Insulated Charcoal Feeder

[Tom_Heath]

Well guys, I had to make up my mind if I wanted to catch up on the board or start my build.

Welp.....I started my build.

Its been since last August since I worked on my smokers. I know I know bad me.

Anyways here it is, 32 inchs wide x 48 inchs tall and 24 inchs deep.
The inside is 409 stainless for the most part, only because I had it and it was cheep.
The top and bottom needed one inch added to each side to make the full 32 inchs wide. I wasnt about to loose those two inchs.

The stand took twice as long to build as the smoke box did. I had to have a way to move it though.

The last few pics show two bends, thats where the door will set into and seal against a gasket.
Since I have NO brake I had to cut a relief and then bend it. After I finished both bends then I welded it to get the strength back. Gettin er bent was a chore but now its done.

Insulation wont be here till the end of the week so probably wont be alot happen this week. Plus I need to figure where I want temp probe holes and such.
All said and done, its gonna have 3 inchs of insulation.

[Gizmo]

Reminds me of an FE100 - winningest smoker in history...
Glad you got 'er in gear Tom - nice job on that structure.
3" insulation? - you know something about our upcoming winters that I don't? after all, I'm only half a state north of you...
What kind of drive unit you gonna use?
Ain't I just full of questions?

[maccas66]

Hey thats smoking Tom!, nice welding as well!............can you do mine next time!

[Tom_Heath]

Yup, the only thing is that mine is almost twice the realestate as the 100.

The plan is to use the standard trager style drive, that I still need to find. I picked up the controller yesterday for 100 bucks. Then when I got home I found the same control for like 115.00 and it came with the temp probe. So since I have the control and I'm not driving back out there I will just order the probe online for 30 bucks.

Then when Franks gets here saterday I will have everything I need execpt for the two fans. One for the auger duct and one as a convection fan in the cook chamber.

After seeing just how big it is in person, I am worried that I will need two augers. We shall see.

And as for the 3 inchs insulation, I am trying something new. They are calling it stone wool and its got a fire rating of 2150 degrees.

[Tom_Heath]

Hey there mac, I know its been awhile since I have made it in here.

Time is tough to come by these days, and OMG I can sure tell that I am working an office job now.
I hurt already, and its not even the day after. I will be in pain tomorrow for sure.

Hey, my welding aint all that, LOL I put on a good show. There is a few you cant see, I was out front and it was windy today so my shielding gas was blown away a couple times. And then I ran out of c/25 and had to switch back to co2.

[maccas66]

sorry Tom!, what I meant was Hey that is smoking,,,tom!, nice job!! a little play on words that read better down here upside down

[The Czar]

Tom....I have been hearing about this "build" from Frank for a while now....I am glad to see you finally getting it done....but I can't help to wonder if your gonna make it to competition this year....

[Smokeone]

Looking good Tom! I say put to auger setups on it anyway, just think of the power you will have.

I have a feeling after saturday you will be able to return the controller, cause your gonna need a credit card machine to run this bad boy, if you and Frank get together! Throw DC in the mix and you will need two CC machines!

[Gizmo]

You've prolly seen that Traeger unit they call a commercial one with a roll-up door on it (roughly $8,000). I'm guessing it's dimensions from memory at about 30" deep - 48" high and about that wide maybe a little more. It has 3 firepots running off one controller... for what it's worth...

...unless you're making your own drive unit - then all bets are off...

[Tom_Heath]

Its all good mac, I just tilted my head sideways and it all makes sence now ,,, LOL

OMG a credit card machine, just what I need.

I plan on attending the comp at P Hill on the 30th. Just not with my rig. LOL See I know this one guy thats cooking there.....

A pellet rig with a roll up door!!!!! WOW never seen that one. Yet.

And it I could run two auger drives off one controller, that would be awesome.
See, when it comes to the electronics, I am at a total loss. I hope I can beg a little help when it gets down to that point.

