duel fuel reverse flow

[stircrazy]

Has anyone made a reverse flow which can run propane/natural gas, or wood? and if so did you do anything special in the fire box?

I was thinking that once and a while (or for all night smokes) it would be nice to be able to plug into my natural gas outlet and let her go. but I do like using real wood/charcoal also.

Steve

 

[rio_grande]

Mine is planned this way but not built yet for the verry same reason you mentioned. Also going to add asmall propane loop under the fire box for some added push to get all the coals rolling before adding wood. I can see that disapearing as if the coals are prepped right it isnt necessary, but I will play with it anyhow.
I plan to start the build as soon as I can work in the shop without forming ice crystals in my beard,,,

 

[smokin' dick]

Yep, I have a miniature reverse flow that has a plumbed in gas log lighter. I've run it with gas only and it worked well. Temps up over 500*, probably could maintain smoking temps too, just never tried it. The man who made this little beauty has a Lang 60 in which he installed a log lighter. He will use the gas as an augment to the wood in the fire box if needed. I believe he simply installed a gas burner below the wood rack in the fire box. No mods to the box other than drilling a hole for the line. Here is a shot of the mini beside a WSM for scale.

 

[stircrazy]

haha, thats cute

hmm so what kind of burner is he using for the gas? I would think there would need to be some sort of shield to prevent ash from plugging it up.

Steve

 

[mballi3011]

Man oh Man that small smoker is so cool. I remember when you got it. Now for the gas smoker it would be easy to attach a gas line and make it able to light your smoker with gas if you wanted to.

 

[stircrazy]

ya that would be easy, but I was thinking more of havign a burner in the fire box also that could let me run on gas when I want, not to just light the wood. but I don't want to have to take it out when I decide to run wood. so I need a robust burner that can take high heat with out warping I guess.

Steve

 

[duck killer 1]

here's a link to a thread that shows the burner in the mini reverse flow in operation... didn't know if ya seen it yet. i think it's on page 2 or 3

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=64702

 

[duck killer 1]

here's a link to the thread where i posted mine that i built. in the second batch of pics i showed my gas burner in operation.http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=89241

 

[stircrazy]

how much does your temp change when tyour wood catches on fire?

Steve

 

[duck killer 1]

it stays fairly consistent. i'm able to keep between 200 and 275 almost without fail. i get the wood going and then i turn the gas off around 275 - 300. put the door to prop and let'er rip. i wind up closing the cooking chamber door after a short while into the smoke. when i add a stick of wood i run the burner for a couple of minutes.

 

[stircrazy]

hmm.. now I just have to figure out how many BTU I need for the size of smoker I want to build..

Steve

 

[smokin' dick]

The burner is simply a plumbers torch with a gas line to the bottle. A hole is drilled in the back side of the fire box and the torch is mounted there. It's outside the firebox so no ashes get into it. Here's a pic.



On the Lang 60 which was the inspiration for this little guy, Steve has a stainless steel burner mounted near the bottom of the fire box as a log lighter/extra heat producer. No shield above it and he has no problems from ashes. Outlet holes on the burner are on the sides, not the top.

 

[duck killer 1]

that is prolly a better way to do it since it will not fill with ashes. i had to clean my burner off yesterday after about 7 hours.