Wanting to buil GF - Unsure of design

[Back9Q]

After missing out on a used Komodo Kamado this week its time to go to plan B. all if my equipment is at my parents house since I live in a town home with a small screened in patio. It is not big enough to wheel my pitmaker vault in and out of. I havent had the pleasure of cooking on a Gravity Feed yet and was looking at building one. I am very good at building things. Used to build furniture with my dad and taught myself to weld this year. I actually have some 2000* insulation, 4 heavy duty casters, and a 15ft section of 2" tube just laying around. So I figured I am off to a good start. Was looking at doing an Assassin design with the chute in the back. My patio door has a clearance of 31". I dont want anything big so was thinking 3-4 shelves that fit 1 steam pan with adequate room for air flow. I was thinking 16"x24" racks. I was also thinking of doing a reverse flow design using side walls to allow heat in then do the exaust on the back wall. For those of you that have cooked on a GF before could you answer a few questions for me please.

1. What are the temp differences between racks on a normal Assassin?

2. Would a reverse flow GF be a good idea? Only downside I see is still having to add a bottom door to clean out where the transfer tube is.

3. How far apart should the rods be on the charcoal grate?

4. Does the ball valve go into the center of the firebox or directly where the coals are burning?

5. Is it better to have a round or sqaure chute and why do I see them taper out when going down to chute?

 

[Nuco59]

There are a ton of helpful folk on this site who will probably be along shortly- I'm certain of it. There are also several websites that that might have more of a builder bent. If I were in your shoes, I might do some lurking or create accounts on those sites and ask those same questions PLUS do a *healthy* dose of Googling the different builds' pros and cons. From what I've read, if you think you know enough to take on a build like that- you probably could still benefit of some more studying. Good luck... and do post your build progress when you get it rolling- I do love a happy ending to a story.

 

[Back9Q]

Thanks Nuco. I have done a ton of research and narrowed it down to doing a copy of the SS-3. Just need to find someone who has one who can tell me how much space there is from the bottom rack to the top of the metal piece over the inlet. Also how tall is that piece of metal on legs on the inside of the smoker. Then the inside dimensions of cook chamber. They show it on the website but I dont think it is taking into account the space below the bottom rack. Once I get that info I will be off and running. Only difference I am going to do is do 4" of insulation all the way around and insulate the frame.

 

[Nuco59]

Back9Q,
This is a very cool project- but you are looking at mimicking/duplicating a cooker that is built and sold by a company who has time and money invested in the design. SS builds them for a living- you are doing a one off- that may be a tough climb. I don't think you will get full blown prints or dimensions- that's just not done. You will be figuring stuff out the hard way - and it might turn out great.

good luck again.

 

[Woody Butthrie]

GF. Oh! Gravity fed. I thought you might be talking some Bride of Frankenstein here.

 

[Nuco59]

yes, that GF

GF. Oh! Gravity fed. I thought you might be talking some Bride of Frankenstein here.

Building a complicated smoker with no plans is a piece of cake compared to building a Girl Friend. (that's why most guys settle for a "floor model") :grin:

 

[Back9Q]

Haha. You got that right. I'm in for the long haul now. Just proposed last Friday. After lots of research I finally got my plan in my head. Interior dimensions will be very similar to the SS-3. The inlet pipe will be 2"x6" then go into a rectangle that is made out of 2" tube. There will be holes drilled in this rectangle on outside and inside alternating about every inch to allow heat and smoker to enter cook area. This idea can be found on the Deep south cookers. They have just a single pipe coming in but I want to keep the drain pipe going down the center so that is why I am using the rectangle design with the center being open. The defelctor plate that sits on top of the inlet pipe will actually be a heavy duty water pan on legs. There will be deflectors on side wall that will drain the drippings back into the water pan. This is similar to the Myron Mixon design. I plan on going super insulated with 4 inchs. I am going to do a small cut out on the side to house the Guru controller and run the wires through a hollow tube in the walls. Fan will be underneath. This way everything is out of the elements. Since I am using 4 inch of insulation I may run a 1" pipe down from the top in the side walls then into the cook chamber and stop right about water pan. The pipe would sit below the level of the top the thickness of the metal. That way I can make a circular plate that flush mounts to the top so you would never know it is there but could add water without opening the door. So many ideas floating around in my head. The only thing I am stuck on is whether I am going to build a straight chute or a tapered one and how big firebox should be. I was thinking about 10Wx8Hx8D

 

[Nuco59]

Grats on your upcoming nuptials - all the best.

good luck on your build - sounds like you have plans in the work. I looked at a video of one of the SS's you are modeling yours after. If you pull it off, you should be a happy camper.

Pictures of your progress would be dandy.

 

[SmittyJonz]

Figure out a Gravity fed stick burner......... Full splits stacked in a chute. :wink:

 

[Back9Q]

Thanks Nuco. Smitty dont tempt me. I have a bad habit of trying to figure out solutions. I should have been an engineer. I got the base of the design in my head just need to put it to paper. The only thing I am unsure of is whether or not to make it a reverse flow. I dont want to add a section at the bottom like where a firebox would be on a backwoods or vault. I was thinking of just making the inlet tube flush with a false wall in the back and then let it come up the back and exit out the bottom on the sides exactly like a vault. Other design would be copying the deep south inlet pipe with the interior of the SS-3.

 

[Nuco59]

You have a lot of ideas all vying for 1st place on your design sheet. Paper is cheap- draw them out and see what makes sense. Do more research and then do some more. You may decide to go simple instead of a mishmash of design features from several different companies. In your musing, this hybrid makes perfect sense but keep in mind that they have all decided on (and perfected) their designs- you are doing a one off. I had hoped that you would have gotten more input from the Brethren and you still may. There are other sites- drop your line there with "need design advice on new GF cabinet" and see if anyone bites.