newbie build using a 60g compressor tank

abaralnek · Jun 10, 2012

hey,ive been gathering material for the past month and now im ready to start building.lucky for me so far i havent spent a penny.my brother found me a 60g compressor tank while he was out scrapping,a good friend of mine got me all the 1/4" plate i need and i got plenty of angle iron from work.i know this thread is useless without pics and as of right now i have none,but sure will take some as i go.i have a few questions before i start and hoping you experts will help me out.ive been playing with the pit calculator and just wanna double check with you guys if all sounds good. for the firebox im thinking 15.50" for the height 20.00" for the width and 15.00" for the length sound about right or should i tweek it some? i have some 3" chimney pipe and the calculator says to use 32.91" seems kinda long,should i try finding a 4" pipe? the calculator recommends 37.20 sq. inch but im not sure how to figure the size of the cut with the tank being round on the bottom of the opening,any tips on how to go about getting it right?thanks for any help and info and ill be sure to post pics soon..

pops6927 · Jun 10, 2012

Look forward to the start of your build! As a new user, your Qview may be held in moderation at first. If they don't show up, don't worry or try re-posting them; they will appear after a short while, everyone's first few posts w/Qview has to be cleared to protect the site from spammers. Otherwise, you wouldn't believe what others try to post - nasty! Of course, they are immediately banned forever.

gatewood iron · Jun 10, 2012

http://www.feldoncentral.com/bbqcalculator.html here's a smoker caculator for ya Abaralnek.just punch in the numbers and it'll tell you the recommended size of fire box and chimney.

daveomak · Jun 10, 2012

abaralnek said:
hey,ive been gathering material for the past month and now im ready to start building.lucky for me so far i havent spent a penny.my brother found me a 60g compressor tank while he was out scrapping,a good friend of mine got me all the 1/4" plate i need and i got plenty of angle iron from work.i know this thread is useless without pics and as of right now i have none,but sure will take some as i go.i have a few questions before i start and hoping you experts will help me out.ive been playing with the pit calculator and just wanna double check with you guys if all sounds good. for the firebox im thinking 15.50" for the height 20.00" for the width and 15.00" for the length sound about right or should i tweek it some? i have some 3" chimney pipe and the calculator says to use 32.91" seems kinda long,should i try finding a 4" pipe? the calculator recommends 37.20 sq. inch but im not sure how to figure the size of the cut with the tank being round on the bottom of the opening,any tips on how to go about getting it right?thanks for any help and info and ill be sure to post pics soon..

abar, morning.... The firebox is the right cu. in.... you might consider the size of firewood you are using when placing the door.... 20" would be good for adding splits so there is plenty of room for the wood....

Chimney size... your calcs are right on... you could use a 4" stack... the calc recommends 18.5".... You might make it 20.... and that measurement is to the cold air above the cook chamber... add extra to lower it into the cook chamber, a few inches above the grate should be good...

The firebox opening measurement is right on... Consider sliding the firebox into the smoker and using the top of the FB for part of the reverse flow plate... cut the cook chamber opening in the end/side of the firebox.... weld the RF plate to the firebox top...

I will assume you are building a reverse flow smoker.... The end of the reverse flow plate needs a space for the smoke and heat to make a 180 deg turn to get back to the stack... I would make that opening 2X the cook chamber opening or larger.... there is a certain amount of resistance to overcome when the air makes a 180 and a larger opening will help that out....

I'm not sure if this all makes sense... Not sure on what your design plans are....

There are many folks here that know more than I do when it comes to building smokers.... They have great ideas and success on projects like these...

Hopefully they will chime in here with their knowledge and provide some direction....

