Hello fom NZ

[m1tanker78]

Hi Mike, welcome to the family! A few years back I wanted to get into smoking foods and started looking around for a good quality smoker. I was astonished to see the ridiculous price tags on the medium to high-end smokers and was disappointed with the cheap, flimsy quality of the ones within my budget. I decided to build my own and I couldn't be happier with it.

I don't know what style you're shooting for but mine's a vertical type roughly 2'x2'x4'. I have 2 heavy duty grates made from 3/8" square bar that I built plus a cheap one that I salvaged from my old burger-and-hotdog piece of crap rig. I also have a heavy duty grate I built using 1 1/2" angle iron that I use for the coals and an ash box underneath that slides out and doubles as my adjustable air intake. The rest of the smoker is made from 1/8" stock. Needless to say it weighs a TON. The smoke outlet is simply a 1/4" (roughly) slit that goes all the way around at the top. I like that because it makes no difference which direction the wind is going. I'll post a pic or two of the smoker (keep in mind I never painted it and it stays out in the weather).

I hope you get a chance to build your own smoker, no matter what style you choose. It's pretty hard/tedious work but it'll pay off.







Tom

 

[rejii]

bucher mike Ive seen smokers built out of almost eaverything from a hole in the ground ,trash can,mailbox,refridgerator(my favorite) a wooden box. pretty much what ever you have you can make work . god luck on your build cant wait to see some pics off it.

 

[buchermike]

Hi m1tanker78.

This looks like me pretty much like me. (perferct)
Is there any advantage by having the fire box mounted seperate and ducted in?
Or what are the disadvantages?

 

[buchermike]

rejii.

I will post some pics when the project is done.. :)
Thank you.

 

[m1tanker78]

Hi Mike, I decided to use the coal grate directly inside the chamber at the bottom for simplicity. If I really want a long, low smoke then I'll put the coals/wood in the ash pan instead underneath. The biggest disadvantage I saw to offseting the fire box was getting consistent heat zones on each grate level (+/- 5*). Also the hassle of porting, baffling, and tuning. And at the end of the day, I would have used more charcoal/wood to smoke the same food.

I haven't ruled-out any future additions but my smoker is flexible and modular enough to easily add on other goodies. I'm currently working on a rotisserie attachment for old Frankenstein. Also a couple other details I've been meanding to hammer out (pun intended).

Let me know if you've got any questions,

Tom

 

[BandCollector]

Welcome from Pittsburgh, PA

 

[smokyjeff]

Welcome to the board bucher!!!!!