I don't know what I'm doing...500 Gallon Smoker Build

[Bwick84]

That'll be plenty big enough. How's the rest of the build going?

Good now that we started working on it again. We cut out the big tank end with an oxy acetylene torch. I don't have a pic of after we finished grinding and getting it matched up well but it turned out pretty good. There's only a small section on each side where there's a gap. Not bad for winging it.

We also cut out the holes up top where all the valves were and cut out circles to put back in. Hoping to get a good amount of welding done this week. We're also getting some pricing from a couple different steel suppliers to see how much the plate would be to make it a reverse flow.

Do most people use 1/4" for the reverse flow plate? How far down do you put the plate and how much gap do you leave on the other side for the smoke to come up through?

 

[Bwick84]

Nice. Built my own RF out of a 250g tank.... loved the build and love the finished product even more because of the build. Enjoy!!

Do you have any pics of your setup? I found your build thread but didn't see any finished pics.

 

[Branded BBQ]

Do most people use 1/4" for the reverse flow plate? How far down do you put the plate and how much gap do you leave on the other side for the smoke to come up through?

Although others may have a more precise calculation... I found where the center was between top of firebox opening and bottom of cook chamber door. On mine, that seemed to work good. Like yours, I kept the rounded end on the non-firebox side of my tank. I ran my plate to the weld mark where the curved end began. I thought the rounded end would help guide the smoke. Don't know the science of it that's true or not...but I do know that my smoke works great!! Hope this helps

 

[Branded BBQ]

Do you have any pics of your setup? I found your build thread but didn't see any finished pics.

Can go to FB page. Branded BBQ. Pics on there of build and finish. Overlook the poor welds on early pics..... had a newb getting some experience. They've been redone by the time we finished. Lol

 

[Bwick84]

Although others may have a more precise calculation... I found where the center was between top of firebox opening and bottom of cook chamber door. On mine, that seemed to work good. Like yours, I kept the rounded end on the non-firebox side of my tank. I ran my plate to the weld mark where the curved end began. I thought the rounded end would help guide the smoke. Don't know the science of it that's true or not...but I do know that my smoke works great!! Hope this helps

That makes sense. Is your opening from the fire box to the cooking chamber at the very bottom of the cooking chamber and half moon shaped?

That's also what I was thinking for the other side so I don't have to worry about shaping the steel.

 

[Bwick84]

Can go to FB page. Branded BBQ. Pics on there of build and finish. Overlook the poor welds on early pics..... had a newb getting some experience. They've been redone by the time we finished. Lol

Looks good. Don't need to worry about the welds as I'm the noob getting experience right now.

 

[Edonis13]

Subscribing.

 

[HumboldtSmokeBBQ]

looks great. Keep the updates coming.

 

[Branded BBQ]

That makes sense. Is your opening from the fire box to the cooking chamber at the very bottom of the cooking chamber and half moon shaped?

That's also what I was thinking for the other side so I don't have to worry about shaping the steel.

Yes...crescent shaped at bottom/side

 

[Bwick84]

Been slowly making progress. I usually only have a night or two a week to work on it.

Got the door cut out and welded some thick angle in to make the outline for the door.

 

[Bwick84]

We also got the reverse flow plates in and the firebox welded on. Just need to put some plate in the corners where the FB & CC meet up.

 

[Bwick84]

Started on the counter balances. What do you guys fill them with to add weight?

 

[Bwick84]

Smoked a small flat last weekend and also tried pepper stout beef. Both were delicious. Can't wait to start smoking with the big guy.

 

[Smokedawg86]

Good cook and monster smoke ring!

 

[Bwick84]

We've made some decent progress. We finished up the counter balances. Ended up buying some lead shot off ebay to fill them with. Put 35 lbs in each one and it feels pretty good. Only issue is without the full weight of the doors it's creating a small gap at the bottom of the doors. Not sure what to do about that.

We also finished up the reverse flow plate on the inside. Then we fabricated the box for the smoke stack to sit on. I think it turned out well. Since we had everything sealed up at this point we took her outside for her first burn this last weekend. It got up to temp surprisingly quick and held pretty well. Now we need to get our racks built so we can put some meat on it.

The extra smoke in the last pic was just from the paint on the outside of the smoker.

 

[KevinJ]

That things a beast :thumb:

 

[mattmountz94]

that thing is an animal

 

[Bwick84]

That things a beast :thumb:

that thing is an animal

It should hold a few pounds of meat anyway.

 

[Bwick84]

Made a little more progress last night. We put the hinges on the door and put in the angle iron on one side for the pull out shelves. I'm trying to decide what I want to do for a locking mechanism on the firebox door. I'd rather make something than buy it. Let me know if you have any ideas.

 

[SeanBBQ]

looking good. Cant wait to see the Q come off this bad boy