I have been reading too many UDS, Hunsaker, PBC threads and posts while thinking about an offset stick burner! :loco:
I have the 14" WSM now which I like a lot. If I need to add charcoal or wood chunks, it is pretty easy to lift off the meat section and add whatever I need. Hanging meat in a PBC/Hunsaker looks like a really good option for a lot of people, and to be honest, if you don't want to tend a fire all day and/or night. People also talk about tipping grates to remove them with food not spilling out so they can add lump or wood so, that got me to thinking ...
With a Vortex basket, you could get a good heat and smoke source just like people that put them in their WSM or homebrew UDS. Putting a side opening door into a UDS would be a lot of trouble but, taking a ~24" pipe and cutting a vertical door into it with a plasma torch would give you easy access. With round grates with straight 'shoulders', you could slide them in our out without lifting them vertically past bolts holding other grates (avoiding the issue of dumping your meat and banging your knuckles). Putting in more charcoal or wood would also be very easy.
The downside, which is pretty minor I think, would be hanging things since you would need to unload the front to get access to the back. With some strategic loading, putting the faster cooking stuff near the door negates this I think. Plus, all the people using warmer boxes on their offsets to hang sausage seem very happy so, I'm assuming a vertical Franken-UDS style smoker would work out well for hanging stuff like you do with a PBC or Hunsaker.
No barrel sourcing, burnouts, or scrubbing for liners or rust inhibitors so that's a plus in my book. A welder is required so that's a drawback for most people. The plasma torch is something that can be outsourced probably where you buy your pipe, bottom and, top.
Things that are probably an even push are grates (assuming you use WSM style and can live with tipping "IF" you need to remove them), fresh air and exhaust ports, and charcoal baskets or a Vortex solution.
Is this whole line of thought duplicating some of the homebrew vertical air compressor smokers I have seen? Would this work as well as a PBC or Hunsaker? I'm not wanting to go down the cheap big box store cabinet smoker route (whether propane, electric, charcoal, etc.) and, I want something bit heavier gauge than an 18 gauge 'bendy' metal body. Yes, I realize a PBC is only $300 dropped at my door.
I can source virgin 24"x48" 3/8ths pipe for ~$230 so, while a bit more expensive than a 55 gallon barrel it is still within a reasonable price range. 3/16ths or 1/4" would obviously be a lot cheaper and, I'm looking in scrap yards to find an even better deal, ideally looking for something that doesn't weigh 95lbs per foot like the pipe mentioned above.
I have the 14" WSM now which I like a lot. If I need to add charcoal or wood chunks, it is pretty easy to lift off the meat section and add whatever I need. Hanging meat in a PBC/Hunsaker looks like a really good option for a lot of people, and to be honest, if you don't want to tend a fire all day and/or night. People also talk about tipping grates to remove them with food not spilling out so they can add lump or wood so, that got me to thinking ...
With a Vortex basket, you could get a good heat and smoke source just like people that put them in their WSM or homebrew UDS. Putting a side opening door into a UDS would be a lot of trouble but, taking a ~24" pipe and cutting a vertical door into it with a plasma torch would give you easy access. With round grates with straight 'shoulders', you could slide them in our out without lifting them vertically past bolts holding other grates (avoiding the issue of dumping your meat and banging your knuckles). Putting in more charcoal or wood would also be very easy.
The downside, which is pretty minor I think, would be hanging things since you would need to unload the front to get access to the back. With some strategic loading, putting the faster cooking stuff near the door negates this I think. Plus, all the people using warmer boxes on their offsets to hang sausage seem very happy so, I'm assuming a vertical Franken-UDS style smoker would work out well for hanging stuff like you do with a PBC or Hunsaker.
No barrel sourcing, burnouts, or scrubbing for liners or rust inhibitors so that's a plus in my book. A welder is required so that's a drawback for most people. The plasma torch is something that can be outsourced probably where you buy your pipe, bottom and, top.
Things that are probably an even push are grates (assuming you use WSM style and can live with tipping "IF" you need to remove them), fresh air and exhaust ports, and charcoal baskets or a Vortex solution.
Is this whole line of thought duplicating some of the homebrew vertical air compressor smokers I have seen? Would this work as well as a PBC or Hunsaker? I'm not wanting to go down the cheap big box store cabinet smoker route (whether propane, electric, charcoal, etc.) and, I want something bit heavier gauge than an 18 gauge 'bendy' metal body. Yes, I realize a PBC is only $300 dropped at my door.
I can source virgin 24"x48" 3/8ths pipe for ~$230 so, while a bit more expensive than a 55 gallon barrel it is still within a reasonable price range. 3/16ths or 1/4" would obviously be a lot cheaper and, I'm looking in scrap yards to find an even better deal, ideally looking for something that doesn't weigh 95lbs per foot like the pipe mentioned above.