Tour of the rig

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bbally

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Aug 24, 2007
1,099
47
Western Colorado
Don't know if I ever posted the rig, when the MIL got sick things kind of went nuts. I have cooked on her a lot now. I am ready to contest with her.



With the smoker trailer back from powder coat I thought I would give a little tour of the unit. Even though it still has some work to be finished, the end is nearing on this 7 month project. And I wanted to show some of the close up thought that went into the unit and its trailer.


First the smoker unit is powder coated black with the new 1600 F coat.
This unit will not peel its coating unless I use Liquid Oxygen again, which I have not done since the barbeque race at 29 Palms. Which I won! (another story)

smoker.jpg



She is really built well, a reverse flow design with a 4 degree induced draft
angle to be sure with get draft. I had to induce draft with a built in
angle as I intended to go across the trailer so the tongue could not be used to lift or lower for draft inducement. And I like my beer level, so I am not tilting my rig!



largeside.jpg




smallside.jpg



She has a large side and a small side, both with expanded metal slide out
racks. The expanded metal also makes up all the space inside between the racks so a full pig or two can cook in there. The reverse flow heating
element is a piece of 22 gauge steel, arc at 8 foot radius and stitch welded with a grease trap at the firebox end to prevent grease flare.



anglelook.jpg



She sits nicely in an angle iron trap. Bolted for security to the angle
which is welded to the trailer. The cooker carries a wood rack under the
smoke chamber, and we used expanded metal to create a charcoal storage area under that. The firebox also sports a rack shelf under it for my gloves and strikers.


You can see the mount hole for storage of the weed burner starter welded to the trailer floor. The half inch nipple is for the valve and propane
supply to the weed burner. The upright half inch pipe goes to a propane
lantern for light without all the racket of a genset.

doubleshelf.jpg



Here you can see how the expanded metal traps the charcoal for transport.
The rings are for the two propane bottles. The one inch steel line coming
up is for the house propane regulator to deliver the flow of fuel for the
lanterns and heaters and stoves.



fireboxdeck.jpg




weedburnermount.jpg




fireboxfront.jpg



The armadillo is waiting to open long necks!



fireboxstorage.jpg



The rack goes all the way around the firebox. Lots of things can be
stored under there. Mostly my welding gloves for handling stuff that is
hot.



propanebrn.jpg



This shows off her twin 55K btu commercial propane two eye range. I
love appliances! And she has got a nice set! As I expect her to
have!



propstove.jpg



Her deck is completed powder coated in the metallic gray as is her underside.



dutchstak.jpg



I put a set of Dutch Oven stacks on her, these are able to handle three 16
inch lodge ovens in each stack. The door allows ash to be cleaned out.
There is a 1.5 inch air insulation area between the trailer floor and the base for the charcoals. The hollow spot is for the lights. I have not
wired it yet.



insidedutchstk.jpg




doubledutchramp.jpg



I doubled up on the Dutch Oven stacks, the jacks take her off the axles for
functions. And the ramp allows my food to roll on board. But more
important she is wide enough on the deck to haul two Harley Heritage Soft Tail Classics anywhere we go!



rampout.jpg



I am very happy with the project so far. I wish it would go faster, but
correct is more important than fast!



counterweight.jpg



View of her counter weight system.



backview.jpg



Her ramp slides in and jacks fold up. She is ready to roll on to the
next party!


I sure enjoyed designing and building her, Hope you enjoyed the tour


'til we talk again, really get a little done every weekend on the project and
it will come to fruition!


Chef Bob Ballantyne

The Cowboy and The Rose Catering

Grand Junction, Colorado, USA
 
What no in action pic's?
Looks like a well planned out unit Bob, and the workmanship i top notch! One question though, the 22 guage for the plate seems light to me, I though the theory was to make it heavy so the mass holds the heat. But then again I never used or built one.
 
Lots of people think that, I actually prefer it thin and use .3750 wall in my fire box to hold heat. I prefer the thin material cause it lets me adjust the heat in the cooker a lot faster. It also lets me fire up faster. I built a couple reverse flows with that big plate, just to much wasted fuel heating it and then watching all that money run out the stack for hours after the cooking is done.

So btu's are stored in the firebox, and the thinner material lets me get the thing to 325 F if I need to get something done faster.
 
Well thats a nice rig for sure and I'm sure it will have many good smokes coming it's way too.
 
great build i have one in thought process maybe this year
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i like the D.O. stacks but how do they work
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Thanks for the great show.
PDT_Armataz_01_37.gif

points.gif
to you for it also
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I use embers from the fire box. I engineered the total area of of openings to allow only enough air to hold the pots at 300 F with all three in each one. So they are pretty much a takes care of itself type deal. Just time and one or two rotations. Little door allows me to clean out the ash.
 
Wow !
What a set-up !
If your cooking is half as perfect, you'll need another trailer for your trophies!

Thanks for a great tour!----
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Bearcarver
 
That is a fantastic rig and a great photo tour. Thank you.


"I doubled up on the Dutch Oven stacks, the jacks take her off the axles for
functions. And the ramp allows my food to roll on board. But more
important she is wide enough on the deck to haul two Harley Heritage Soft Tail Classics anywhere we go!"

Now this is what I call a toy hauler!!!
 
Oh yeah, I think I remember this rig, posted prior to the big crash. Sweet setup for sure.
PDT_Armataz_01_34.gif
 
A very nice setup. Very roomy w/ many well thought out features. You are going to love the adventure this rig brings. Ready to see her in action. Excellent job...
 
This link will take you to the build pictures.

THE BUILD BEGINS

IF that does not give you what you want to see, let me know I own it I can take any picture that helps you out.
 
That is a thing of beauty that performs well to congrats on a fine well thought out build!!!
 
Congrats on such a fine rig. Looks and sounds like a lot of thought and experience went into the construction. Keep us posted as you compete.
 
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