New custom vertical build; we would appreciate the Brethrens’ experienced and candid input

We (my sons Kyle & Mac and me) have a friend wants a cooker. He currently uses a combination of gas grills and small vertical charcoal/water smokers (buys a new one every couple years). Over the last few years he has seen us build several cookers and eaten a bunch of our BBQ and finally asked if we could hook him up with something. We talked about different designs, what kind and how much cooking he wants to do and what other limitations or features he wanted. All the answers pointed to a small vertical vault style cooker, especially his desire to have something with a relatively small footprint that he could move by himself, store in his garage/shed and pull out to cook.

Tried the WSM discussion but he was not interested. We talked about the many excellent insulated verticals already on the market. Then we researched some 17 different models from at least 14 different manufacturers with the minimum criteria of at least 3 cooking grates capable of holding a full sized service pan with wheels or casters. Each of these cookers offer different pros & cons but all have positive reviews and comments from the Brethren but from the advertised pricing available on the web we saw prices averaging about $2,600 (before packaging & shipping) which was more than the budget.

So, we designed an uninsulated vertical with a direct heat firebox that could use wood, briquettes or lump to see how it would price out for a custom build. Nominal dimensions: 23” wide x 18” deep; 28” tall cook chamber with 3 cooking grates sized to fit full sized service pans; 14” tall firebox and about 66 inches tall to the top of the exhaust. The design and cost was based on having as much steel pre-cut and shaped from my metal supplier as practical to speed assembly. What we came up with met his needs and budget so we struck a deal, ordered a bunch of steel and started the build a couple weeks ago.

Here is the build and some more design specifics (sorry, early pics are iPhone, they get better towards the end).

Started with the main body of the cooker pre-bent into an 18" deep X 23" wide x 48 tall tub, all 11 gauge (1/8") steel and formed in the door supports out of 1"X1" tubing and a piece of 1/4"X6" flat bar.



Added the 1/4" bottom plate and rails for the cooking grates, 1" angle. The bottom will be lined with firebrick.



Mocked up the top and then used the templates to cut the steel, also 11 gauge mocked up the 3 cooking grates and 4" square exhaust.





Welded everything up, finished the cooking grates (1" angle and expanded metal) and hung the cook chamber door. We wanted a clean exterior look so all the structure is inside the cooker.



Built the basket for the firebox and began fabricating the the firebox door.



Decided to make some wheels, turned out to be one of the more "fun" and challenging parts of the fabrication. They are 4-1/2" pipe, cut to 1-1/2 wide with 1/2 rod as spokes and 1" pipe for the hub (accommodates a 3/4" axle). The photo is in a little jig I made to keep everything aligned.



Heavy lifting getting wrapped up, headed for finishing and paint.





The design has a 1/4" heat diffuser plate at the top of the firebox, 6" below the first cooking rack with a 1-1/2 inch air/heat/smoke gap on both sides.



Fabricated some custom latches for the firebox and cook chamber doors (wait 'til you see the handles).


Added the firebrick liner to the bottom and had a couple extras to use to direct the "snake" for charcoal cooks. The SS service pan is the ash pan, although each of the 3 cooking grates can also accomodate a full sized service pan.





And this is how we do the anti-tilt restraints for the cooking grates; just a little 5/16" rod.



So here it is all cleaned up and painted. Door handles are from a 6 point harvested years ago by the owner as a teenager. The thermometer is a 3" Tel-Tru with a protective ring and there is a single 7" inflow damper installed. A little detail of the exhaust damper and an inside shot with all the cooking grates and firebox grate. We also added two 1/2 inch rods at the top of the cook chamber for hanging meats.







Tomorrow I’ll do the seasoning burn and get a feel for how it will hold temp and how it will cook (based on previous builds I’m pretty sure it will be a winner) then it is off to the new owner.

I figure everybody reading this has either bought or built one or more cookers or is doing the research to buy or build a cooker. To me y’all are the perfect pool of experts to ask: is there a market niche for this kind of cooker? We keep very careful records of build cost and assembly time and feel we could produce this cooker for about $1,500, or about 1/2 to 2/3 the average cost of a insulated vertical of comparable size. Not taking anything away from the insulated verticals out there, even those on the lower end seem like really nice cookers for their size and many Brethren seem very happy with them, just wondering if there is a market for this kind of alternative at a price point of about $1,500?

Thanks for watching and I’m looking forward to your feedback.

landarc said:

I will want to hear how the burn goes first. My initial thought is that yes, there is a market for one, but, of the unit is less than efficient, you might have an issue.

Pluses I see:
1. great build quality and metal thickness.
2. Excellent capacity
3. Ability to run dry, or with water in a pan
4. Somewhat portable

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Agree 100%, I'm assuming it will cook well based on previous experience but assumptions are what always bite you in the arse.

THoey1963 said:

Nice looking rig. I'd love to have one like that. I know you say you could produce these for about $1500, but I gather that includes labor. How much did you spend in just supplies?

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I figure just north of $700 for the steel, including all the pre-cuts and pre-bending, all the accessories (thermo, firebrick, etc.) and consumables. A market unit would just probably have "cool/spring handles" and store bought all terrain casters.

got14u said:

First thought is you have way to much welding involved to be a semi-production pit builder. The ability to break you "skins" will make your product finished off. On your design you about got it but there are ways to simplify your design to make it a little better. A tweak here a tweak there, you are on your way and have skills. It took me about 5 or 6 builds for me to come up with what I thought was a good design.

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Thanks and you are dead on. Although the welding was a relatively small portion of the labor I'm currently looking for someone with a press brake that can form the tub and bend the front door flanges as one unit; just think it would make a better looking final product. Also, right now I hand cut everything with torches and saws, if there is a production shop in our future I would definitely be in the market for a hydraulic ironworker that could cut and shape the angle, flat and round stock.

Sallenthornton said:

I have never built a pit, but how much extra do you think it would have cost to insulate the smoker? I am seriously considering building mine, due to not being able to find a builder locally here in Alaska.

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My best estimate is double, which is born out by the retail cost of insulated verticals in this size class. I do think if you are building a double wall insulated vertical there is no need to use 11 gauge (1/8") steel and if you did it would weigh a ton - this build is probably 250-300 pounds.