new build

[harpguy74]

first i would like to say hi, i am brand new to the smoking game. my name is dean and i live in quebec canada. i have a few of many questions, first is, my smoker is being made from a old compressor tank" i think it is 33gal. and the forebox is a old bbq propane tank, i have them both mostly built i was just wondering for that size of smoker how big should the passage from the fire box be? and how big should the exhaust be? thanks so much any info would be apreciated.

 

[rbranstner]

I am not up to date on the size requirements on these as I have never built one out of metal but there are a ton of guys on here who have and know all the questions you are asking. I believe there is even a thread I saw a while back that has all the info. I will look for it. I will bump this up and hopefully someone will give you some help.

 

[rbranstner]

Also as I remember from reading many build posts you need to make sure your fire box is a certain size or you won't get the heat you are looking for. Don't quote me on this but I was thinking that the fire box needs to be around 1/3 the size of your smoke chamber or something like that. There is a formula but I can't find it yet. I may be way off but someone will know for sure. Just didn't want you to put a tiny box on there and have issues.

 

[mballi3011]

First off Welcome Dean to SMF. You'll like it here for there are alot of really good folks here that would just love to help you with just about anything to do with smoking. Now there are alot of proven recipes for some amazing things here too. So if you need sign up for the E-Course it's free and it will give you the basics of smoking and some good methods to use also. So the next big thing for you to do is go out and get you something to smoke and if you happen to have any questions just post it here and we will be happy to answer them for you.

Welcome To Your New Addiction        

 

[bamaboy]

Hey Dean and welcome.search the site for the bbq pit calculator it will help.Your firebox does need to be at least 1/3 the size of your smoke chamber.little bigger is not bad.smaller no so good.post some pics so we can all enjoy your progress.I just started a post on my build,it is a 80 compressor with a square fire box.

 

[harpguy74]

hi everyone. i must apologize for my post. i am new to this and here in quebec i have no references. the build i am working on is actually a side firebox not a reverse flow. but my questions about inlet and chimney size are the same. the compressor thank i am using id 44" around and about 3 foot long, and the fire box id a standard bbq propane tank.i will post pictures as soon as i can