Best hinges and latches for vertical cook chamber?

J

jd-santaclarita

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Hi all - I'm gearing up to take the plunge to build a vertical pit. In a nutshell, it'll be around 5'6" tall, made from a piece of 3/8" thick 24" diameter pipe. I'll weld on a bottom and a top and cut an access door on the lower end for the fire/coal basket and have ~4 cooking racks starting about 24" above the bottom of the fire basket. TBD still on how/if on a heat diffuser of some kind (noodling some kind of adjustable baffle, so i can close it off completely when opening the access doors and tending the food).

That design gives me a large access door for the cook chamber (little over 3' tall) and a smaller access door for the fire box. At 3/8" thick, I imagine its gonna be heavy. That brings me to my questions. I'm a beginner in the welding world, so I don't want to make my own parts and would rather buy quality hinges/latches that I can weld on to increase my chances of success. Are there some clear winners for those I should get? I'm guessing I should try to get the adjustable latches? Is there a rule of thumb for how many hinges and latches for these size doors?

Any advice on how to cut the door and process to get the easiest/best chance of success for air tight doors would be greatly appreciated as well.

Thanks all,
JD
 
Are you building something like this? If so, I have some recommendations but I don't know anything about welding.
VerticalSmoker.jpg
 
Oh yes, thats very close to what I had in mind. I actually think I ran across your thread and looked at the builders website to see if they had any info on that one (they don't that I could find). Definitely open to hearing your thoughts on it and what works, what don't, etc. My goal was to end up with a cross between a really tall, thick steel UDS with doors and an insulated vertical smoker given its 3/8" thick. I tend to rely on temp control fan assist as I usually am super busy with kids/sports/family and don't get to stay by the pit all day to tend it at this stage in my life. My UDS works out well here as I can put 10-20lb charcoal in it, some wood chunks and hook up my homemade raspberry pi blower based temp control to it and it will keep steady for 16+ hours. That's one of the reasons I keep leaning back towards the vertical direct design as I'm really "Hoping" that I can do something similar without needing a full blown fire to keep it up to temp. I really want access to the food/racks which is really tough on the UDS since it rages into a fire after a few seconds, so thats where I was leaning on some kind of adjustable/baffle style heat diffuser, but totally just taking a shot in the dark there. Any thoughts/feedback/experience from your pit would be fantastic.

Thanks a ton,
JD
 
DSCN0443.jpg

DSCN0433.jpg

Here's what I used when I modified this smoker from horizontal to vertical. Used 2 latches. Works perfect!
 
I would use two 4" Bullet style weld on hinges per door. The latches in the photo above would be very easy or you could use toggle clamps.
 
These work good and are easy to weld.
 
Last edited:
jd-santaclarita said:
Oh yes, thats very close to what I had in mind. I actually think I ran across your thread and looked at the builders website to see if they had any info on that one (they don't that I could find). Definitely open to hearing your thoughts on it and what works, what don't, etc. My goal was to end up with a cross between a really tall, thick steel UDS with doors and an insulated vertical smoker given its 3/8" thick. I tend to rely on temp control fan assist as I usually am super busy with kids/sports/family and don't get to stay by the pit all day to tend it at this stage in my life. My UDS works out well here as I can put 10-20lb charcoal in it, some wood chunks and hook up my homemade raspberry pi blower based temp control to it and it will keep steady for 16+ hours. That's one of the reasons I keep leaning back towards the vertical direct design as I'm really "Hoping" that I can do something similar without needing a full blown fire to keep it up to temp. I really want access to the food/racks which is really tough on the UDS since it rages into a fire after a few seconds, so thats where I was leaning on some kind of adjustable/baffle style heat diffuser, but totally just taking a shot in the dark there. Any thoughts/feedback/experience from your pit would be fantastic.

Thanks a ton,
JD
Click to expand...

After using mine here is what I missed or think would work better than my original design.

Exhaust: in the center with a handle to be able to reach it

Drain: need one with a ball valve to stop airflow while cooking but allow you to drain after cooking. could also be used to increase airflow if necessary.

Firebox door: make it bigger than you think so you can add fuel easier mid-cook and fit a larger charcoal basket

Intake: use a ball valve instead, much better control than what I have

Racks need at least 6" spacing for thicker meats and one closer to the fire for grilling. I had to seal my doors with high temp red RTV silicone because they leaked really bad. I have no clue on the baffle other than a plate that can be turned by a handle but that would take up a lot of space when wide open. Think of a rotisserie with a flat plate. Don't forget to add a way to hang sausage.
 
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