20x36 Reverse Flow - First Time Build

[Kcd2016]

I leather sleeve just a few inches wide wrapped around the counterweight's posts could be cool. Wish I knew someone that worked with leather...

[mp4]

This is what I did to mine.

[ajfoxy]

That would certainly work.

[texasmedic1]

I'd cut out a rectangular piece of rubber about 2" x 5" and affix it to the counterweight posts. Find an old tire or a heavy duty rubber mat.


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[Kcd2016]

Getting close:






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What do you guys think of a 'chimney cap'? I took this idea from looking at pictures of the Lang patio smoker.
(sorry if it's standard and I just hadn't realized it)

[ajfoxy]

I think it is a neat idea.

[Squiggle]

Very nice, the stack cap is cool!

[Big T]

I like it !!

[Rodcrafter]

Me too


Making memories!

[Kcd2016]

So what do you guys recommend for the cleaning, derusting, burnout procedure?

This was used pipe as far as I know, for the burnout do I need a raging inferno in the cook chamber or will just a decent fire suffice? How long? Should I expect a lot of warpage at this point?

Should I find a sandblaster and if so what should I expect that to cost? (ballpark. I'm in North Texas.)

For cleaning what should I use to wipe it down inside and out? What should I do to prep for paint? I assumed good ol' high temp rustoleum but does anyone recommend anything else? What do you guys do for painting the firebox since it gets so much hotter?

I know that I'll season the interior of the cc like my old cast iron skillet.

[Rodcrafter]

If you don't see any of what went through the pipe before you owned it left on the inside it was probably gas or some other petroleum based stuff. So i would just wire brush what I could then use some good ole xylene to wipe it down the fire would only be in the FB. I would run it up to say 350 and try to keep it there for a couple hours, then spray some olive oil or Pam sorta stuff on the inside of the CC and let her run 275 -300 for a couple hours then through some ABTs in that rascal and see how they taste. I agree with the rest of what you said.

jm2cw

[Big T]

It's hard to say how much it cost for sand blasting in your area. It seems to vary a good bit from town to town depending on how many blasters and how much work is available.

[Kcd2016]

I lit a fire in it, she's alive!

Full blast she maintained between 310 to 330 across the bottom grate. I've got a leak at my door seal I'll need to figure out what to do with.

In regard to burnout/cleanout, I wire brushed all the rust out of the cc that I could reach, but what about the rust/containments on the pipe under the baffle plate? Just don't worry about it?

Do I wipe the inside out with xylene or just the outside?

I got a quote from a local sandblasting service for $250, inside and out, worth it?

[Rodcrafter]

I wouldn't pay that unless there was stuff on it I was concerned about but it looks fine. I wiped everything on mine to make sure the surface was clean. But that was before I built a fire in it. I would say now that I would just wipe the outside and season the inside the heat takes care of most everything.


Making memories!

[Big T]

[Squiggle]

[Kcd2016]

Last night I gave the smoker a coat of rustoleum high temp bbq black paint from spray cans. It is very matte, I didn't expect it to be so matte. This morning it looks like the whole thing is dusted in black powder. When I wipe my fingers, or a white paper towel across it I pick up a whole bunch of black residue. What's going on, is this normal? Can I just rinse the residue away and be good to go or did I screw up the paint job?

http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalo ... eat-spray/

[Sand Hiller]

Had the same thing happen to me. Had two hi temp options ( $6 vs $12 or $13. Different temp ratings too) and being the tight wad I chose the cheaper product. Looked like dark chalk and had a residue like you describe. Went back to Lowe's and bought the higher dollar stuff. Hit the smoker with a light sanding and painted again. I got the semi-gloss look I was after.

The RF. The pic doesn't do it justice.

The GF was painted by my son before it left the HS welding shop. Have no details on that product other than it is high temp.

[Sand Hiller]

Correction on the price. The ratio was close but the price difference was $4 vs $7.

[Kcd2016]

So I had sacrificial nomex gasket material on the door while the smoker was being welded up and painted. I've ripped off the old gasket and threw on a fresh one, same material, but now I have leaks everywhere!

I picked up some Permatex RTV red silicon at Walmart, no where on the label does it say FDA or food contact approved. Is it fine to use this stuff? https://www.permatex.com/products/gaske ... ne-gasket/

I was thinking I'd just apply a bead directly on top the existing felt gasket itself, what do y'all think?

--- EDIT
Oh nevermind, I found in the TDS that it meets the requirements of the FDA Code of Federal Regulations 21 CFR concerning food contact applications.
https://www.permatex.com/wp-content/upl ... /81160.pdf

[Kcd2016]

So I was way to busy to take pics of the very first cook in my new cooker. The first cook was a hot & fast 13lb brisket, about 6 or 7 hours at 300 degrees. It turned out fine but I have a lot of learning to do, I needed to cook it a little longer to tenderize it some more and it was lacking in the smoke and bark department. I'm thinking cooking at 275 for longer and using some stronger flavored wood will help.

But for my second cook I got some pics for y'all. How about some peach and molasses glazed drum sticks?







Keeping the fire HOT. It's been fun learning to run the fire. So far I've found it's best to shove all the coals and wood to the very back of the fire basket. The amount of fuel in there is so little compared to the size of the fire box that if I just throw splits on in the fire basket where ever that the fire will smolder and the coal bed burns out. So, keep it all shoved in the back and don't forget to wear heavy duty welding gloves .







The flavor was good on these but the skin was too chewy. Any tips for smoked chicken?

[Kcd2016]

[delete double post]

[Rodcrafter]

I can get it to crisp pretty good with just a bit of oil on the skin to start with, running about 325*
If you can't get it to crisp in the smoker finish it on the grill or in a hot oven with sauce on it I don't know another way.


Let us see some more trial runs.


You might try a couple pieces of grating leaning on the inside of your FBasket to make the wood come to one spot better before you have your arm scars all over.

[temurf]

That there is some good looking Q.

[ajfoxy]

Nice. How good is that, eating your way through the learning process. Don't get much better than that...