120 Gal Pit Build...lots o pics!

[Badgoat]

I appreciate the feedback Cat797! Yeah, I just couldn't stop worrying/fiddling/etc. But I certainly learned alot, what to look for, what to avoid, etc

/Dale

 

[m-fine]

Looks like you had her at a decent cooking temperature for over three hours despite it being your first fire and fighting rain which can suck a lot of heat out of the metal fast. That basically answers the big question. Will she cook? Heck yeah! You don't have a lawn ornament, you have a kickass smoker.

I gave you very conservative advice on what to put in to get going because you generally want to start slow, if there was an issue it is better to have a small fire to deal with than a big one, and I didn't know how much a difference the insulated box would make. So, in short I take the blame for your fire getting too small at first and losing your coal bed.

One minor design note. I would add a rain cover to your chimney. Just a simple arch will keep most of the water out.

 

[Badgoat]

No worries M-fine! I appreciate all of the feedback and you guys taking the time to read through the logs I kept to keep me pointed in the right direction. I still learned alot from that test fire and look forward to getting this thing done. And yeah great recommendation on the rain shroud. I will definitely be doing that. I was gonna work on it tomorrow but found a guy on craigslist trying to offload a bunch of oak....so I guess I'll be running my chainsaw tomorrow getting fuel for my baby, lol.

If y'all have anymore advice/suggestions/tips please keep them coming...they have proven invaluable for sure.

 

[Badgoat]

Well, hit another milestone. Got the drain valves installed, got the stand put together and officially got this thing off the cherry picker and jacks...starting to come together. All I have left is the RF plate, food racks, handles for FB door, rain shroud for exhaust stack and thermometer gauges...then paint. Funny thing is it is rather heavy on the FB side and if I let the weight fully down this thing pops a wheelie. So my solution is to take the old metal "legs"/brackets the tank originally came with and weld them to the bottom of the FB and then install to casters to counteract that problem (smoker with a wheelie bar sorta? lol). I have two blocks under the FB in the pics helping support it. Anyways, I'll keep ya updated!!


It was pretty dark...sorry.









Oh, also checked Craigslist free section for wood, ran across one where it was take all the oak you want...showed up at the house little old lady and a ton of oak in her back yard she needed removed....this is only about a 1/3 of it...but loaded my truck down pretty good!





This should keep the beast fed for awhile :wink:

-Dale

 

[BamaQue]

This build looks fantastic! I applaud you on the fantastic work to this point. I really like the fact that you placed the chimney at the grate level.
I agree that you're going to want a little longer splits for a cooker that size. Once you learn your smoker and how it behaves (they're all different) you will get in a rhythm and really appreciate the fact that it is a true stick burner and the amazing que coming out of it is from something you built from the ground up!
Hat's off to you. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

 

[Badgoat]

I appreciate the comments, thank you. I'm glad you took note of my exhaust. My goal was to have the heat and smoke flow directly over the meat before leaving the chamber. Got the idea from Aaron Franklins book.

I managed to solve my weight distribution problems and tipping of my smoker. I added casters to the bottom of the FB. I repurposed the old legs from the tank, cut them down to fit and provide extra support. Now it rolls around nicely and the tires aren't almost smashed flat now.

 

[BamaQue]

That thing is a beast, no doubt!
Aaron Franklin's book is a good one and I really enjoyed reading his thoughts on constructing a pit.
Keep up the good work!

 

[m-fine]

Is it going to see meat this weekend?

 

[Badgoat]

I'm hoping to! Gonna put in the reverse flow plate and make food racks today. I may do a pork butt, or some moinks or something, lol. But the focus will be just getting it done and ready for paint. Maybe next weekend for food

 

[hachi-roku_fan]

That's awesome! I just read your thread and taking pointers as I will be in the same boat as you. Now that it's pretty much all said and done, anything you would do differently if you could do it all over?

 

[Clay-b-que]

I have a smaller air compressor as well. When I cut it open, it was full of rust and flakes, etc. did yours have this? If so, how did you get rid of the rust? Looking good by the way!

 

[bjarolim]

Sand blast would be the way to go, white vinegar soak will take it off too if u let it soak a couple days but I'm sure the cost of the much vinegar it might be cheaper just to sand blast. Or get a wire wheel(maybe a couple) and stick it on a 4 1/2 angle grinder will do it too...but that's alot more work and tedious.

 

[Badgoat]

@claybque I just used a drill and a wire brush attachment. Worked like a champ and took about an hour. After I did that is when I did the first initial burnout of the tank

 

[bjarolim]

Those harbor frieght wheels are what I got on my pit, had a tent sale and score them for $4 a piece. Was worried the bearings weren't gonna roll well with all the weight but they do great! Nice build again, gonna have to detail out a horizontal pit soon!

 

[Badgoat]

That's awesome! I just read your thread and taking pointers as I will be in the same boat as you. Now that it's pretty much all said and done, anything you would do differently if you could do it all over?

As soon as I have some free time I intend on sitting down and typing up a "lessons learned" from a beginners perspective

 

[Badgoat]

Welp, had a productive weekend... I didn't make it to cooking though

Got the RF plate fully welded in and made the food racks

 

[Bperkins01]

I really need to learn how to weld...
Looks great!
I like how you took the center stack approach per Franklin..
That made perfect sense to me when I saw it..

 

[m-fine]

Lookin great! Time to visit the butcher, painting can wait.

 

[Adubree86]

One piece of advise to maintain your coal bed. If you have extra expanded metal install another piece slightly offset on your fire grate. This will prevent coals from falling through the holes prematurely. See photo.

 

[Badgoat]

@Adubree86. That is a terrific idea and thank you for including a picture. I will totally be doing that!