In my sleep last night I was tossing around the idea of using the stand as a backup heat source.
Just in case something on the pellet set up fails, I would like to still be able to function. Kinda like a dual fuel rig.

Maybe make a removable plate in the floor of the cook chamber and then build a pull out drawer that could have a coal tray like a backwoods.
This could be built at any time down the road, just thinking, since Frank ask about making it a dual. Pellet Pooper/Gravity Chute.
Could be interesting.

[Gizmo]

Think about "unplugable" drive units.
When you unplug them from the main cabinet you replace them with a door which is now your firebox door...
Hmmmmm...

[maccas66]

.........why are there augers in this thing?, are you going to drill holes with it in your spare time or something!......................

[Gizmo]

The augers feed wood pellets to the firepot(s) - Google Traeger pellet drive smokers - should clear it right up ...

[maccas66]

Well if that don`t beat all!,........... next thing you know they have a sausage grinder feeding meat in there making rissoles!!

[The Czar]

...is a rissole?

[maccas66]

watch this and see if you can work it out!!

[Tom_Heath]

Heard from Lowes today, the insulation should be here on the 8th. As soon as I see it I will post a pic or two since this is a crap shoot, I have yet to see this stuff in person. Not sure if its gonna work well or not.

I'm tryin to play out in my head a nice way to make access points for my meat probes. I am thinking to use a 1 or 1 1/2 inch pipe thru the smoker wall. Then take a wooden dowel rod that just fits inside the pipe. Cut a tiny slit in one side, insert the probe into the smoker. Line up the cord to the tiny groove, then slip it into the pipe. Should be a snug fit, a tab to prevent it from going in to far, then when not in use pull the dowel and put a pipe cap on it. Store the dowels and caps in a nice tidy little storage box near the controler.

If anyone has seen or knows where to get the door gasket like the FE's use I would appericate the help. Its a 1 inch wide strip of sheet metal with a type of rubber gasket fastened to one edge. They just use sheet metal screws to fasten it to the inside edge of the cook chamber. Makes a wonderfull seal to the door.

To Frank....any chance you have an old slam latch off a walk-in, ya know, just layin around in a box or something. LOL

I love the latchs on the FE's but I dont really want it to look like I made an exact copy of one.

[Tom_Heath]

Figured I better bump this one since I just moved it to the Clone section.

Sure glad I didnt delete the whole freaking thing by mistake.

[The Czar]

watch this and see if you can work it out!! {quote}



it sounded like English but I will be damned if I could understand a word they were saying...but I got the feeling I would not be eating any of those rissoles anytime soon!!!

[maccas66]

DC there is no great mistery about them, you more than likely already eat them..................

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rissole

[The Czar]

Okay...we have something similar to that...like a meat pastry....and they are good as long as they are avoiding armpits....

[Gizmo]

...and I would like to know where to get that door gasket and a slam latch too!

Smokertom - I've tried what you are doing and here's the best way I found: grab about a 1 inch cork at the hardware store then walk around to the plumbing isle and find a piece of black nipple the right length for your sidewall that the cork will fit well in. Then slice the side of the cork with a razor or an Xacto knife (cork is sorta self healing) then buy the right cap for the nipple. Weld 'er in and you're done. Also a good idear to take along the probe cause they never build them dam things with straight ends on 'em...

[maccas66]

Okay...we have something similar to that...like a meat pastry....and they are good as long as they are avoiding armpits....

no pastry, they are just fat meat patties/ burgers

[The Czar]

O.....like McDonalds....

[Tom_Heath]

Welp, had a great day visiting and goofing with Frank and DC.

Thanks gentlemen, it made for a great get away from the work scene.

Once I recovered from eating to much pizza I rolled the smoker out and got a little done on it.
Cut and bent the other flange for the door to set into and got all the seems welded up tight. This way I can use the pressure washer someday if needed to clean it out.

Heres a shot of the insulation I bought.

And a couple of the door flange.