Yet another backyard reverse smoker in progress

[BIGNASTY]

Looks good to ME

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Finally made some progress today. My advance EMT night class is kicking my arse; I'm so tired these days. My business, night class and a couple early morning traffic accidents over the last four weeks has drained all my spare energy.



First off, I managed to cut the ends off the LP without blowing myself up, which is a huge plus. I then took it to a blaster to get rid of the 3 layers of paint covering the outside.



I cut off the original mounting brackets, cut them down a bit and re-welded them back on so I can re-use to mount the support legs. I ended up cutting through the tank in a few spots so I'll have to weld those in and grind em down flat to make it look purdy.



Measured out the opening to accomodate the firebox. I cut that out and fitted the firebox in place and finished welding er up. I'll have to wait until I get the cook box opening done before I can finish welding it solid from inside the cook chamber.



The last pic is one of the end caps I cut off. Can you guys guess what I plan to use this for??... .

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Hmmmmmmmm.....

 

[KB0OU]

ya got me????????????? keep up the good welding... ... ... ... ... ...

 

[Deleted member 995608]

I used the rounded end caps to make some wheels. They didnt turn out great but they were definatley cheaper than buying some pre fabbed wheels. They look okay to me.



I also got it supported under it's own weight and I can move it around without busting my man hood which would probably require an ER visit :-laf



Sometime this week, I cut and fab the door opening and cut and weld in the reverse flow plate. That is of course my intensions... ... .....

 

[Deleted member 995608]

I gave up on the books this afternoon and snuck out for some R&R.

I made an initial straight cut where my door will pivot from. Then I align and weld in my hinges and finish cutting out the door opening afterwards. If a guy were to completely cut out the door first and then try to weld hinges on would be an incredible pain in their arse. It's not impossible and some prefer to do it that way.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Made some more progress yesterday and today. I've got the reverse flow baffle welded in and added a sauce/juice drain from 1-1/2" pipe that should help with clean up after a good smoke. The drain will be finished off with a ball valve on the end for clean out. I also welded in a piece pf 1"x1/8" flat stock to keep the meat sauce from entering the smoke chamber. The reverse flow plate is angled downward from the fire box to direct flow of juice/sauce towards the drain.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Then I spent too much time designing a handle for the cook chamber. I like to add some kind of personal touch so I came up with some goof ball end caps for my lid handle. I think they're okay. I also added (3) 1/2" bolts that will act as lid stops for the cook chamber.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

And here is what I have as tonight. All that's left is to cap off the ends, add my LP burner, fab up a cooking surface and woood chip pan holder and I'm ready to roll.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Mr JHawes

Now I see said the blind man!!! I still didnt understand about how you got REVERSE smoker out of this. I talked to FIL who is an avid meat smoker about your build and he also was confused about the design. Now that you posted the pic of the inside of it, it is different than his build. Does it cook with less heat and more smoke your way? On FIL's sometimes its to much of a smokey flavor for me most like it I dont it gives me hart burn big time. I will have to show him your pics he was wondering if you were going to post some others.

BIG

 

[Deleted member 995608]

The reverse flow smoker supposedly helps maintain temps and smoke.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Got the main cook grate finished, welded on one end cap and made an exhaust vent.

I used some flat style expanded metal and 1/2" hot rolled rod for the cooking grate.

For the exhaust, I used a left over stick og 14 gauge aluminized pipe from my Cummins :-laf. Probably can't see but I made a rain cap for the top that swivels.

For the ends, I was planning to use some 1/4" plate but when I went to buy, I bout' crapped my pants as the price was friggin out of site . So I cut down the rounded ends that was originally on the LP tank and used those instead.

And,... ... to give you an idea of how warm and dry Ca, we already have our first rattlesnake! DadGummit, It's only MARCH

 

[BIGNASTY]

View attachment 84733



The reverse flow smoker supposedly helps maintain temps and smoke.

FIL said to thank you for the picture he's looking forward to a build as soon as we get the other projects around ALL the family homes done, SO THAT SHOULD BE ABOUT NEXT YEAR SOMETIME. :-laf He is impressed with YOUR build and he's not an easily impressed man



BIG

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Got the cast iron burner in the mail yesterday. This is the one I bought #ad




It's temporarlly mounted for now with some pipe straps. I'll fab up a bracket later to secure it better to the cook box.



I found some cooking pans in town that I'll use for a wood chip box for smoke and another smaller one that will mount above the chip pan for water or lemon juice etc. .

 

[Deleted member 995608]

I finally made the upper shelf in the cook box to hold a pan for water or juice etc.



I also finished the front shelf to hold my beer or maybe some plates, BBQ sauce or more beer



Then I mounted double temp gauges on both ends of the cook chamber.



I've got a couple of little things to change or fix and I'll be ready to roll. This smoker is LOOOOOOOOONG over due!

 

[Deleted member 995608]

I've been so busy that I forgot to add the finished pics of my smoker. So here it is.

I'm really pleased. The 1/4" steel holds the heat really well and at cooking level, I only have about a 7/10 degree tempature difference between the left and right side of the grill.

I've got (4) good smokes on this bad boy so far and I haven't recieved any complaints from the consumers.

I threw in some food porn pics for fun. Smoked hamburgers stuffed with Canadian bacon, smoked cheese with bacon on top. And my favorite, smoked jalapeno's stuffed with a strip of chicken, cream cheese and wrapped in bacon.

 

[CBlack]

Very nice!

I'm curious as to how long it'll hold temp, especially with the reverse setup.

Smoking some chicken thighs on Sunday on the Egg.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

I smoked 3 big racks of pork ribs Memorial Day weekend at roughly 225 for 5 hours and never missed a beat.

Like I said before, what impresses me the most is the low temperature difference between the left and right side. Im assuming that's why people claim the reverse flow design heats more evenly.