Propane tank build

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curtisimo81

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Nov 23, 2014
108
13
Pensacola, FL
I'm looking to start a reverse flow smoker build out of a propane tank.  I'm thinking somewhere around the 100 gal range would suffice for what I'll be using it for.  I have searched tons of builds on here and a lot of them are really good.  Does anyone have any tips with this type of build or mistakes they made that are easy to miss.  I have quite a bit of material on building it but I'm sure with it being my first build there will be mistakes.  lol  Any tips are greatly appreciated.  Will post pictures once I get started.  I'm supposed to be looking at a few tanks this weekend so we will see if I get to start on it before Christmas.  Thank you in advance.
 
Thank you for the link.  I have another member that is a great friend of mine that has given me links to some good calculators on here as well.  Hopefully I'll be able to get all my numbers right!  Just have to decide on the size of the tank first.  
 
 
Thank you for the link.  I have another member that is a great friend of mine that has given me links to some good calculators on here as well.  Hopefully I'll be able to get all my numbers right!  Just have to decide on the size of the tank first.  
Haha or I'm just an idiot....lol  Just saw your profile!!!
 
That could be propane residue and the mercaptans oils used as a "perfume" to scent the propane.... both are flammable.... fill the tank with water and dish soap... Dawn dish soap works very well....
 
I was reading online that there is a chemical they put in the tanks that is highly toxic. I just want to get it flushed out so I can began cutting on it without blowing myself up or giving me lung cancer. Lol. I've never built a smoker so it's going to be interesting. So this will be my first build but I think it will turn out good.
 
I just completed my firs build from a propane tank , it stunk too . I filled mine a couple times with soap n water, then filled with water and started to cut my door out, make I made my cuts with a skill saw and metal cut off wheel on it worked great.

i also welded the door hinges on before the hole door was cut out.

tank still stunk, until i lit a good hot fire in it

one thing i wish i did was to give it a good wash out with soap  n water after that burn (would have saved a lot of time today as i washed it out with a bucket and rag).

hope your build goes very well   I know I had a blast doing mine over the last two weeks
 
I just completed my firs build from a propane tank , it stunk too . I filled mine a couple times with soap n water, then filled with water and started to cut my door out, make I made my cuts with a skill saw and metal cut off wheel on it worked great.
i also welded the door hinges on before the hole door was cut out.
tank still stunk, until i lit a good hot fire in it
one thing i wish i did was to give it a good wash out with soap  n water after that burn (would have saved a lot of time today as i washed it out with a bucket and rag).

hope your build goes very well   I know I had a blast doing mine over the last two weeks

Thanks for the info! Do you have any pictures of your build. I pretty much have an idea on how I want to make it but any ideas might make my build a little better. My main concern is the smell and cutting. Lol.
 
once i built the hot fire in tank the smell never returned , i had mine completely full of water,when i cut the door out (no air space in tank) 
Thanks for the advice. I'm going to wash it out with soap and some other stuff that was recommended by a friend and the hopefully start cutting tomorrow. We will see how it goes.
 
Ok so I filled the tank up with tsp,dawn and water. Let me tell you the smell from thing has stunk up my neighborhood. Lol. I'm going to let it sit for a while and hopefully I can some pace to cut the first cut for me so I don't blow up. If I can't I'm just going to have grab my balls and suck it up. But im ready to get this build going.
 
Thank you. I'm looking forward to the build and posting the progress. It's going to be a slow process due to my work schedule. But slow is probably better than rushing.
 
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