner look. I used the technique discussed and still ended up with about a 1/4" spring in each door. I'm going to use a floor jack and chains and attempt to bend it a little next weekend. Splitting the door into 2 parts was the way to go. I'm not sure how heavy each is but my guess is 100#. Much heavier than I anticipated. Be sure to have the tank secured from rolling. When the door falls out the tank wants to roll. I also scored a trailer with 3500# drop axle for $75 (yes you read that right). It's a little neglected and will need a little bit of work but has good bones. It has a subframe and tilt bed.

[Rodcrafter]

Sweet!


Making memories.

[Tom_Heath]

Your build is looking pretty sweet. And awesome deal on the trailer find.