Welcome to the forum and success with your build.... Dave

abaralnek · Jun 10, 2012

thanks guys..i used the calculator you posted and thats where my numbers came from.just wondering if i should alter the height width or length in anyway to make things more useful or better. im still up in the air on how to go about getting the 37.20 sq inch firebox to chamber opening.if it was a square opening i could figure it out but the bottom of the opening being rounded im uncertain.

bubbonehead · Jun 10, 2012

To keep your costs down and use the 3" pipe you have, an option to achieve the recommended length/volume is to have two stacks side by side. That's what I did and for the same reason, I already had a supply of 3.25" pipe and a small budget.

daveomak · Jun 10, 2012

abar.... A simple method is to draw lines 1" apart on the horizontal and draw lines 1" apart on the vertical, on a piece of cardboard.... Match it up with the circumference of the tank.... count the squares inside the circle.... adjust until you are close to the 38 sq. in. you desire..... That will give you a pretty good template to work from.... Close is good.... Dave

abaralnek · Jun 10, 2012

thanks again for the help,not sure why i didnt think of the 1 inch square idea haha..cant wait to get some progress done and pics posted..

daveomak · Jun 10, 2012

abar..... I'm in....

... I love watching folks build stuff..... Dave

abaralnek · Jun 10, 2012

i hear ya dave,its great watching a build come together.by the way the name is ken.my screen name is just my full name spelled backwards,i know pretty lame

abaralnek · Jun 10, 2012

got a little progress done today.cut out the bungs and started welding in filler pieces,got the hinge's cut,ground down and welded onto the tank and then i cut the door out.i also have the smoker box to chamber opening marked out.

abaralnek · Jun 10, 2012

i made a little mistake,i welded the hinges on before i cut out the door so the door sits flush.i plan to add 2" strips along the edges of the door and seal it with some sort of stove door gasket.not sure ill have any room for the gasket material with the door being flush like it is.

kcbluesnbbq · Jun 10, 2012

Hi Ken, welcome. The nice thing about steel is you can always weld up your mistakes. Fit your lid and move your hinge holes to where you need them.

Looks like you are off to a good start so far. Keep the progress and the pics coming.

JckDanls 07 · Jun 10, 2012

:popcorn :beercheer:

abaralnek · Jun 11, 2012

question for you guys,im thinking about having the chimney come out the side with a 90 degree elbow and then straight up.the elbow would be at the cooking grate level.i see most ppl just have it coming out of the top of the smoker,are there any pro's or con's to either way?

bubbonehead · Jun 11, 2012

abaralnek said:
question for you guys,im thinking about having the chimney come out the side with a 90 degree elbow and then straight up.the elbow would be at the cooking grate level.i see most ppl just have it coming out of the top of the smoker,are there any pro's or con's to either way?

As far as functionality, I can't see any difference between the two options. I think the choice is normally an issue of space. What I mean by that is if cook grate reaches close to the end of the chamber then going out the side like you're talking about becomes the best option. It looks like the opening you've cut for your lid leaves you plenty of room to do it either way without any problem.

abaralnek · Jun 12, 2012

thanks,i like the way it looks with the chimney coming out the side so ill go that route.need some opinions,i cut the firebox to chamber opening along the yellow lines in the pic,afterwards i realized i should have cut it different,should have cut some of the bottom out also so the firebox would have sat into the chamber a little.should i weld the cut piece back in and make a new cut or just cut some more out of the bottom half of the opening and make the cut in the firebox a little smaller to equal my 38 sq'"

gatewood iron · Jun 12, 2012

I personaly would cut more out of the bottom of the tank. I think you will have a problem adapting the fire box to the existing hole.

bubbonehead · Jun 12, 2012

Yes, cut more out of the bottom of the tank. Personally I wouldn't worry about making the opening in the firebox smaller. Bigger than the 38 sq in will not cause you any woe at all. I would match the cut out to the tank. If you leave a lip above the bottom edge of the tank, you'll wish you hadn't when it comes time to clean it. Just my opinion.

daveomak · Jun 12, 2012

Ken, morning.... Cut the bottom of the tank out.... Slide the firebox farther into the smoker..... Cut the opening out of the firebox to the size you want... It can be a rectangle opening and larger than the calculator recommends even.... Attach the reverse flow plate to the top of the firebox.. Dave

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