500 Gallon Reverse Flow Build

[Eckroll]

Guys I didn't get a chance to work on the smoker this weekend. I did buy all the steel to finish the doors. I do have a question. What door seals do you recommend? I'm planning a 1/8" gap and will have about 3/4" lip to work with. I see some Nomex with lavalock adhesion or flat fiberglass woven stuff that would require RTV to adhere. If using the RTV what is recommended?

[Rodcrafter]

I've never used the Nomex but they say it works great.


Making memories.

[forty_creek]

On the cooker doors I would use nomex. FB wire rope. You can get both from this site. Helps keep the lights on for us to all be able to come here and discuss this subject along with all others.


Drankin, Smokin and Dreamin

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[Eckroll]

Thanks guys. Nomex on the doors is the plan now.

[Can do]

Are you better off putting the flange on the inside of the cook chamber, versus on the exterior of the doors? I'm going to be starting my 500 gallon propane tank build soon

[forty_creek]

Are you thinking traditional round or square?


Drankin, Smokin and Dreamin

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[Can do]

Are you thinking traditional round or square?


Drankin, Smokin and Dreamin

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Goin with the round style

[Can do]

Hi Guys
HO w do you determine how much to cut out to fit the fire box? On Ekroll's first post, it looks like he cut approximately half of one of the domed ends

[forty_creek]

You get your throat number from the pit calculator here on the site.
Pete Mazz has loads of ways to help you with measurements.
Have you ran your pit dimensions through the pit calculator?
I personally understood the "Feldons Pit Calculator" easier. Due to the descriptions on the page. It helped me with some of terminology. I compared my calculations with both. They were spot on.


Drankin, Smokin and Dreamin

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[Dirtytires]

My understanding is that putting them (The flanges) on the inside looks cleaner but would require a bit more prep to clean up both the door and door opening to keep "clean" lines. This also decreases the size of the opening so should be thought out ahead of time.

Outside flanges seem to be a bit easier as you can align and weld from the outside.

In theory, both should seal equally well as long as alignment is allowed for the sealing material.

I kinda like the industrial look of the outside flange but to each their own.

[Pete Mazz]

Hi Guys
HO w do you determine how much to cut out to fit the fire box? On Ekroll's first post, it looks like he cut approximately half of one of the domed ends

Use this calc for a squared FB fitted to a tank.

http://planetcalc.com/4581/

[Rodcrafter]

Good job Pete!

Can Do,
You may be right there is a very large cut on the bell end, but it is a very large tank so it will have a very big FB.

jm2cw


Making memories.

[Eckroll]

Yep that calc that Pete posted is extremely helpful. I used a square to measure my drop then a level to draw my cut line around the bell. My inside measurement across ended up nearly perfect. Guys I've been extremely busy both professionally and at home and haven't had time to work on this. I'm hoping to have the doors sorted today.

Can Do, if you haven't seen it this video should help with the cut. I believe this is the site owner. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MPJMw71cl6I

[Eckroll]

OK I got a chance to work on the sprung doors. You can see here what I was dealing with. You can see I welded tabs around the door to hold it in place.





Here you can see how I reversed the spring. This took multiple attempts per door to get right. So be prepared to get a good workout.




Here you can see the end result.





I'm really glad I went this route and fixed them now. I'll weld on the flanges next and see how it all sits.

[Eckroll]

Almost forgot this one.

[Pete Mazz]

[Eckroll]

CanDo,

You asked about the outside flanges vs the inside flanges. I can tell you that my other smokers tend to drip grease and water down the inside of the door when closed. Having the flanges inside would catch a lot of that and gum up your seals and force that junk to the outside. If you cut the bottom cut a inch or two shy of 3pm and place the flanges on the outside you will create a natural drip edge inside the smoker keeping that crap in there and keep the seals cleaner. Look at some Google images of smokers that have the doors cut past 3pm and they will have grease running down the front on the outside below the door. On one of my smokers I put only the top flange on the inside and that worked well but looks unfinished from the outside.

[Rodcrafter]

You can put a drip lip on the inside of the door just above the grate it will allow you to have your grate at center and still slide in and out.


Making memories.

[Big T]

[Eckroll]

Anyone know if this hinge is available anywhere?

[Rodcrafter]

Most people make those types with a plasma table. I don't know where to buy them. I make mine without a plasma table and it is a lot of work.


Making memories.

[Eckroll]

Thanks Rodcrafter. I'm debating doing them by hand.

Here is a pic of a door I got flanges on today. For those interested I did a modified plug weld to attach the flanges. Rather than drilling a hole I cut slots using my grinder and a new 1/4" disk. Clamp tightly and only weld three at a time letting things cool between sets. The door settled in nicely and didnt warp at all. I only got the right door complete. Sorry for the poor final pic my shop doesn't have the best lighting I'll get a better picture posted when both doors are done.

[Dirtytires]

Love the plug weld idea.....I just love all the neat tricks one can learn on this site.

Thanks for sharing.

[Big T]

That is a great idea and it beats the heck out of drilling a bunch of holes.

[Rodcrafter]